emergent math

Lessons, Commentary, Coaching, and all things mathematics.

Category: miniseries

  • Part 6: Scoring with Humility

    This is the sixth and final installment of a mini-series on rubric design and use. Be sure to check out the other posts as well as the initial post. Your grades are qualitative data, not quantitative data. Whether you’re using a rubric on a complex task, or assigning a number out of 100 from a…

  • Part 5: Teaching with a rubric and teaching the rubric

    This is Part 5 of a mini-series on rubrics. Be sure to check out the other parts as well as the intro post. Now we can have some fun. Creating a rubric is indeed hard work. Common indicators help streamline the process, but it still takes time to create and score them. But now that…

  • Part 4: Scores, scoring, grades, and grading

    This is Part 4 of a mini-series on a rubric masterclass. Be sure to check out the Intro post and subsequent posts. Before we get to it today, I want to offer a bit of a warning: this piece of rubric-land gets very sticky, very fast. It represents the tension between our aspirations as growth-minded educators and…

  • Part 3: Defining Proficiency & Moving Outward

    This is Part 3 of a mini-series on a rubric masterclass. Be sure to check out the Intro post and subsequent posts. Once we’ve identified our specific and common outcomes, we need to identify specific markers that will indicate where students are on the spectrum of proficiency. In fact, that’s where we get our next little bit…

  • A Rubric Masterclass Part 1: Selecting Rubric Worthy Tasks

    This is Part 1 of a mini-series on rubrics. Be sure to check out the Intro post and subsequent posts. It took me a while to figure out the whole rubric game. I’ll admit, I was relatively anti-rubric in the middle of my career. Maybe that’s because I wasn’t shown how to construct one. Maybe…

  • Math Syllabus Bootcamp Part 4: Anchor Problems. A Hilbert-ian approach to curriculum mapping

    In 1900, mathematician David Hilbert famously published 23 as yet unsolved math problems. The problems covered a large swath of math fields. They served as a challenge and inspiration for 20th century mathematicians.  I propose taking that same approach to laying out your content units for the year.  Most syllabi showcase content via unit titles:…

  • Math Syllabus Bootcamp Part 2: Smartness. What does it mean to be a mathematician?

    In Part 1 of this mini-series, we looked at how we can promote diverse identities in mathematics from the first artifacts students see: you, your syllabus, and your classroom. Here in Part 2, we’ll examine the mathematical habits, behaviors, and skills that ensure students will be able to participate fully. Like with identity, students and…

  • Math Syllabus Bootcamp Part 1: Identity. Who is a Mathematician?

    Part 1: Identity: Who is a mathematician?  (Good morning and welcome to Math Syllabus Bootcamp! This is Part One of a five part Emergent Math mini-series. Today’s topic is on how to incorporate and welcome diverse identities from the very outset of the school year. Be sure to check out the other parts of this…

  • Your Math Syllabus Boot Camp

    This blog post introduces a new mini-series from Emergent Math: your math syllabus bootcamp. Also, be sure to check out Geoff’s previous mini-series: Routines, Lessons, Problems and Projects. I often stumbled into the school year. August appeared and suddenly I was aware that I needed to get back into a proper working routine. Most of…