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A series on TeachingChannel.org called "Engaging Students with Productive Struggle", looks at how "math teachers use formative assessment to create classrooms that encourage perseverance, collaboration, and deep mathematical thinking." Gretchen Vierstra, veteran middle school teacher, decided to expand this series and ask educators what math looks like in the classroom today.
One educator, Robert Pronovost, who is a lead STEM coordinator in California, said that math is about hands on activities.
"Our classrooms across the district are becoming a lot more hands on, including a school-wide Problem of the Month focus at many of our sites," he said. " Additionally, we have integrated Dreambox Learning districtwide in order to support students with concepts they may still struggle with at any level. [You can see this technology in use in this Teaching Channel video.]"
April Pforts, math teacher in Indiana, said that in her classroom she "encourages collaboration."
The Common Core has shifted how I teach math because I really try to get the mathematical practices — or what I call 'thinking'— into the classroom as much as possible. My classroom is a very busy place, with students in small groups all of the time. I give the students multiple ways to experience the mathematics, such as print, presentations, videos, interactive sites, answers, and solutions. I challenge them to think about it, talk about it, and reason it out using a collaborative approach. We focus on problem solving of all types: simple, complex, application, and real world. Lessons blend over from one day to the next. The math in my classroom is messy, noisy, and looks a little like organized chaos, but there is a great deal of thinking going on.Read the full story and comment
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Source: Education World
