I’ve been working through Jo Boaler’s “How to Learn Math” course, and it’s fantastic. It was really good until about session 5 when it became awesome. She describes a classroom activity that I believe is just as beneficial for math teachers as it is for students. She uses Number Talks as a way to develop number sense and flexibility among students…. Read more →
The Texas Education Agency posted “released tests” from last Spring’s STAAR administration this week. I was surprised by this question from the 6th grade assessment: Does that diagram really help students better understand the question? Are 6th graders looking at that picture and thinking, “Ooooh! I got it! It’s leaking water!”? Better yet, we haven’t stored water in barrels like… Read more →
I enjoy the Oscars, yeah, I’m one of those. But when these actors gush about how all of them are doing “GROUNDBREAKING” work. Well, come on! So let’s gush about some of my colleagues who are doing groundbreaking work! My campus journalism teacher who sends kids out to take campus photos, then gives them immediate feedback and sends them back… Read more →
Here are some interesting articles on arithmetic algorithms. I’ve always been intrigued by those who argue for some sort of golden algorithm. For example, the best, and only way to multiply two digits by two digits is to start with a leading zero on the second line of multiplication. These algorithms didn’t spring from Zeus’ head fully formed. My elementary… Read more →
This came from a friend on social media. A great blog entry about a teacher who monitors her students’ social interactions in a subtle, but effective way. There’s so much to discuss in this article. I like the perspective of a parent asking for tutoring (for the parent) even though the kid “gets it.” I love that many folks read… Read more →
There has been a running debate on our campus about the importance of memorizing multiplication tables. Pro: The state test doesn’t allow calculators, so students need to multiply without a calculator. It’s the math equivalent to English/Language Arts teachers’ alphabet: the building blocks necessary to accomplish bigger things. Automaticity increases performance on multi-step problems. If students have to stop to… Read more →
A recurring theme in Dan Meyer’s blog is capturing the educational opportunities that technology brings to our classrooms. There is a subset of American teachers who are technology reactionaries. They point out that the classrooms of their youth functioned without computers, iPods, LCD projectors, and PowerPoint presentations. Back then, someone turned the knob to advance the filmstrip when they heard… Read more →
This month’s book study chapter addressed the messages we send with our classroom management. If we demand academic excellence, we should also demand behavioral excellence. We want students to exactly follow procedures, not just adequately. What does this look like? Students may have to repeat procedures until they get it right. At my school, we do this with fire drills. … Read more →
…it serves no purpose to a student with limited conceptual understanding. If they evaluate their answer and decide that it doesn’t make sense, they don’t know how to fix it. Their options are to start over completely, or ignore the issue. Is it any surprise they choose ignore?