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WYW (While You Wait). What is your most memorable experience in a mathematics class? When it comes to your mathematics skills, how comfortable are you with sharing what you know with others? If you had to describe your best mathematics teacher, what qualities did he or she possess?.
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WYW (While You Wait) • What is your most memorable experience in a mathematics class? • When it comes to your mathematics skills, how comfortable are you with sharing what you know with others? • If you had to describe your best mathematics teacher, what qualities did he or she possess?
Teacher, Have You Recognized My Mathematical Ability?Culturally Competent Instructional Delivery in the Mathematics Classroom Denelle L. Wallace, Ph.D. Denelle Wallace Consultant Services, LLC National Urban Alliance’s Teaching for Intelligence: Believe to Achieve Conference Albany, NY March 28, 2008
Goal of Session • Provide a session participant with an understanding of the positive impact cultural competency has on student learning. • Utilize facilitator experiences, interactive activities, and pertinent information to provide a framework for recognizing a student’s mathematical ability. • Identify tools that assist in identifying culturally competent mathematics instruction.
The academic differences that we see early in a child’s educational career lie within the life experiences of the children that come into our classrooms. Research studies indicate that Hispanic, African American, and poverty students expressed that their reasons for failing to succeed in schools were associated with: What’s culture got to do with it?
What’s culture got to do with it? • Their cultural, social, and/or linguistic characteristics not being recognized or understood. • Low expectations from teachers. • Instructional strategies used in the classrooms that were not congruent with their learning needs. (Day-Vines, 2000; Padron, Waxman, and Rivera, 2003; Ladson-Billings, 1994)
The Invitation • Who do we invite into our school systems to teach our diverse student populations? • How do we invite students to actively participate in mathematics instruction? • Who is invited into our advance mathematics courses? • Who is invited to the table to determine the most effective instructional delivery methods for the students we serve?
Sample Questions for an Interview • How would you create a classroom environment which reflects an appreciation for the diverse backgrounds and ability levels of your classroom? [cultural competency] • Describe the techniques you utilize to foster student interaction, particularly from students reluctant to participate. [cultural competency & mathematics instruction] • How will you use writing to check for student understanding? [NCTM & Marilyn Burns] • What importance does reading comprehension and vocabulary instruction play in a mathematics classroom? [NCTM & Marilyn Burns] • How will you assist parents and guardians with limited mathematical ability in playing an active role in their child’s learning? [cultural competency]
The Clock is Ticking • Time to focus attention on what schools with diverse students populations are doing to experience success in mathematics instruction. • Administrators need to spend time observing classrooms. • School schedules should include time for remediation and enrichment during the school day. • Knowing the NCTM strands allows time for building a mathematics foundation & for making connections.
Time with Your Best • Math Restoration Leader Schedule • 7:30 – 8:52 a.m.Homeroom and Math 7- Co-taught with Restoration Sentinel • 8:55 – 10:02 a.m.Pre-Algebra 7 • 10:04 – 10:40 a.m.Planning (43 minutes) • 10:42 – 11:50 a.m.Pre-Algebra 8 • 11:48 a.m. – 12:55 p.m.Math 6- Co-taught with Restoration Sentinel • 12:57 – 1:49 p.m. Planning/Lunch • 1:52 – 2:45 p.m. Intervention Planning • The Restoration Plan by L. Byrd-Poller in the text Are You Questioning My Competence? Professional Development for the Reluctant Educator (soon to be in print)
The Key to Unlocking Potential • Mathematics is stressed as the key to opportunity. • Mathematics is the “gateway to technological literacy and to higher education” (Schoenfeld, 2002). • Opportunity must be created through: • Access to quality instruction • Availability of the appropriate courses • Encouragement • Recognition • Assistance
Integrating Reading Strategies & Math ProcessesHyde, A (2007). Mathematics and cognition. Educational Leadership, 65(3), 43-47.
Perceptions • “By examining our assumptions and widening curriculum choices, we can bring more minorities into upper-level math.” Walker, E. (2007). • Assess the cultural competency levels of your teachers, administrators, and community. • Discover the perceptions of students, parents, and other stakeholders.
The Right to an Exceptional Mathematics Education • Within the array of mathematic subjects available to students, it is algebra that is considered the “gatekeeper course” and a “civil rights issue” (Moses & Cobb, 2001). • Therefore, students that are more readily denied access to higher-level mathematics miss vital opportunities to gain essential skills. The lack of these essential mathematics skills may contribute to disenfranchisement and economic instability for these students (Schoenfeld, 2002).
Recognizing Effective Mathematics Instruction • Administrators attend professional development sessions to address monitoring instruction. • District provides classroom observation rubrics highlighting NCTM content and process standards. • Mathematics teachers attend professional development sessions geared toward their needs. • Assessments are conducted to gather information on levels of cultural competency, research-based instructional strategies, and NCTM standards awareness.
The Freight Train: Applying the ConceptsHyde, A. (2007).Mathematics and cognition. Educational Leadership, 65(3) • At the train station there are many different freight trains. • They carry 3 kinds of freight across the U.S.: lumber, livestock, and vegetables. • Each train has some lumber cars, some livestock cars, and some vegetable cars. • Each train always has 18 freight cars. • There are never more than 10 cars of one kind. • Freight cars that are the same are always connected together. • How many different ways of making trains with 18 cars can you find?
Roadmap to Culturally Competent Mathematics Instruction • Needs Assessment • Lesson Plans & Observations • Pacing Guides & Schedules • Implementation • Evaluation • Reward and Reflection
Curriculum Team Assessment Needs In the text Are You Questioning My Competence? Professional Development for the Reluctant Educator (soon to be in print)
Applying Cultural Competency to the Classroom • Create a T-Chart on your index card What’s it look like? What’s it sound like?