About MathClub

I have been fortunate to work with many, many amazing educators, parents, and students across North Carolina and even at the national level.  I have wanted for many years to create a clearinghouse for information related to the work I do to support teachers in teaching mathematics, to support students in understanding mathematics, and to support parents in supporting their children.  Here it is!

I hope to make MathClub (valeriefaulknermathclub.com) truly a place for everyone. Ask questions, make suggestions, watch videos, love math.

It is my contention that we can shift from a procedural approach to math to a conceptual approach to math through good, strong, conceptual repetitions that make the math come alive and sing! To me this is different than videos that merely repeat the mystified procedures that are often presented in U.S. classrooms and replayed at home by parents who were taught the same way we are still trying to teach kids.  I am hoping we can ‘break the chain’ and have a place here where all people engage with the math and recognize that, ‘hey, I AM a Math Person too!’.  For those that already feel strong at math, these videos provide visual connections that make sense of the math – you will need this as you move on to more difficult math.  We can’t get by on one type of memory forever–we need the whole brain to get really good at math.

I will also be working to create and make available suggestions for practice and links to places that have useful resources in that regard.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding videos or any other content, please let me know.  I will do what I can to update and add content as quickly as possible.

Thanks and I am excited to spread the good word that math makes sense, stimulates the mind, and is sort of, well, fun!

Please join me!

valerie faulkner

Info about me:

I am a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Elementary Education department at NC State where I specialize in Math Methods. I went to Duke where I earned a B.A. in Anthropology and played on the Golf Team. I have an M.Ed. in Special Education and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in mathematics education, both from NC State.
My interest in Math waned in high school, but I re-taught myself math when I became a high school special educator and wanted to give valuable support to my students taking higher level math classes. I read everything I could about math (see recommended book list) and ended up with a specialty in teaching math to all learners.

I live in Durham with my partner of 18 years, Jenn Smith.