Choosing a Task That Fosters Productive Struggle
When I first heard the words “productive struggle,” I imagined the many times I have watched students struggle to learn a math concept. My heart has always been sensitive to the children that would have to work to learn an idea. Growing up, I had cousin to whom learning appeared to come very easily. I… Continue Reading
What Does it Mean to Coordinate in K-6 Mathematics?
In my last blog entry I talked about laying the foundation for fractions in K-2 by thinking about the standard for measurement 1.MD.2 as foundational for the conceptual understanding of fractions. In this entry, I am going to talk about what it means for a student to coordinate units. The word coordinate, when used as… Continue Reading
Changing the Narrative
Many times, we hear phrases from teachers and students such as “I am not good at math.” “Math was (is) a very hard subject for me.” It has become socially acceptable to say, “I hate math!” Why do some people have these limiting beliefs of themselves as doers or learners of mathematics? For the past… Continue Reading
Episode 68 | “Children are like candles, Teachers the sparks”
This week’s episode provides us with an opportunity to hear from a teacher in Finland on what a strong emphasis in the whole child can accomplish in the classroom. Jukka Sinnemaki is a top 50 finalist in the Global Teacher Award for 2018, and he joins Chris this week to describe how the autonomy teachers… Continue Reading
Be SMART, Set Goals
Welcome to 2018! Have you written new professional goals for this year? If you are a teacher, I bet your goals may ultimately be linked to increasing student achievement. As an educator, my ultimate goal is for all students to achieve everything possible within their academic grasp. That means I need to reevaluate and revise… Continue Reading
Les (Steffe) is More
I am very excited that Dr. Leslie P. Steffe is going to be the speaker at this month’s AIMS colloquia on January 22. The Research Division of the AIMS Center has chosen to deeply study Dr. Steffe’s work so that we can share it with teachers here in the Central San Joaquin Valley. While Dr.… Continue Reading
Top Lessons Learned in 2017
I would like to take a small detour for this entry and use the start of the new year reflect on the previous year. Reflecting on the past as a teacher can help us to think about what we might consider for the future. So what were the top lessons learned at AIMS in 2017?… Continue Reading
Let the Journey Begin…Spatial here we come
Have you ever played Tetris or Battleship? Moved furniture through tight spaces? Took a shortcut on your way home or used landmarks as a means of direction? Played with Legos? If you have, then you have used spatial reasoning skills. What does spatial reasoning have to do with my focus on early mathematics? My simple… Continue Reading
Plant a Question
Feedback is essential to creating purposeful professional learning experiences. Why not use a method to receive it immediately, allowing you to know more about the participants and what their thoughts and needs are. Even better, displaying real-time feedback from participants during professional learning is easy to do. Recently, I was introduced to a real-time feedback… Continue Reading
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
