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Strengthening Teaching and Learning of K-12 Mathematics through the Use of High Leverage Instructional Practices. Raleigh, North Carolina February 11, 2013 Steve Leinwand American Institutes for Research sleinwand@air.org. Ready? Set!.
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Strengthening Teaching and Learning of K-12 Mathematics through the Use of High Leverage Instructional Practices Raleigh, North Carolina February 11, 2013 Steve Leinwand American Institutes for Research sleinwand@air.org
Ready? Set! There are 310 million people in the U.S. There are 13,000 McDonalds in the U.S. There is a point somewhere in the lower 48 that is farther from a McDonalds than any other point. What state and how far?
There are 310 million people in the U.S. There are 13,000 McDonalds in the U.S. McDonalds claims that 12% of all Americans eat at McDonalds each day. VALID? INVALID? SURE? NO WAY? Make the case that this claim is valid or invalid.
The 5 Key Elements of Effective Mathematics Teaching • Classroom management • The content • The pedagogy • The tools and resources • The evidence of learning
At this point, it’s almost anticlimactic!
The Amusement Park The 4th and 2nd graders in your school are going on a trip to the Amusement Park. Each 4th grader is going to be a buddy to a 2nd grader. Your buddy for the trip has never been to an amusement park before. Your buddy want to go on as many different rides as possible. However, there may not be enough time to go on every ride and you may not have enough tickets to go on every ride.
The bus will drop you off at 10:00 a.m. and pick you up at 1:00 p.m. Each student will get 20 tickets for rides. Use the information in the chart to write a letter to your buddy and create a plan for a fun day at the amusement park for you and your buddy.
Why do you think I started with these tasks? • Standards don’t teach, teachers teach • It’s the translation of the words into tasks and instruction and assessments that really matter • Processes are as important as content • We need to give kids (and ourselves) a reason to care • Difficult, unlikely, to do alone!!!
Ready, Set….. 5 + (-9)
Remember How 5 + (-9) “To find the difference of two integers, subtract the absolute value of the two integers and then assign the sign of the integer with the greatest absolute value”
Understand Why 5 + (-9) • Have $5, lost $9 • Gained 5 yards, lost 9 • 5 degrees above zero, gets 9 degrees colder • Decompose 5 + (-5 + -4) • Zero pairs: x xxxx O OOOOOOOO On number line, start at 5 and move 9 to the left
Major Theme of the Day Multiple Representations!
So look at what you have: • Visual – the displayed slides • Aural – my voice and passion • Hard copy – the handout Multiple representations to maximize the opportunity to learn!
The Ice Cream Cone You may or may not remember that the formula for the volume of a sphere is 4/3πr3 and that the volume of a cone is 1/3 πr2h. Consider the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream sugar cone, 8 cm in diameter and 12 cm high, capped with an 8 cm in diameter sphere of deep, luscious, decadent, rich triple chocolate ice cream. If the ice cream melts completely, will the cone overflow or not? How do you know?
Ergo: A Vision by Example • Solve • Reason • Model • Explain • Critique CCSSM Math Practices (Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others)
My Goal Today Engage you in thinking about (and then being willing and able to act on) the issues of what we teach, how we teach, and how much they learn by: • validating your concerns, • examining standard operating procedures, • giving you some tools and ideas for making math more accessible to our students, • empowering you to collectively take risks.
My content agenda • Part 1: Putting our work in context • Part 2: It’s instruction, silly • Part 3: Tying things together • Part 4: The Smarter Balanced opportunities • Part 5: Final thoughts on moving forward
My Process Agenda(modeling good instruction) • Inform (lots of ideas and food for thought) • Engage (focused individual and group tasks) • Stimulate (excite your sense of professionalism) • Challenge (urge you to move from words to action)
Part 1 Putting our work in context (glimpses at the what, why and how of what we do)
There is no valid psychological or logical reason to limit students of lesser academic ability or aptitude to practice with paper and pencil procedures. On the contrary, there is ample evidence to suggest that such an approach is often counter-productive, resulting in little improvement in procedural skills and increasingly negative attitudes.
from Everybody Counts Virtually all young children like mathematics. They do mathematics naturally, discovering patterns and making conjectures based on observation. Natural curiosity is a powerful teacher, especially for mathematics….
Unfortunately, as children become socialized by school and society, they begin to view mathematics as a rigid system of externally dictated rules governed by standards of accuracy, speed, and memory. Their view of mathematics shifts gradually from enthusiasm to apprehension, from confidence to fear. Eventually, most students leave mathematics under duress, convinced that only geniuses can learn it.
Accuracy, Speed and Memory Tell the person sitting next to you what is the formula for the volume of a sphere. V = 4/3 π r3 4/3 ? r? 3? π?
Sucking intelligence out… Late one night a shepherd was guarding his flock of 20 sheep when all of a sudden 4 wolves came over the hill. Boys and girls, how old was the shepherd?
“The kind of learning that will be required of teachers has been described as transformative (involving sweeping changes in deeply held beliefs, knowledge, and habits of practice) as opposed to additive (involving the addition of new skills to an existing repertoire). Teachers of mathematics cannot successfully develop their students’ reasoning and communication skills in ways called for by the new reforms simply by using manipulatives in their classrooms, by putting four students together at a table, or by asking a few additional open-ended questions…..
Rather, they must thoroughly overhaul their thinking about what it means to know and understand mathematics, the kinds of tasks in which their students should be engaged, and finally, their own role in the classroom.”NCTM – Practice-Based Professional Development for Teachers of Mathematics
Questions? Yeah buts…
Envision the last test you gave your students. Compare your test with the Subway Employment Test.
10.00 - 4.59
If the customer’s order came to $6.22 and he gave you $20.25, what is the change?
A customer complained that he was short changed by you, receiving only 13¢ from his $2.00 instead of 31¢. What would you do?
So: Four overarching contextual perspectives that frame our work and our challenges
1. What a great time to be convening as teachers of mathematics! • Common Core State Standards adopted by 46 states • Quality K-8 instructional materials • More access to material and ideas via the web than ever • A president who believes in science and data • The beginning of the end to Algebra II as the killer • A long overdue understanding that it’s instruction that really matters • A recognition that the U.S. doesn’t have all the answers