Imperfect and Unfinished
“I am not a math person.” As we all know, there’s a certain social hazard that comes with our occupation in math education. Folks often feel compelled to tell us their math stories, (often declaring with some amalgam of shame, pride, anger, and resentment): “I am not a math person.” And when they do, we’re … Continue Reading
Welcome! If you came to this blog post because you saw my “Us and Math” talk at the Creative Edge conference at West LA College, you’ll find several resources I mention in my talk below. Feel free to scroll ahead to the “Resources” section. Please keep the conversation gsoing and let me know how my … Continue Reading
My Dilemma I had an experience last week that has me in a professional dilemma, and I’m looking for your input. My dilemma may be emotionally charged to you; it is to me, but I assure you that I want to seek a positive outcome for everyone involved (the student, teacher, parent, and me) in … Continue Reading
Last week, I wrote about Pair Drawings, one of my favorite ways to establish classroom norms at the beginning of the school year. Starting on the first day of school, I want my students to know these two fundamental norms: Learning mathematics is a collaborative effort. It’s something we do together; it’s not something that … Continue Reading
Welcome back math nerds! The beginning of the year is one of my favorite times of year. Clean slate, clean classrooms, fresh ideas, and refreshing optimism. I also love this time of year because I love building classroom norms and setting the tone for the classroom culture that is necessary for productive and rich mathematical … Continue Reading
Activity: Which Passion Describes You Best? Teaching is an expression of identity and a craft of passion. We teach who we are. Let’s take a few minutes and think more deeply about why we are passionate about the work we do. Read the “Passion Profiles” below. As you read, make notes and underline language … Continue Reading
I have a problem, and I need your help. I love teaching young students about data and statistics. And I enjoy finding ways to make data and statistics matter more to young students. I’m troubled by how we teach students to think about data and statistics, and I have some ideas on how we can … Continue Reading
A Question and a Confession Question: If someone asks you what “elicit” means, could you nail the definition? Try it. How’d you do? Confession: I was an English Literature major in college. I tutored college-level math and fell in love with teaching because of math. But back then, words and expression and theater were my jam. … Continue Reading
Welcome back math geeks! I want to share with you a video that shows the raw power of using Clothesline Math in your classroom to promote student to student discourse. I share this video because I want you to see how clothesline activities generate student to student discourse and promote student thinking and math development. And I … Continue Reading
I conducted a lesson study with some elementary teachers. We used Dan Meyer’s engaging lesson called Sugar Packets to get students talking about an interesting problem, sharing their thinking, showing what they know about division strategies. Dan has the lesson listed as 6th grade ratio and proportional reasoning activity, but we found this problem to be … Continue Reading
