MathChat

How to Grasp the Distributive Property w/ Fun, Visual Symbols

Progress …

I made some progress yesterday helping a boy understand the distributive property, and it was mostly due to the use of visual symbols.

I’d like to share the process of my tutoring, for it shows how important it is to break an algebraic procedure into its constituent “baby” steps. I’d also like to share the process because I used a fairly unusual technique — using visual, non-algebraic symbols to take the place of algebraic symbols. As you’ll see, this technique has some interesting advantages.

(more…)