In this blog post and podcast episode you’ll get a glimpse at a research based instructional strategy that can empower your students. We will cover why research based instructional strategies for math can help students be proficient in math.
The hype of the podcast Sold a Story has created a buzz around schools, education circles, and honestly my IG feed has been lit up. Sold a Story is a podcast an American Public Radio production by Emily Hanford who investigates authors that have promoted ideas about how children read, even though it has been proved wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago, it has held sway in schools for a LONG time.
This is a conversation many of us have been having for years, and one that others are just entering now.
It comes with so many feelings and emotions, because this job is so personal.
The decisions we make in our classrooms are well intentioned- with the hope to inspire and empower our students to do good in this world and be equipped with everything they need to do so.
However, there is SO much at play when we make those decisions that are outside of our control…
- The curriculum our district provides
- Or the curriculum and resources that aren’t provided
- The decisions contract and money that influences why districts choose certain curriculum
- Publishing companies
- Real world experiences vs research.
- Our own knowledge and understanding
- Our capacity to learn something new within our time restraints and very overloaded schedule
But what this conversation has brought up most for me is change. (Go listen to my episodes about change Episode #20 “Biggest Decision I’ve ever Made”)
Research Based Instructional Strategies can Change!
It’s okay to change.
To learn something new, be alerted to a different way of thinking and decide to do something differently.
It’s also okay to call for change.
To ask the hard questions of our administration & districts.
To ask for the curriculum, training and time to make the changes.
One big change is we make sure our decisions are supported by research.
I LOVE a teacher education book, it helps illuminate instructional Practices and shows us what it can really look like in a classroom. However, we have to make sure these approaches don’t just work in the classrooms highlighted, but are backed by research.
Speaking of teacher education books- a book that changed me, Children’s Mathematics- Cognitively Guided Instruction. This book is a research study that was done with children starting from school age through 12th grade. This study followed students and studied how they learn mathematics. It’s dense, full of study lingo and very “science”, but it provided me with the “WHY” behind the instructional strategies I was being taught.
The research showed….
-children have ideas about math and intuitively know how to solve problems from a very young age.
-spend time listening to children’s thinking to understand how they solve
Research Based Instructional Strategy in My Math Classroom
I was first introduced to CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) through a math consultant at my school, shout out to Linda Grien. She was so masterful at facilitating CGI and was all in on coaching me to use this strategy. I instantly fell in love with so many parts of the process– trusting students to make meaning, using discussions to get students to high over thinking skills through describing their math thinking, and talking with students about multiple approaches.
However, I didn’t know why any of this worked better than the math curriculum worksheets I had been churning out for the last 4 years. Until Linda handed me this book and told me what we were doing was based on this research. After reading this book, I was inspired and blown away. My mind burst with ideas about how to enhance CGI in my classroom and I was even more excited to continue learning strategies to facilitate students’ discovery and inquiry into math.
Justify Your Reasoning with Research Based Instructional Strategies for Math
All that to say, you should always back up the instructional strategies you choose with research. When you know the research it gives you the “WHY” behind the “WHAT”. It allows you to have the authority to make decisions about your classroom and instruction based on your knowledge of your students.
In my math classroom I always have students describe what they did, and why they did it.
Because it helps them justify their decisions. This is a higher order thinking skill that they will be able to apply in their work in later schooling & life.
This applies to us, too! When we know the scientific research behind what we do we can defend it. We can provide context and back it up with science to parents, administrators, etc.
That being said, whenever I’ve worked with teachers and asked about their instructional choices I always listen for the why. If you have a solid reason why that is backed by evidence then you’re likely going to earn the respect to try it in your classroom.
Evidence can be…
-what you know your students ended, your knowledge of your students
-scientific studies
-information (data, observations) from the past
So, before you enter into using a new instructional strategy or change what you’re doing– make sure it is a research based instructional strategy.
Choosing a Research Based Instructional Strategy for Math
I have thought about this a lot lately, again as I’ve said as Sold a Story has spurred a conversation about what we believed,and were told, was good teaching in ELA. I really want this episode to help you choose research based instructional strategy for math instruction.
Not just curriculum. Curriculum can & should be research based. However, we have to be warry that it truly is research based. We also have instructional strategies that we use to teach the curriculum. Those may include student discussions, small groups, inquiry, in my case CGI. Those instructional practices should also be research based.
As you start to consider what strategies you’ll use I want to point you in the direction of some resource I’ve found helpful.
EDreports is an independent nonprofit committed to ensuring all students have access to high-quality instructional materials. They publish free reviews of K–12 instructional materials- They have educators (My friend Kristen @moorethanjustX has been in on this work) measures standards alignment, usability, and other quality criteria of curriculums. Then, they publish reports you can access on their website.
This is a great place to go if your school is considering a new curriculum. You are able to search for a curriculum and decide if it meets the criteria your curriculum committee has established.
Adding it up is a report from National Research Council in response to the growing concern of Americans that American children are not adequately acquiring the skill, knowledge and confidence needed to learn math. This report offers conclusions based on reviews of research literature on math teaching and learning.
In the book’s executive summary they address the connection between education and education research. It says, “Many education questions, however, can not being answered by research. Choices about the mathematics curriculum and the methods used to bring about that curriculum depend in part on what society wants educated adults to know and be able to do. Research can inform these decisions, but ideas about what children need to know also depend on value judgements based on previous experiences and convictions, and these judgements often fall outside the domain of research.” -p. 3 Adding it Up
So, as a society (or a community of educators) we have to decide what we want our students to know and be able to do as mathematicians when they leave us. Then, we have to make decisions about curriculum and methods based on those decisions and the research. Our decisions need to be informed by the most current, relevant, and sound research. Within Adding it up they’ve reviewed studies that are relevant, sound, and generalizable as well as research that converge on particular points of interest.
A Math Vision
As a school, if you have not yet created a Math Vision and thought about what that graduate of your school looks like as a mathematician now is the time. A math vision goes beyond just “this is our curriculum” or “We do {insert curriculum name} math here.” Math curriculums are a tool. They aren’t how we do math, and they shouldn’t be our only tool. We need a research based instructional strategy, but that’s not all.
So, when you’re creating your Math Vision think about the skills, knowledge and mindset that your students will learn and grow in… and hopefully ultimately possess as graduates. It makes decision making much easier because the math vision can guide you and all stake holders.
Read here to find out more about forming a math visions
Check out Math Stories resource to help you start to form some ideas of your math vision.
Are you thinking…
So, the goal of this podcast is to get you thinking about your instructional practices & math classroom. Are you using research based math? If not, it is okay to switch it up and try something different. If you’re not sure where to start hopefully this podcast has given you some ideas of where to start looking.
You all know I’m all about student centered math. But what does that actually mean and is it research based? You can read this MiddleWeb article for more information. Essentially, student centered math means is that students’ thinking is at the center. The classroom routines, community, and instruction centers on enhancing students’ thinking. We give lots of time for our students to think, talk about their thinking and then build on what they are thinking. This is done through instructional strategies such a facilitating student-led discussions, and math word problem workshop.
The student centered approach includes these research based instructional strategies for math that we use to bring our math curriculums to life– making them engaging and empowering our students to trust themselves as mathematicians. Being a student-centered classrooms is something everyone can do, no matter the school or curriculum. This Honest Math Chat Podcast episode #2 gives you a glimpse inside- a classroom tour episode!
If you want to know more about student centered classrooms you can get my Free Ebook at monamath.com/ebook Inside you’ll get my best 5 tips for starting or enhancing your student centered math classroom.
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