This has been a unique semester in that I took two courses and taught a course. The course I taught is a one-hour seminar course, “Math for Elementary Teachers,” not to be confused with their “actual” math course, nor their math teaching methods course. This course is a small part of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) teacher … Continue reading Academic Safety for Pre-Service Teachers and Other Reflections from the Semester
Pastoral Care for Pre-Service Teachers
Schools and teachers have no incentives to foster a nurturing atmosphere for student teachers. Unless the school expects to hire the student teacher, there’s no inherent reason for a school to particularly care whether or not the student teacher makes education a lifelong passion or if they burn out and never even enter the profession. … Continue reading Pastoral Care for Pre-Service Teachers
Where does a letter occur in a word? A matching activity
Whenever and however we come back together as math classes this Fall, we're going to need to spend considerable time building up students' mathematical identities. Chances are students are going to be entering your classroom with a wider array of math learning experiences over the prior six months than ever before. Therefore we need a … Continue reading Where does a letter occur in a word? A matching activity
Active caring: now more than ever
I don't know jack shit about teaching remotely. There are many, many blog posts and articles that'll inform you of best practices, useful websites, fun apps, sample schedules and the like. The most helpful of which I find to be open and honest reflections on what it's like to teach entirely remotely, unexpectedly, and without … Continue reading Active caring: now more than ever
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 … Continue reading Active Caring (and Epilogue): the essential ingredient
Active Caring
I'm in awe of my son's 3rd grade team. Last year, when he was in 3rd grade, he had two teachers, a counselor, a GT specialist, a principal, and three specials teachers that cared for him. Not in a passive way, like a "my door is always open" kind of way. But in an active, … Continue reading Active Caring
emergent math 