Author: Geoff
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Mathematical play, but, like, for older kids
Chris and Melissa gave a great talk on the importance of mathematical play at NCTM-Seattle last week. You can see their Math-on-a-Stick work on their website. There you can see pictures and examples and of children enjoying and playing with math in interesting and delightful ways. One of my many takeaways from their keynote was…
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Active Caring (and Epilogue): the essential ingredient
This is a post in the ongoing Emergent Math mini-series: Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects. As we stand on the balcony and gaze out at our own version of the MCU (Math Class Universe) that consists of Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects, we must be sure we’re not missing the crucial ingredient that stitches it…
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Projects: what they’ll remember in 20 years
This is a post in the ongoing Emergent Math mini-series: Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects. I graduated high school twenty years ago this year. What’s remarkable is how little I actually remember about my classes. I remember certain feelings I had towards particular teachers or classes, but not the actual classroom action itself. There are three exceptions.…
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Problems: then a miracle occurs
This is a post in the ongoing Emergent Math mini-series: Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects. Ah problems. I have to reveal my bias here: I love problems. Problematic problems. Problems are where I honestly cut my teeth as an educator. If you’re reading this blog, might have stumbled across my Problem-Based Learning (more on that…
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Lessons: the stuff we envision, only better
When you think of a math lesson, you probably conjure up an image of a teacher in front of the classroom demonstrating mathematical concepts. While that certainly qualifies as a lesson, I’d like to broaden your mental image. Consider a “lesson” any facilitated activity where students are building or practicing their content knowledge. In…
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Routines: the driving beat of your class
This is a post in the ongoing Emergent Math mini-series: Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects. If our model of Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects is a four-piece band, routines are our persistent drum beat. It keeps the pace going and maintains the momentum within and in between activities. Routines occur every day and throughout a…
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Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects: the DNA of your math classroom
This blog post introduces a new mini-series from Emergent Math: Routines, Lessons, Problems, and Projects. In my time in math classrooms – my own and others’ – I’ve developed a rough taxonomy of activities. Think of these as the Four Elements of a math class: the “Earth, Air, Fire, Water” of math as it were.…
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Working while sad
Until recently, I would have classified myself as a “happy” person. Now I’m not so sure. Every day when I or my wife picks up my son at school there’s a 50/50 chance he’s in the counselor’s or principal’s office because he hates himself for something he did or didn’t do. When something – anything…
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When 1/25 ≠ 2/50: team teaching
My son attends an “open concept” school, a term that belittles the potential for such learning space. Before he started attending that school, I had heard of “open concept” as a fad that passed through schools in the 1970’s and fell out of fashion due to their unwieldiness. I had an image of two hundred…
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