What’s Right With Our Schools: Dublin middle school teacher creates ‘Math Speed Dates’

November 27, 2017

Karlisha Booze,

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Dublin math teacher is being highlighted for an incredible technique she’s using inside of the classroom.

Seventh grade math teacher Amanda Bouyer has introduced her students to dating.

She says,”Your boyfriend and girlfriend names need to be named math. We know that in the middle school that they love to date. They’re starting to recognize their opposite sex and so what we do is I tell them you need to date your lesson.”

Mrs.Bouyer uses ‘math speed dates’ to help students understand how to quickly compute math problems.

Each student goes to another students’ desk and ask questions about a specific problem, and when the timer goes off it is time to rotate. The interaction between the students make learning fun.

Seventh grader Johnny Hall says, “It be fun because you can really get help from your friends and communicate with them at all times.

Many students say the activity allows them to stay active, which gives them a chance to focus better.

“I get bored just listening so moving around probably keeps me up,” seventh grader Yari Marion adds.

Seventh grader Antonio Benjamin says, “I don’t like just sitting around, just sitting down and just watching the teacher and stuff because I might just fall asleep.”

Mrs. Bouyer says math is a subject that the more you do it, the better you get at it.

“When students can explain how to do something then they know how to do,” she explains.

Seventh grader Lizzianna Sinkfield says, “Math wasn’t my favorite subject in 6th grade but now it’s becoming my favorite subject because of this lesson.”

It’s a lesson, a strategy and a new tool created by Mrs.Bouyer to keep the relationship between students and their school work stronger than ever before.

“I will use speed dating forever. I wish that I had came up with it before now,” Bouyer adds.

This is the first year Mrs. Bouyer has been using math speed dates. Since she started using it, students’ math grades have gone up.