Watch the video Math Class Needs a Makeover and read the excerpt from Principles to Actions. Pay close attention to the 8 Math Teaching Practices on page 10 and the chart on page 11 that outlines Productive and Unproductive Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Mathematics.
Consider
Respond and Interact
After watching and reading, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
- What is resonating with you from this video and reading?
- What caused you to pause and think?
- What math experiences from your own classroom came to mind as you were watching and reading?
After watching and reading, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
I love teaching math! As a young student, math was hard! I hated it so much I chose a major that had the least amount of math classes to complete! When I started teaching, I taught 6th grade and boy was I in trouble. I even went back to school, while teaching, to learn math and how to teach it. I was never given the foundation until those later years and then it clicked! In the video, he stated, "It is an amazing time to be a math teacher because we have the tools!" I totally agree. It isn't just about finding the answer (using the algorithm) but through conversation, problem solving, and real-life application that makes it so amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the article I was blown away with the belief's columns and how much, especially in the last few years, I have personally moved from the unproductive to the productive column in my teaching. (I think! ;-) I do think the new curriculum helps guide us towards to the productive side. I love the deeper understanding my kiddos have not only by their written work but by their language and ability to figure problems out in different ways. I still have a lot of work and practice, but I am proud of the direction it is going!
Cindy - this made me smile. 💛 You have really proven that you are a lifelong learner these past couple of years. Being an early implementer wasn't easy. At all. I loved reading how your kids are getting a deeper understanding. They are lucky to have you!
DeleteI've watched this video so many times and it never gets old to me. I was struck by the quote "the math serves the conversation; the conversation doesn't serve the math." It reminded me of an Annie Fetter video that I watched years ago about creating genuine curiosity among our learners. It was in this video where I was first introduced to, "What do you notice?" and "What do you wonder?" These two simple questions have been game changers for me in launching a lesson. I was glad when I learned that IM uses these questions so frequently in their lessons. I love it that there are so many opportunities that encourage students to be curious.
ReplyDeleteThis week's content got me really excited about math! I loved watching him deconstruct and reconstruct the skiing problem in order to create something worth solving. This quote really resonated with me: "the math serves the conversation, the conversation doesn't serve the math". IM has such an emphasis on intentional mathematical conversation and I have seen my kindergarten students really begin to develop their patient problem solving skills and be okay with being in the process versus getting answers right away. I am excited to learn more!
ReplyDeleteSomething that resonated with me after watching this video is how can we incorporate building problems as he discussed into our new curriculum? I am in a similar boat to him, where I work through the first activity with the students, introduce the second activity and I have 5 or more students just not sure what to do. I also love the idea of tying the real world more into the problems and backing into what students need to know and figure out.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about the new math experiences that my students are getting in the classroom and how this new curriculum is shifting the role of the teacher to have the students do more of the teaching. I am looking forward to future years when I am familiar enough with the curriculum to best facilitate the learning in this new way.
As a teacher who is new to Tahoma, I am thrilled to see the energy behind all this innovative math learning! It's definitely resonating as a transplant--our international school in Hong Kong used a combination of Bridges and Illustrative Math, and it took/is taking a herculean effort to help shift the math culture. But the payoff is SO exciting. One of my favorite memories of teaching fifth grade was when we had plowed through several different division strategies, and it was finally the day when standard algorithm was "allowed." There were cheers and perhaps a table-pounding chant. It was hilarious, but to watch these students use ALL the creative strategies to solve, and then finally understand how their long-learned standard algorithm truly worked, was magic.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm teaching TK, and I am shifting gears in major ways, but I still believe that hands-on materials and the chance to "explore first" matters here as much as any other grade. I do love Illustrative Math, and my hope is that they develop a fully fledged PK curriculum too!
I remember being young and not seeing my place in the math world.
ReplyDeleteI admittedly was not a self-starter, I was not eager to solve a lot of problems provided to me on worksheets and in worksheets.
I see my students much more engaged when they are problem-solving together, one often explaining the process of their thinking and the other either asking questions or trying to understand. What an incredible way to include scaffolding in the classroom than that of their own peers?! I really look forward to changing the math world in my own classroom to feel more inclusive and interesting to all students.