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Many students will be home these next several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What might happen if children spend a portion of their time doing real-world mathematics? At a minimum, they could discover that mathematics is interesting and useful. Perhaps they will decide that they are indeed math people. Here are some investigations to…

On a recent walk through my neighborhood I came across a father teaching his young son how to ride a bicycle. The father was holding on to the bike as the boy sat atop the seat, gripping the handlebars tightly. It appeared that the father was much more confident in the boy’s ability to learn…

This article is excerpted from Math Matters: Understanding the Math You Teach, Grades K–8, Second Edition by Suzanne H. Chapin and Art Johnson One of the most famous patterns is the Fibonacci sequence, which is made up of Fibonacci numbers. Fibonacci was the nickname of Leonardo de Pisa, an Italian mathematician (1175–1245); he is best known…

In my role as a Director of Professional Learning, I support many district and school leaders with transitioning into instructional leadership roles, so they may better support mathematics educators in their schools. Leadership support is crucial for teachers as well as their students, not only for promoting student-centered learning, but also in addressing and incorporating…

Setting the Stage for Making Sense of Math is the second in a four-part blog series on inspiring math achievement in the classroom. To read the first blog post, head over here. At the beginning of a unit on decimals, I wanted students to connect to what they already knew about whole number place value. I…

Creating a Culture of Risk-taking in the Mathematics Classroom is the first in a four-part blog series on inspiring math achievement in the classroom. To read the second blog post, head over here. At the beginning of each school year we spend time helping students learn expectations for walking down hallways and how to act in the cafeteria.…

What would you do if you noticed some of your students doing this? In the book Building a Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How to Teach It to Everyone), author Elizabeth Green tells the story of noted mathematics educator and researcher Deborah Loewenberg Ball posing this dilemma to a group of teachers. Dr. Ball’s…

Summer is an ideal time for math teachers to engage in reflective professional learning experiences. But how can you make the most of these experiences?

It may surprise your students that many events in history present ways to explore mathematical ideas. In Day-to-Day Math: Activities for Grades 3-6, Susan Ohanian offers thought-provoking math class “openers” using interesting historical events.  Here are a few events to start your classroom investigations into history through a mathematical lense! January 23, 1951 The C102 jetliner makes history,…

What constitutes good and meaningful math homework? Through a rich bank of math homework assignments, teachers come to see how homework can reinforce skills, prepare students for future lessons, extend their mathematical knowledge, and inspire their creativity. Take this example: Homework: If 3 is 5% of a number, what is 30% of that number?    …