Removing Ability Grouping while increasing Problem-Solving

One of the biggest missteps that occurs in math core instruction is people trying to organize it the same as they do their reading workshop.  

Traditionally in reading workshop, students are grouped by reading level and then called to the teacher to read and discuss a text at their level.  The teacher's small group instruction is really concentrated during this time when meeting with a small group of students away from the rest of their classmates.

In math workshop, we do not recommend this kind of grouping for students often.  In fact, through the work of Peter Liljedahl, more and more teachers are reading and using the research around VRG: Visibly Random Grouping. In his book, Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, he explains how he realized students are more successful this way.

Visibly Random Grouping can be intimidating to some teachers because it means that they have to give up some of their control.  Not like let the room run crazy loss of control, but letting students work with whomever they match with.  Teachers have spent a lot of time organizing and reorganizing their groups for activities.  The thought of just letting it be random might be a lot.  However, once teachers begin to use VRG, they tend to love the results.

To begin with, the students should witness that the grouping has been random. There are apps that group students randomly(even Dojo), but you can always use playing cards, popsicle sticks, birthdays, or any other method that helps them see that you did not intentionally choose who was going to work together. Liljedahl's research shows that groups of 3 work best in most grades to get all students thinking.  In the primary grades, he recommends groups of 2.

Here are some of the benefits of VRG:

• Increased engagement
• Improved collaboration skills
• Reliance of students on each other more than on the teacher
• Improved student ability to work with anyone and recognize the strengths that classmates possess
• Better flow of learning with students not just sharing in their group but also with others in the room: the feeling of being on the same team
• Perception of the students that the teacher believes they can do it.  They don't have to be placed with a student who can "pull them along" or one that they need to support. No matter who they are with, they will be able to access the problem and move forward.

As teachers begin to move towards more use of VRG, they will find themselves removing labels from students.  This subtle shift in thinking will carry over into the students' views of each other, too.  This video by Jo Boaler offers somemre insight into the benefits of heterogenous grouping.

There are many teaching shifts that Liljedahl discusses in his book.  Visibly Random Grouping is one that is a great first shift for all teachers, and it will help when they decide to give a Thinking Classroom a try.

Building Math Culture

 I often talk to teachers about the importance of building a learning culture in their classrooms.  It is so important that students feel safe and valued in their learning ideas.

Recently, I came upon this website, which gives tips and has videos to guide teachers and families in promoting a growth mindset in students.  I especially liked  the examples within the section on Celebrating Mistakes.

It reminded me of a teacher I recently listened to excitedly explain the building of culture in her classroom.  She talked about how she and her students cheer for each other's  mistakes, how students grow in their ability to talk about math through the constant exposure to thinking problems, and how her students love math time in the classroom.  There was no doubt that this excited teacher was talking from the positive experiences happening in her room, and that her students, too, had wonderful experiences as growing mathematicians!

Everyone in the room could feel the joy that this teacher exuded, and I'm sure, like me, they were wishing to have students (or be a student) who were a part of this classroom.  As students grow and content becomes more and more, I think teachers find it more difficult to create this type of atmosphere, but by visiting the website, teachers might find just the motivation to build a stronger classroom learning culture. Even in October it is not too late!

We are all math people!

Slowly, I am beginning to notice the phrase "math person" disappearing, and I am thrilled!  We are all math people. It is not a subject for the elite--all of our lives involve math.

As is often said, people rarely go around and say, "I can't read," yet they have no issues with stating that they can't do math. I believe that people say this because they limit their definition of math. Math is such an important piece of our everyday lives. 

Math is about way more than just computing.  It is about logic and thinking and patterns. It is about shapes and sounds and data. It is about puzzles and perseverance.  It is something we can all do.  It is something that all of our students can do.  It is just how this looks that may vary.

Computers were created by great thinkers so that we do not need to spend all of our time completing computation problems.  The part that we need to do (and our students need to do) is think about the math: What does this data tell us?  How can we use this data?  What do I need to do with these numbers? Which fraction is bigger? What fraction is smaller? What discount is better? Which measuring cup can I use when I can't find my half cup? About how much money will I need?  How is symmetry used in art? How does logic help me solve a Wordle?   This is real world math. This is math that matters to us.  Knowing that 7 x 9 is 63 is an important fact for sure, but it will only be relevant to a person as they age if it is necessary as part of their daily activities.  Many carpenters know their 12s times tables for this reason.

So many other beautiful things that we do and experience daily involve math like baking, building, music, and art. Once we expand our thinking around the definition, we will see that we are all math people.

A t-shirt that I have seen many times says this:

HOW TO BE A MATH PERSON:

1.  Do math. (any type)

2. Be a person.

Removing Labels from Students

One thing that often challenges teachers is the way that they group students.  After working with students, they tend to have a group that they consider "low" and a group that they consider "high." Sometimes this designation comes as a result of testing.  This is an area where mindsets need to change.  When we think of students in these terms, we tend to determine their track and limit or expand our expectations--depending on the group.

I understand where this thinking comes from as it was taught to us as best practice for a while.  However, as Jo Boaler and other researchers point out, it is not what is in the best interests of our students as it pigeonholes them into believing that they are not good at math or that math should come easily to them.  Students who are consistently told that math comes easily to them often don't know what to do when it doesn't, and students who are led to believe that math is a struggle for them will want to avoid it because they are "no good" at it.  

So how do we correct this mindset?  There are a number of things that can be done.  First, we need to be very deliberate when referring to students.  We should work to no longer use terms like "high" or "low."  What I find is that most of our students have strengths and weaknesses.  Just because they have difficulty with computation doesn't mean that they don't have a great eye for geometric thinking.  

Secondly,  every effort should be made to not group our students every day by what we perceive to be their ability level.  Students should be heterogeneously grouped so that they can all benefit from hearing the ideas and thinking of others. (Imagine if your principal always grouped teachers according to the strong teachers and the weaker teachers.  How would the weaker teachers ever grow if they only had each other to get ideas from?  And how would the stronger teachers develop better understanding of their craft if they had no one to think deeply with? Everyone brings something to the table.)  Consider using visibly random grouping--an organizational structure researched, practiced, and  encouraged by Peter Liljedahl as helping students become better problem solvers.

Next, use low-floor/high ceiling problems as much as possible with your students.  From your opening routines to the rich tasks you ask your students to explore, find activities that all students can access and take to the level that they want.  These tasks encourage creative thinking and offer may opportunities for rich mathematical discourse.

Being intentional in making these changes will lead to greater learning from our students and improved equity for all.

Here we go!

Tomorrow is August, and that typically means the beginning to a school year.  And Oh! what a school year it is to be.  Like one we have never experienced before.

As we think about our students, safety is our priority, of course.  However, we also must keep in mind learning--as that is the reason the new year begins.

Instead of getting caught up in the things that our students missed without in-school learning last spring, let's think about what we as teachers always have done; let's meet our students where they are and move them forward.  We don't have to worry about teaching a third of the content from the grade before us. Let's pick them up where they are and move them into new thinking, into new content.

2020 is one that will always be remembered, we know that.  Let's not burden our students by making them feel behind or like they aren't ready for their new grade.  Let's build them up, and build them into students with knowledge and understanding.  It is what is best, and it will relieve the pressure on them--and you. 

Good luck in 2020 whether it be in-person, online, or a little bit of both!

  

THIS is the Message to Begin a New Year

What a great thing for us to do for our students: Help them understand the value of mistakes!  And now, at the beginning of the year, it sends a great message to all stakeholders:  This classroom celebrates mistakes!

"I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."  

Thomas A. Edison

Using Twitter to grow

If you are looking for a way to grow as an educator this year, I would recommend becoming more active on Twitter.

I'm sure you have other social media accounts, but this one will give you so much professionally!  Remember that there was a time when you didn't know how to upload a photo to Facebook or how to use a filter in Instagram or Snapchat?  You took them on and figured them out!  You can do the same with Twitter.  It doesn't take very long to become more comfortable with the platform.

I use Twitter now mainly as a math educator, but when I first became familiar with it, I used it to gain access to technology and classroom ideas.  It is all about following others.  You'll be amazed at the number of ideas and free resources you can find!

I would also recommend trying one of the many weekly chats that are on Twitter.  The first time or two, you may want to just read others' Tweets, but after a few times, you'll be ready to give it a try.  People on Twitter are very helpful and understanding.  Here are some weekly chats that happen throughout the school year that I would recommend.

#elemmathchat   :  Thursdays at 8:00 pm CST Math leaders from around the country lead discussions of different math concepts
#mathstratchat   :  This chat is not a live chat like the others.  Pam Harris posts a problem on Thursdays, and people tweet the way that they solved it.  It is amazing to see so many flexible thinkers!
#mathconceptions   : Mondays at 8:30 pm CST  half-hour long chat with great people around fun topics
#kinderchat, #1stchat, #2ndchat...:  Search these hashtags to learn more about each grade levels chats.  They are usually weekly.

At the time of the chat, just search the hashtag and then go to Latest.  It will help you see the conversation unfold...

If you are looking for some people to follow, here are some people (mainly math people) that will get you started.  Also, most of your schools have a Twitter account.  You can follow them, too.
@pearse_margie
@joboaler
@mraspinall
@educatormomof3
@gcouros
@Trianglemancsd
@JoyKirr
@Mathgarden
@eriksonmath
@dbc_inc

Give it a try!  I am happy to help you however I can. Before you know it, you'll be tweeting, retweeting, and using hashtags! #goals

Goals for the New Year

What goals do you have in mind for your mathematical teaching for the remaining half of the school year?  What can you do to help not only your children grow, but also yourself?  Here are some things you might consider trying in 2019, as well as some resources to help you get started. Pick one or two to get started.

1. Making Number Talks and other Mathematical Routines part of your instruction

2.  Trying one of Jo Boaler's Week of Inspirational Math

3.  Using 3 Act Tasks to build student engagement and understanding

4.  Using Visibly Random Grouping when putting students to work on tasks

5.  Allowing more collaboration and talking among students. Learning should be social.

6.  Using more Concrete and Representational models during instruction, and encouraging students to use and understand them as well

7. Eliminating pages of rote practice problems and instead finding rich problems that make students collaborate and problem-solve together

8. Participating in a Twitter chat. #mathconceptions is on Mondays at 8:30 for a 1/2 hour, and #elemmathchat is on Thursdays at 8 for an hour. Great professional developmennt

9. Working on building a better understanding of DOK for you and your students

10. Using explorations as a way for students to make sense of the math in their own way before being "instructed" in the way things "should be done."

Good luck!  Let me know if I can help!

A Stepping Stone to a More Student-Driven Workshop

If you are still looking for ways to make your math workshop more about collaboration and problem-solving rather than about independent work and computation, a Week of Inspirational Math by Jo Boaler/Youcubed might just be the ticket!  If you have done any of these lessons before, you know how awesome they can be!  Well--she has recently posted her WIM #4!  That's right--4 weeks of math explorations and engaging lessons that you can use to build your mathematicians.

These engaging lessons are organized by grade level strands and are grouped into a week's worth of lessons.  They are great to use a week at a time, but you certainly could use them independently if you needed to.  They embody the paradigm shift in math education with a focus on growth mindset, visual math, patterns, and collaboration.

Besides that, each lesson will really engage your students for at least math period.  (Oftentimes, students keep working on the problem after class...) Each lesson begins with a video that you can show if you wish.  It helps to build the growth mindset in your students and presents them with mathematical thinking that helps them to see math is all around them.  After the video, there is a lesson (with full lesson-plan) that you can have students work on in small groups and share out with the class.  You can learn so much about your students as you circulate the room listening to their thinking, and they will learn so much about themselves as mathematicians!

With the craziness of the holidays, you might find a few days where some WIM activities are just the ticket, and they might cause you to begin rethinking your workshop!  They might be a good way to spend your math time during those days right before holiday break, but they might also be an awesome way to set the tone for 2019!

I have blogged about WIM before, but I can't tell you enough how much they can invigorate and change your classroom, your student's thinking, and your own thinking!  Time well spent!

Rethinking Grouping in Math Workshop

As we continue to work to grow in our role as leaders of mathematicians, we need to begin to rethink our use of grouping in the elementary classroom. Ms. Boaler gives a strong argument for us to consider why we should not use ability grouping in our classroom.

For a long time, we thought that grouping our students by ability during math workshop was a great way to meet everyone's needs.  I know. I did it for a long time, too-- many different groups, many different activities.

But, as we learn more about best practices of mathematical instruction, we discover that providing ALL of our students the opportunity to be engaged in rich, challenging, mathematical activities and tasks. 

This does not mean that reteaching skills to some of your students is not the right thing to do.  Of course, there are times that reteaching and scaffolding are necessary for our students.  Having flexibility in our grouping is important and should not be so difficult as we learn more about our students

In the past few years, I have read articles and books about this.  I have participated in professional development that discusses this.  I have listened intently to members of my PLN discuss the importance of eliminating tracking and the impact it can have on our students.  Here are some of the best resources I have used to gain this mindset:

Another great article to read is this one by Nick Tutolo.  Although it is focused on middle school/high school math, its points are still important for us, as elementary teachers, to consider.

This change in our instruction is not without some challenges.  However, I believe that we will be able to see more growth in ALL of our students if we begin to use some of these best practices:

• Low floor-high ceiling activities
• Use of CRA instruction in order for all students to build their conceptual understanding
• Number talks that encourage and embolden students to use methods/strategies that help them understand better
• Use of visuals for all math concepts allowing all students to gain an understanding
• Building time into your schedule for your students to participate in explorations and other tasks to grow their critical thinking
• Continued modeling of growth mindset in our words and actions
• Eliminate referring to our students by ability 

What changes can you make in your classroom to allow all of your students to grow as mathematicians?

Continuing to Find Ways to Build Math Talk

I have participated in a number of professional discussions in the last week around the concept of Number Talks.  You may remember that I blogged about Sherry Parish's book before. It is an excellent resource to help you get started with Number Talks.

Many classrooms use Number Talks every day.  It is a great tool for building mathematical discourse, exposure to new strategies, and strengthening students' flexibility and fluency.

However--some people are a little intimidated by Number Talks.  It has some elements of the unknown, and this makes teachers a little leary to try it with their own students.  This is totally understandable.  One way to make this work is for the teacher to work on the anticipation part of the number talk fully.  By anticipating all of the possible ways a student may respond, it will give you the preparation to feel confident as you step into the Number Talk.  It will also allow you time to prepare visual images to represent ways that the students might explain.  It is important that we show the students' ideas using visual representations as this will allow us to reach more students.

I 

Here is a great example of ways that students might see 18 x 5.

I do believe that the term Number Talk is broader than just the use of functions with numbers as is found in the Number Talks book.  Of course, traditional number talks often involve quick-look cards and other visuals to help students visualize the math, but they are still considered to be from the basic concepts presented by Sherry Parrish in her book.

If you click on the tab labeled Routines located at the top of this page, you will find links to resources and videos of a large variety of mathematical routines that will encourage students' math talk.  There are many low-floor/high-ceiling activities which are good to put the students (and sometimes the teacher) at ease when doing a number talk.  In these types of tasks, nearly everyone can find an answer right away, but because these routines lend themselves to multiple answers, we find students recognizing all kinds of things besides the obvious.  Using these type of routines in addition to Number Talks will help your students to grow in ways you won't believe!

Challenge yourself to something new.  Try to add routines to your math class each day--you will be glad you did!

Culture-Building for the New School Year

How do you plan to transform the culture of math (teaching and learning) in your classroom or building this year?  Have you had a chance to think about this?  It can be easy to get caught-up in the content that will be covered and forget the importance of building strong mathematical communities in our classroom.  However, the time spent building your students into teammates in math will be worth it.  Go slow to go fast.

Let's think about Ron Ritchhart's Cultural Forces that Define a Classroom and how they can impact our building of a math community.

1.  Physical Environment:  Is your classroom arranged in a way to promote collaboration?  Are the spaces clear where students can gather? Have you thought about the places where students will be able to visually share thinking?

2.  Interactions & Relationships: What steps can you take to build a feeling of respect which will allow students to be confident enough to share their ideas and strategies?  What will you do to be sure all students and their ideas are valued in your classroom? How will you encourage collaborative inquiry for your students?  What methods will you employ to build  a growth mindset in students? How will emphasize growth and celebrate success?

• This sample chapter from Thinking Together: 9 Beliefs for Building a Mathematical Community by Rozlynn Dance and Tessa Kaplan supports these concepts.
• More ideas can be found in this sample chapter of Count Me In!: Including Learners with Special Needs in the Inclusive Classroom by Judy Storeygard.

3.  Expectations: What are the cornerstones for your mathematics community?  As your class determines the classroom norms, which ones do you feel MUST be part of the list? How will these be enforced?

• Youcubed article on setting up positive norms in your math classroom

4. Time:  How will time be structured during your workshop?  What will you put in place so that students don't feel pressure to work through concepts quickly? On the other hand, how will  you build efficient use of time for your students?  What will you do to be sure you offer enough thinking time for students?  In what ways will you support your students to show perseverance?

5. Language: What do you think is the key mathematical language for your students to learn during the year?  What will you do to build their mathematical discourse?  What language will be modeled for them to use when working with partners or small groups?  Will your classroom contain a word wall or other location where students can easily refer? What growth mindset language will you be sure to include?

• Scholastic blog post about math talk
• Sample Accountable Talk anchor chart
• Blog post focused on Number Talks

6.  Routines & Structure: What daily mathematical routines will you put into place, and how will they help build mathematical discourse in your classroom? How will your math block be structured?  What management routines will you have in place to help your classroom run smoothly?

• Dr. Nicki Newton's First 20 Days outline might help with some of these questions
• My blog page with links to best-practice routines

7.  Opportunities:  How will you regularly opportunities for all students to interact with rich math tasks? In what ways will students grow in the math practice standards as well as the mathematical content standards?  What types of explorations and problem-solving will you use in your classroom?  Will they promote perseverance in your students?  How will students be encouraged to find and explore their own mathematical questions? 

• My blog post on exploration resources

8.  Modeling:  How will you model creativity and risk-taking?  In what ways will you provide examples of collaborative talk and respectful debate? How will students know that this is a safe classroom to take risks? What will you do to share your own wonderings and questions with your students? How can you be intentional about modeling perseverance?

How can you take risks this year in order to grow as a math teacher?  What resources can you use to help you to learn more about best practices in mathematical instruction? Using these 8 ideas as a starting point should help you on your 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.

Growth Mindset Resources

from the great Jo Boaler and Youcubed!

Are you looking to strengthen your capabilities when teaching students about Growth Mindset?  Jo Boaler has created  this resource to help us grow as educators so that we can help our students grow as learners!

The site focuses on 5 Mathematical Mindsets and gives us clear pictures of what they should like in the classroom.  There are even videos that we can watch to help us understand. She has a user guide and a teacher's guide to help us understand where we are going.

This summer, take the time to explore this fabulous resource so that you can learn even more about growth mindset in our classroom.  I don't think you'll be sorry!

Summertime Ideas

As summer approaches, we need to remember that this important time of rejuvenation offers students time to explore, play, and be a kid.  It is not about daily academic programs or workbooks to complete.  

It is good for parents to continue to offer their child ways to maintain academic skills while also helping them to enjoy the summer. Besides the list of ideas I have shared before, parents may want to consider using Bedtime Math. It offers short interesting math practice that parents and children talk through and discuss together.  The discussion is the important part of this app; not the answer.  It allows parents to engage children with math in a non-threatening, fun way. Another good site that is geared towards parents is called Table-talk math. The site is in conjunction with a book of the same name by John Stevens, but this site offers ideas and examples of concepts for parents to talk with their children about.

Consider sharing these sites or the list of the ideas from my earlier blog post with parents.  As a parent, I know I always appreciate when teachers give me ideas of things that I can do to enrich my children.  I'm sure yours will, too!

THIS is what I keep trying to say...!

I have continual discussions with teachers and administrators about our much-needed shift in our mathematics classrooms.  However, it seems to me that, too often, people get caught up in the shift in content from grade to grade rather than the real and necessary shift in our instructional models and methods.  Matthew Oldridge says this so much more eloquently than I ever could in a recent blog post. (well worth the 6 minutes to read!)

I especially like when he says, "Assume your students are all capable of high levels of mathematical thought."  It reminds me of the saying we see on Pinterest and Facebook all of the time:  "MY TEACHER THOUGHT I WAS SMARTER THAN I WAS, SO I WAS."

This statement of his also resonated with me:  "If you treat mathematics like broccoli, kids will probably try and avoid it. Treat it like the world’s most delicious cake. Stop pretending it’s just some medicine that must be taken. Make it all interesting. Yes, you can."

Yes, you can, indeed!

What do I do with all of these ideas?

I recently completed providing some professional development to teachers in our district.  At the end of the final session, I asked teachers to come up with some goals of things they would like to try.  Hopefully, they will get a chance to try it now before the end of this school year instead of waiting until next fall.  Here were some of their takeaways:

Goals are important as they help us and our growth mindset. It is good practice to after a training to take one big idea back with you to help you grow as an educator! 

Of course, while participants found resources and ideas to put into their classrooms, questions remained.  These are some that were left on my question board at the end of the session:

How do I fit all of these ideas into my workshop along with my activities?
  With everything that a teacher has to fit in during the day, I see where this can be a concern.  I understand how difficult it might be to get in your lesson each day.  Some of the activities/resources that I have shared with you might be good opening activities in lieu of or in addition to the mini-lesson.  In addition, once you have taught the routine, the activity might be an activity that students can complete independently or with a partner.

  In all, we need to be intentional as we plan our lessons to determine what pieces of our text we want to use--maybe doing all of the math journal problems won't be necessary?  Maybe students can practice a few of the problems instead of the whole page, and that will leave you extra time for some of the extra resources you are getting.  I might also recommend that a technology station that students use, like IXL, is not necessary every day.  The rich problem solving activities and thinking routines will provide them with far more realistic practice than the rote practice of problems that some online sites might offer.  Mix it up!  Every day doesn't have to look the same, and building our students' conceptual understanding and problem solving skills is worth finding the time for.

  If you continue to struggle finding ways to make it work, consider a coaching cycle or meeting to help you wrap your brain around all of your options.

How do I use the number rack and beaded number line whole class?  How can I teach them when and how to use that tool?
  The rekenrek and beaded number line are great tools for our students to use to make sense of problems.  We should encourage their use at all elementary grade levels.  The more that these tools are used as part of our instruction, the more likely that the students might be to use the rekenrek independently.

   There are many online resources to help you better understand the use of the rekenrek and beaded number line.  
Here are a few:  Rekenrek Activities 
                              The rekenrek as a visual model  
                              Top 5 Rekenrek Activities
                             Beaded number line for 3rd grade
                             Beaded number line for 4th grade
                             Beaded number line for 5th grade

How do I set a growth mindset in math? I have kids that give up before even attempting a problem.
   Great question! I believe that setting this tone from the beginning of the year is key.  Jo Boaler's youcubed website  has some great resources about this topic.  If you look through her Weeks of Inspirational Math activities, growth mindset is prevalent, and it will help guide your classroom learning.  She also has other resources available that focus on the growth mindset.

   This topic has many resources available online with just a little searching.  Certainly, praising effort over intelligence is a key change that can have a big impact!

If you look at the word cloud on the right side of the screen, you may notice that I have written about these topics in the past as well.  Maybe following one of those links will give you other ideas or resources, too.

I enjoy providing PD for our district, and participant feedback is important to me.  I want to be sure that I am meeting the needs of our teachers.  I hope some of these resources will help!

A shift in math instruction

I'm sure we have all heard a lot about the "shifts in mathematical instruction," but sometimes I think that we get caught up in the shifts in the content of our instruction at the elementary level.  Who teaches time? Where does money get taught?  Third grade doesn't teach multi-digit multiplication anymore?  

The content that we teach has changed some, but in my experience, it is not the hardest shift in our instruction.  The hardest shift in our instruction is explained in the TED talk included below, The Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching by Dan Finkel.  The video is about 15 minutes long, but in it, he highlights some of the importance in this shift for teachers and parents.

These are the principles he highlights:

1.  Start with a question.

2.  Students need time to struggle.

3.  You are not the answer key.

4.  Say yes to your students' ideas.

5.  Play!

Where do you see yourself in these practices?  Can you choose one that you think you can improve?  What supports can you find to help you move forward?

One step at a time....

Many of us are looking for baby steps to begin our changes in math instruction.

Robert Kaplinsky just wrote an awesome post called, "I Hope You're Embarrassed."  In this post, he discusses how we should be looking back on our math instruction, embarrassed by the methods we used to teach our students in the past.  If we are embarrassed, we know that we have improved!  We might be embarrassed by methods we used in our first years in the classroom, a few years ago, or just last week!  No matter, noting that we can do better is a huge step towards more improvement.

In my talks with teachers, I try to expose them to a number of routines, problems, and best practices that I find in my own professional development, hoping that something I share will spark an idea for teachers to integrate into their own classroom.

Today, my spark is pretty straight forward: My Favorite No.  Watch this video from Teaching Channel and consider ways that you can use it in your classroom.  Ms. Alcala uses this routine daily; maybe for you, it is enough to try it once a week to start?  How can you take this practice and use it to help you transform your learners (and yourself) into better mathematicians?  

Have you tried this routine in your class already?  What were the results?  

Goal for 2018: Modeling a Growth Mindset in Math

Jo Boaler is an educator at Stanford who has done much research and writing about math education.  She has worked closely with Carol Dweck to provide us with books, videos, activities and resources to help us encourage a growth mindset for our students. If you are looking for some professional reading, I would recommend looking at some of her books.

Her website is youcubed.org.  I use it a lot when searching for rich problem-solving activities.  When speaking about growth in math, she stresses the importance of visualization.  From her site, you can download some posters that show students the value of training our brains as mathematicians.  

 


If you are interested in books to use during your workshop that encourage growth mindset, you might be able to find one here or here.

Do you have any tools that you use to build growth mindset?  Share in the comments below!