Teachers have received limited guidance about writing during math instruction (Casa, Evans, Firmender, & Colonnese, 2017). Because of this, it is important to distinguish between writing about mathematics and mathematical writing. Writing about mathematics prioritizes the learning of literacy; but mathematical writing emphasizes mathematical reasoning (Casa, et al., 2017). This type of writing includes text,… Read More Are your students Writing About Mathematics? Or, are they Engaged in Mathematical Writing?
Building Co-Teaching Relationships Together
Co-teachers can create a collaborative atmosphere and set the stage for a positive relationship by following some suggestions featured in the Virginia Department of Education publication, Stepping Stones to Success II; Collaboration: Working Together for All Students. Suggestions in the section entitled, Culture of Collaboration: What it Looks Like and How We Do It include; remain… Read More Building Co-Teaching Relationships Together
2016 Mathematics Standards of Learning Resources
Resources Available for the NEW 2016 Mathematics Standards of Learning During the spring of 2017, the Virginia Department of Education held several Math SOL Institutes across the state to support the implementation of the new 2016 Math Standards of Learning. During these sessions, participants deepened their understanding of the 2016 Math SOL Standards by reviewing… Read More 2016 Mathematics Standards of Learning Resources
Using Number Talks to Build Fact Fluency
Number sense is the foundation for all higher-level mathematics (Feikes & Schwingendorf, 2008). But when students focus on just memorizing facts they often do so without number sense, which means they are very limited in what they can do and are prone to making errors (Boaler, 2015). The more we emphasize memorization to students the… Read More Using Number Talks to Build Fact Fluency
Math Mindset
Jo Boaler (2013), a Mathematics Education Professor at Stanford University, describes a fixed mindset as the belief that either you’re smart or you’re not. On the other hand, a growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and smartness can be learned and that the brain can grow from exercise (Boaler, 2013). Teacher attitudes and mindset… Read More Math Mindset
Intensive Instruction: A Teacher’s Toolkit
Intensive instructional delivery that is designed for students with learning difficulties has the following characteristics. 1. It is explicit: Explicit instruction is overt teaching of steps or processes to complete a learning task. Explicit instruction includes teacher presentation, teacher modeling, and demonstration so that students are able to do what is expected and generalize a… Read More Intensive Instruction: A Teacher’s Toolkit
Using Number Talks to Build Fact Fluency
Number sense is the foundation for all higher-level mathematics (Feikes & Schwingendorf, 2008). But when students focus on just memorizing facts they often do so without number sense, which means they are very limited in what they can do and are prone to making errors (Boaler, 2015). The more we emphasize memorization to students the… Read More Using Number Talks to Build Fact Fluency