Posts tagged as: inspire a culture of math achievement

Recently, I was in a school bathroom and saw a beautiful painting hanging on the wall of an African woman dressed in African garb. I was immediately filled with awe and joy because the painting radiated beauty and was a positive image in a surprising place. I am often one of few African American women…

During our special live Twitter® #InspireMathCulture chat with Learning Forward co-led by Mary Mitchell, Senior Instructional Designer, and Sue Chapman, Professional Learning Consultant, we explored how we support teachers’ mathematical identities and open doors to equity for learners. Catch up on the discussion below and take some great strategies back to your classroom as you inspire a culture…

During our first live Twitter® #InspireMathCulture chat with Director of Professional Learning Nikki Lalonde and Professional Learning Consultant Nicole Bridge, we explored what a positive math culture looks like in a classroom and school, and why it’s so important to student outcomes. Participants shared actionable strategies they use in their classrooms to foster a culture…

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…

Back to School is one of my favorite times of year because I love the smell of a fresh box of crayons, buying new school supplies and notebooks, and having a new start. It’s probably why I became a classroom teacher myself. After decorating my classroom, setting up my library and sorting supplies, I started…

Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our “Coaching for a Mathematical Mindset” blog series. Below are two conversations between a teacher and a coach. How are they different? What might the teachers’ observations and explanations reveal about their mathematical mindsets? Conversation 1 Coach: You’ve been trying some new instructional practices…

  “Math has always been difficult for me to understand. Word problems are the worst. Every time I see a word problem it scares me. I already know I won’t be able to solve it.” These are not the words of a student in elementary school or even high school. They were written by Kimberly,…

There’s a lot of talk these days about the importance of mathematical mindset and its impact on student learning. In About Teaching Mathematics, Fourth Edition, Marilyn Burns identifies six dispositions that are important for students to develop in the math classroom: Interest to figure out solutions to problems Willingness to persevere when solutions are not…