Want to shift your math teaching practices this year, but not sure where to start? That鈥檚 a good problem to have!聽
You can boost your instruction this fall with problem-based learning, technology in the math classroom, and more鈥攁ll in ways that put students at the center.聽
鈥淎ll students need the opportunity to feel like they can figure out mathematics,鈥� says Jennifer Bay-Williams, Ph.D., an author and professor of mathematics education at University of Louisville. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where they develop a math identity, [the idea] that they can do math. And they start feeling like, 鈥業 can figure this out.鈥欌�澛�
Bay-Williams spoke at our , along with other thought leaders and expert educators. Keep reading to see how their key takeaways can help you shift your math instruction this school year!
Center student ideas in a collaborative math classroom
Amplify Math Suite Executive Director Kristin Gray had great tips for teachers looking to center student ideas in the classroom. Simply put, it鈥檚 all about helping them make several types of connections. These can include any of the following:聽
- Connecting students鈥� classroom math experiences to real life
- Connecting math ideas to one another
- Connecting their ideas to the ideas of their classmates聽
How do teachers foster these important connections? That鈥檚 where come in. Rather than teaching a concept or formula in isolation, then having students practice it, try inviting students to collaborate on a real-life problem that will lead them to that math idea. (For example, you might ask them to work on designing a small traffic or subway system that requires developing ideas about distance, rate, and time.)
As a result, students build problem-solving skills collaboratively, feel their ideas are valued, develop their own ways to make math make sense, and learn from and with each other. Teachers also get to know and appreciate the different backgrounds and styles students bring to the classroom, opening up new opportunities for engagement鈥攁nd connection.聽
Reimagine student engagement
No matter how engaging you are as a teacher, it鈥檚 typically students who drive engagement鈥攁nd that鈥檚 actually good news. You don鈥檛 have to reinvent the wheel or do somersaults to get their attention. In fact, a lot of engagement comes from creating routine and familiar opportunities for connection. And it can also come from allowing students to make mistakes.聽
鈥淲e want all students to have an entry point into [math] tasks,鈥� notes Amplify STEM Product Specialist James Oliver. 鈥淭hose students that seem to always feel like they don鈥檛 fit or don鈥檛 have the identity in that math classroom, we want them to immediately have successes and have their curiosities tested.鈥� Successes鈥攁nd productive failures. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e learned is, you are not firing any synapses, nothing鈥檚 happening if you鈥檙e just getting it immediately correct.鈥�
Nurture student curiosity
Which is better: letting students dive into a box of LEGO pieces to see what happens, or providing a step-by-step guide to building the airplane?聽
It鈥檚 actually a tie. In both structured and loose approaches, the key is to spark curiosity and communication. 鈥淚f we want them to be mathematicians, we should let them talk about math,鈥� says Amplify Director of 6鈥�12 Core Math Curriculum Kurt Salisbury, Ph.D. Here’s his 3D approach:
DISCOVER
Discovering the relationships among mathematical ideas is a key part of mathematical thinking.聽
DESCRIBE
Students communicate their mathematical thinking by describing the processes, procedures, or relationships needed to work with a concept or pattern.聽
DEVELOP
When students develop a strategy they can apply to a variety of contexts, their math thinking gets validation and purpose.聽聽
So whether you lean into a more structured approach or prefer to let kids figure the LEGOS out themselves, small mindset changes like these can create more space for your students to discover, describe, and develop as mathematicians.
Make math fluency fun聽
As with someone fluent in a language, someone fluent in math is able to think and calculate mathematically without struggle or effort鈥攖hat is, with fluidity.聽
In order to think and calculate fluently, students need to build a toolbox of strategies鈥攁nd games are a great way to do that.聽
While you鈥檙e making the learning fun, students are absorbing tools they鈥檒l use throughout their lives. 鈥淲hen we ensure that every student has access to a range of strategies, and has regular opportunities to choose among those strategies, that鈥檚 what games do for us.鈥� says Bay-Williams.
Elevate student voices聽
When student thinking isn’t explicitly invited into the classroom, students may begin to narrow their focus, providing merely what they think their teacher wants to hear. But given genuine invitations to share, students are more likely to follow their thought process wherever it leads them, taking a more organic approach to problem-solving.
鈥淭aking a step back as a teacher, and inviting students to take a step forward, [activates] students getting started with finding the answer,” says Stephanie Blair, vice president of Desmos Coaching.聽鈥淎nd all of them might take a different step forward, which is okay.鈥�
It’s time for math that does more for students
鈥淎ll students need the opportunity to feel like they can figure out mathematics,鈥� says Bay-Williams. We need to connect with our students, nurture their curiosity and comfort with math, and welcome their unique ways of thinking.
We hope the thought leaders and speakers from our Math Symposium have inspired you to do just that!
