Category: commentary
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What I learned in 2011
Two Thousand Eleven was a whirlwind of a year. A year ago at this time I thought I was headed to CU-Boulder to begin a PhD. A couple weeks later, a friend let me know about a job as a Math Coach for New Tech Network of schools. Soon after, I was hired and waved…
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Inquiry-based mathematics: the posing of a problem is only the beginning of the problem-posing process.
We’ve been exploring some of the steps to an inquiry-based lesson in mathematics recently. In the last post, I tossed out a few .png images and laid out a few general steps in preparation for actually getting into the meat of inquiry-based mathematics instruction. Which we’ll do so starting today. Step 1: Posing a problem…
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An oversimplified model of an inquiry-based lesson, with visual aids
Last week, I mentioned that, having begun to attempt to slay one of the two giants of inquiry-based math instruction, I’d be steering into a potentially trickier aspect of inquiry based instruction: namely that of instruction and facilitation. Most of us learned math like this. We have decades of evidence suggesting that this method of…
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Inquiry-Based instruction, in a PNG-nutshell
In talking to math teachers about an Inquiry- , Project- , or Problem-Based approach, these are the following questions that come up most often. 1) “How am I supposed to cover all the standards using this approach?“ and, 2) “So, when do I actually teach?” An attempt at the first question is reflected in the…
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I really hope my son’s future teacher assigns him lots of worksheets, Part 2
Since I last blogged about my son’s very normal obsession with technology, this happened: [Zoodle Pad app for iPad and iPhone] This was my son’s first experience with an iPad. He immediately began drawing with his finger, followed by him picking up the device and turning it over to see what would happen to the…
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Alfie Kohn “goosed” us. I probably deserved it.
So I am a Math Coach for the New Tech Network. And I really love my job. And here’s why. A few weeks ago we ran our New Schools training. And, if I may say, it was really awesome. I was able to see the growth in teachers as they began to structure their classrooms…
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Things that are Good: A Problem Based Learning Approach in Mathematics
As a teacher in a Project Based Learning (PBL) school, I cherished the projects I created. I worked diligently to ensure that all PBL units I developed were rigorous and engaging. They were oftentimes a beautiful marriage between my Schoolwide Learning Outcomes and my state content standards, a labor of love that took weeks to…
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‘What is it your students really do well?’ What “The Three Amigos” can teach us about Project Based Learning
What is it your students really do well? For those that aren’t intimately familiar with the classic ¡The Three Amigos!, as I am, this scene takes place as the villainous (and infamous) El Guapo and his henchmen are riding horseback to destroy the village of Santa Poco. Outmanned and outgunned, the people of Santa Poco…
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What Teachers Want: An Education Parable Written By a Math Teacher
Our scene opens with the Teacher and the Student in a moderately decorated classroom. The walls are covered with posters, both inspirational and informative. The Student is seated at one of dozens of neatly aligned desks, facing the Teacher, who stands in front of a whiteboard covered in information, examples, and tasks. The Teacher is…
emergent math 