Looking for Explorations/Investigations to do with your class?

Explorations and investigations help your students to take ownership of their own learning and are a great way to get students excited about math!  They encourage critical and creative thinking skills.  They build a sense of math community, and make us all better mathematicians.

If we get started with predetermined explorations, and our students become comfortable with the format, they may begin to come up with their own explorations that you can embed into your instruction!  

I have posted about a number of explorations either that I have done with students or have seen others do. However, I wanted to remind you of some good places that you can go to find an exploration that works for you and your students!

WIM:  The weeks of inspirational math from Youcubed are all set up and ready to go for you.  I have blogged about them before, and I can't say enough about how they not only encourage a growth mindset, but also that they are a lot of fun!

Math Solutions:  This location is full of exploration options for you.  Many have a great connection to literature.

Math for Love:  The free lessons on this site typically involve investigations.

100 Numbers to get students talking: This task has step by step directions and examples of how to use it to build your students' group work abilities this year.  

Finally, I have blogged about some different explorations that you could try in your room.  You might find one that will be a great review or introduction for your students this year.  To find the blog posts, look over at the right side of my blog at the labels.  Click on the explorations label, and it will show you all of my posts about explorations.

If you have other great explorations to share, please post in the comments below.

What a great way to start your year of math learning!  Beginning with some explorations will give you plenty of time to get to know your students, build your classroom culture, and develop your routines.  Let me know if I can help in any way!

Own your mistakes. Strive to be better.

I recently had this conversation with my 16 year old son as I investigated what had happened to our mailbox. I didn't even need to see the ding in our new second car's hood to have a pretty good idea what had happened...

My frustration in this incident was not that he broke the mailbox,but rather that it took him so long to admit that he had.  After an admission, we discussed what had caused the accident, and ways we could work to help it not to happen again. 

Owning our mistakes helps us to grow.  As I have transitioned from the classroom to my current coaching role, I have had the opportunity to put all of my focus into math educational research and resources.  I learn something new most days, but one of the things I have learned that I must do is own my own mistakes as a teacher.

I have read dozens of math books in the last two years, but three have really had an impact on me.

These books have helped me to better form in my mind the necessary shifts that need to happen in our classrooms to help all of our students truly grow as mathematicians. As I read each book, I recognized myself--not always in their examples of best practices.  I saw all of the mistakes I made as a classroom teacher.  Over and over again. It hit me hard.  

Thankfully, I also saw myself in some of the good practices, but that did little to make me feel better about the ways that I felt I had failed my students.  After owning these mistakes, I identified the causes (fixed mindset, poor models, little time to keep up with best practices...) and now I am working to help it not continue to happen.  

I talk often with teachers about the shifts in math instruction that need to happen, but I find it hard for most of them to understand and visualize what this should look like. I continue to share these books with teachers all of the time, but I know that not all of them have the time or desire to read them (especially those who don't see themselves as mathematicians).  I get it.  

So--I have set some goals. My first goal is to put the concepts from these books in front of teachers through the PD we offer.  Not just workshops and presentations--but also through preparing PLC modules that will highlight some of these concepts in ways that teachers can try in their own classrooms and then discuss with their colleagues.  

My second goal is to continue to grow my own understanding through practice, practice, practice! (and not practice of 25 problems on a page...) As I go into classrooms to help or lead a lesson, I am going to do all I can to model the ideas I have read about in these books, discussed on Twitter, and witnessed in classrooms and webinars. I know that I will continue to make mistakes, but I also know that these mistakes will only help me to grow stronger in my practices.

Finally, I know I still have plenty to learn!  If I want to make changes that benefit our students and teachers, I need to continue to push myself in my own learning. Through reading new books, participating in Twitter chats, and attending math conferences, I believe I can continue to learn more and grow as a teacher and mathematician.