Episode 67 | Rachael Risley: “Multiplication Isn’t Just Repeated Addition”
Starting with an inquisitive mind regarding how children think about and develop their mathematical concepts; Rachael Risley has spent the last several years focused on how teachers can help students to migrate into multiplicative thinking. She is a student of Dr. Ron Tzur, another friend of the work we do here at the AIMS Center.… Continue Reading
Encouraging a Playful Spirit
It is difficult to open any kind of math publication lately without seeing the word “play.” It seems like everyone in the math-twitter-blog-o-sphere can’t say enough about the value of allowing children to play in the classroom. Indeed, the power of play in children’s development is undeniable. However, I can’t help but wonder if a… Continue Reading
Coming in Spring
As the Fall semester comes to a close, we are preparing for Spring at our school sites. Next on the list for our team is fractions. I am so excited to begin working with students to understand how they think about fractions and what we as teachers can do to give them opportunities to increase… Continue Reading
Reflecting and Growing
The end of the school year in June and the end of the calendar year in December both bring an obvious opportunity for educators to reflect on personal growth and positive impact. Educators tend to ask themselves, “Did I grow as an educator this year? Did I make a positive difference and maximize the children’s… Continue Reading
The Role of Professional Conferences in this Teacher’s Life
As this blog entry was being written, I was traveling to the California Math Council (CMC) North Conference at the Asilomar Conference Grounds near Monterey, CA. I have attended and/or presented at this conference many times over the years, and as I am putting the final touches on my presentation for this year, I am… Continue Reading
Episode 66 | The Best of ZPC – Robots, Legos, and Learning: Oh Yes
Join us as we look back on one of the best episodes from 2017 with Aileen Rizo. Description from February 23, 2017 Joining me in the studio is AIMS Center Research Associate, Aileen Rizo. she is a mentor/coach to student teams in both robotics, and Lego engineering competitions. She describes the learning, and persistence that… Continue Reading
Don’t Get Stuck in a Black Hole
The period of time after lunch in a workshop setting with adults can be a little hard to predict. Some might say that period could be referred to as the black hole. It’s a difficult time for collaborating or learning or getting work done. Why? Mainly because everyone’s digestive processes are using too much energy… Continue Reading
I Close My Eyes to See
Recently, I had an “Aha!” moment. My colleagues and I were analyzing video from a math interview with a young student, trying to understand what he knows about number. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I vaguely recall my dad gave me an article several months ago that discussed the science behind where great… Continue Reading
Takeaways from Subtraction (Part 1)
Why is subtraction hard? This question can be heard from many young children, but often even from adults. Whenever adults do mental math, they tend to have an easier time with addition, multiplication, and simple division than with subtraction. For the past three months we have been engaging young children in subtraction situations while considering… Continue Reading
Voice
Last September, I wrote a blog entry about the importance of partnership in our work with teachers. I described how we understand that each teacher, teacher aide, director, and researcher brings a set of understandings and experiences to this work and that these can contribute to a rich, fruitful interaction. If you read the blog… Continue Reading
