Posts tagged as: professional learning

We know it’s important to encourage our students to adopt a growth mindset towards their mathematical abilities. But when we draw a smiley face on a student’s paper or say “good job,” are we building a growth or a fixed mindset? These types of feedback are meant to encourage but they fail to give students…

An effective math coach possesses a multitude of skills, but the ability to ask purposeful, targeted questions is one of the most vital to the coaching process. As coaches, we want to allow teachers to reflect on their practice and on the impact they’re having on students, as well as to think about how they…

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…

In Part 1 of our 3 part #MathCoachChat live Twitter series, we discussed how purposeful questions can maximize a coaching partnership, and how we can think about obstacles to a coaching relationship so we can focus our questioning.   We had a lively discussion with wonderful input from coaches and teachers alike. Here are a…

Are you a coach looking for professional learning opportunities? Want to learn more about math coaching and expand your professional learning network? Join @Math_Solutions for our first #MathCoachChat on Wednesday, August 30th at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT. Mary Mitchell, Senior Instructional Designer, and Sue Chapman, Professional Learning Specialist will lead a discussion on Questioning with a…

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?

“I don’t know how to help my child with math homework! I don’t know these new ways of doing math.” We hear this often from parents, right? Often along with another hesitant question, “Is it okay to show him/her my way?” In my last blog post, I wrote about how my vision for math teaching…

We’re celebrating NCSM and NCTM week with a giveaway every educator can enter to win, whether they are participating in the conferences in person in San Antonio, or following along from home. What better way to celebrate one of the biggest math professional learning events of the year than to plan ahead for more quality…