Over the summer I rediscovered the book Accessible Mathematics: 10 Instructional Shifts that Raise Student Achievement by Steven Leinwand. The lens is pointed to “engage, and focus on understanding and application.” (p.2) In this time of heightened awareness and action to engage all students and to be culturally responsive in our classrooms, it makes sense to integrate Leinwand’s shifts.
Continue readingThere are so many questions that float through my head when I see something new that piques my interest. Let’s look at one of those resources, Open Middle. Open Middle sprang from the mind of Robert Kaplinski after attending to Dan Meyer’s talk Video Games and Making Math More Like Things Students Like.
Continue readingI found all of his answers to my questions very thoughtful and interesting, and I wanted to share them all. So rather than giving you a summary of his responses, enjoy Andy Pethan…uncut.
Continue readingThe College Board updates its Advanced Placement courses every few years. Often, the changes are minor tweaks to course content. This year, the changes are substantial for three STEM courses.
Continue readingWhen we think about math, really think about what mathematics is, we see patterns, relationships and structure in number, geometry and other branches as well.
Continue readingIt’s paying attention to the little things that makes a big difference. How do we get our students to see value in proof reading their work and answers?
Continue readingEach year I try to introduce new technology that requires coding into my middle school STEM class. In researching what’s out there in the “maker/tinkerer” world, I was attracted to the Arduino as a means to “ignite” my STEM students about coding and electronics.
Continue readingThis article is part 6 of an 8 article series highlighting 8 words in the MCTM Mission Statement highlighting the word ‘ALL’.
Continue readingFact Families show us how a group of numbers relates to each other. A student’s family teaches us more about how best to teach the student. The idea of families and relationships holds true for each of the Minnesota benchmarks as well.
Continue readingThe terms number routine, number talk, and problem string, are often used interchangeably. Recently I have been wondering is there a difference? And if so, how would I describe it and when should I use one over the other?
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