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About Ken Jensen
Expertise
I can answer questions related to secondary math and science. I specialize in problem based curriculum and instruction.

Experience
I am a 20 year veteran Math and Science teacher. I have taught at both the middle and high school levels, and I am currently a Math Coach in the Aurora Public Schools, Aurora Colorado. As a coach, I train other math teachers in the use of research based best instructional practices. I post regularly to the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) list serve as well as to my district's standards based grading website. I was honored with the Colorado Teacher of the Year award by the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics three years ago and have presented at their conference in past years. I particularly enjoy working with parents who question why math is taught so much differently then when they were students.

Organizations
Association Of Supervision and Curriculum and Development National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics

Publications
NCSM list serve CoMath list serve National Science Teachers Association: The Science Teacher.

Education/Credentials
Master of Arts: K-12 interdisciplinary studies. University of Northern Colorado Adminstrative certificate: Denver University

Awards and Honors
CCTM Colorado Teacher of the Year

Past/Present Clients
I currently provide professional development both directly and indirectly to 45 high school math teachers, 12 middle school math teachers, and 8 building level adminstrators.

You are here: Experts > Parenting/Family > Special Education > Teaching Advice > teaching advice

Teaching Advice - teaching advice

Expert: Ken Jensen - 7/15/2009

Question
what do you advice us about ways of teaching our children inside home?

Answer
First, I believe that a child's primary educational experiences always take place in the home. If parents value education they will take advantage of everyday situations to train their children in the way they should go; and the child will likely see that education is important and become an educated person. On the other hand if parents do not value education then the child will likely not value it either and remain uneducated. For this reason I am a public school educator who supports home schooling. If the parent is truly educating their child- as opposed to simply sheltering him/her from life- then the child will likely see that education is important and become a life long learner.

The ways of teaching children are as numerous as there are children in the world. As the parent educator your role is to first determine what the child already knows, then how the child best learns, and finally provide learning opportunities that draw from previous experiences. I understand that some children are more teachable than others, but this simply means that you have to work harder with some children than with others.

One piece of specific advice that I would give is based on the research of Carol Dweck. She discusses the difference between fixed and growth mindsets. When you praise a child when they get a correct answer they begin to believe that the correct answer is all that matters. Students in this environment take on a fixed opinion of their intelligence and become unteachable when new concepts are presented. On the other hand when you praise their effort, student's take on the idea that their intelligence can improve through their own efforts, they become more teachable, and are more likely to become life long learners.

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