Desmos + New STAAR Item Types = Deeper Discourse STAAR has introduced new item types that go beyond multiple choice and griddable items. This session explored how to use Desmos to model these new items types, capture student thinking, and elicit more student discourse The goal of this session was to model new item types in Desmos, then show how… Read more →
IEPs and MTPs – Adapting the Math Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners NCTM’s Effective Math Teaching Practices help provide rich learning opportunities for all students. These practices benefit students who receive special education services as well. This session describes how teachers can adapt the MTPs to meet the needs of students with EIPs and invite all students to rich, student-centered… Read more →
NCTM Virtual Conference – Scaffolding Instruction for All Learners with Desmos Activity Builder Desmos provides free technology tools that build students’ math understanding through experimentation, discourse, and guided questioning. The Desmos Activity Builder allows teachers to modify tasks to support students with diverse needs. This session explores sample Desmos activities with specific strategies for differentiating interactive tasks. This session was… Read more →
This past weekend, I was honored to join 40 other new Desmos Fellows in San Francisco for a weekend to talk about access & equity, classroom practice, instructional coaching, math history, the future of math education, lesson study & we even squeezed in time to talk desmos.com and their online platform for visualizing math concepts! The welcoming crew at Desmos… Read more →
This session reviewed research and strategies addressing memory and problem solving among students with IEPs. Presentation Slide Deck Vocabulary Activity for spaced practice
I’ve mentioned the ice cabinets at this chain of convenience stores before. They provide some nice data points for a linear relationship. I finally built a short Desmos activity around the photos. Even though the short activity could be polished, it has a couple of nice features on slide #3 The user is prompted to enter an equation, and the… Read more →
We all stumble across moments or images that would make for great math explorations. For example, every time I stop at Buc-ee’s I photograph the cabinets of ice for sale. Someday, I am sure I will make an interesting activity predicting how much a bag of 30 pounds of ice should cost. On a recent trip, however, I discovered that… Read more →
A few years ago, I was talking with a teacher on my team, asking him how he coached students who struggle with word problems. His toolbox of problem solving pedagogy boiled down to one sentence: “I tell them to read the problem again.” While it is vital to make sure students understand the problem, we can help them develop strategies… Read more →
Two of last week’s sessions at T3 in San Antonio highlighted some great strategies to differentiate for Special Education students using TI Nspires and TI’s Navigator teacher software. Andy Aguirre, from Northside ISD’s new Harlan HS, share very practical strategies for differentiating a TI Nspire activity to meet the needs of different learners. She began with a .tns file from TI’s… Read more →
I’ve posted about the demonstration of the volumes of matching cones and cylinders in the past. Today, part of my workday was spent looking for “digital resources” related to this relationship. I found some great stuff, and I found some of the horrible pieces I came across in the past. So here’s the deal. We expect middle school students to… Read more →