Teacher Launches Unique Math Book, “Fantasy Football and Mathematics”
Dan Flockhart announces the release of “Fantasy Football and Mathematics,” a teacher’s resource guide for grades 5-12. The guide aims to motivate students and close the achievement gap between white students and underrepresented students by capitalizing on the phenomenal growth of Fantasy Football, a game in which 30 million people participate.
(PRWEB) August 24, 2005 -- The author developed this book as part of a thesis
project for a Masters degree at Humboldt State University by combining 20 years
participation in Fantasy Football with 11 years experience teaching mathematics
to students in grades 5–8. The book can be found at www.fantasyfootballmath.com and lists for $19.95.
The
author used this resource in his classroom for several years and observed the
positive impact it had on students’ attitudes toward mathematics. “Fantasy
Football and Mathematics” was the most successful curriculum I used in the
classroom,” Flockhart stated. “Many students who were afraid of math began to
gain confidence. I was initially concerned that the game would marginalize
girls, but girls were as successful and had as much fun as boys. In fact, both
boys and girls ran into my room every day wanting to play the
game.”
“Fantasy Football and Mathematics” addresses the social and
cognitive needs of students in several ways:
* Students are given the
power and autonomy of managing their own team.
* Student interest is
maximized because of the hands-on features (technology, graphing activities, and
the use of newspapers).
* Students receive multiple (weekly) exposures to
concepts in order to facilitate mastery learning.
* The game emphasizes the
use of fractions, decimals, percentages, and algebraic equations - core concepts
for middle school and high school students.
* The game emphasizes the use of
visual aids, which facilitates learning for learning-disabled students.
According to Flockhart, “Millions of students in the U.S. are not
proficient in mathematics because the subject matter does not interest them, and
they do not see the relationship between math at school and math in their
personal lives. “Fantasy Football and Mathematics” makes connections between
math in the classroom and math in the real world. These connections are
especially important for students in urban environments, because their life
experience is often the farthest from the content found in traditional school
textbooks.”
Fantasy Sports and Mathematics develops and publishes math
curriculum for middle school and high school teachers. Dan Flockhart launched
the company in 2004 and is currently teaching at College of the Redwoods, in
Eureka, California. Fantasy Sports and Mathematics can be located online at: www.fantasyfootballmath.com
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb275763.htm