Purposeful techniques are the key to getting every student describing their math thinking and learning from each other. 

Dr. Sztajn is the author of Activating Math Talk 11 Purposeful Techniques and the Dean of the College of Education at North Carolina State University.   She has published over 90 papers, an edited book with Teachers College Press in addition to the book she  authored for practitioners with Corwin Press. 

You are going to love our chat about purposeful techniques for math discussions!

In this Episode About Purposeful Techniques:

• rehearsing in the math classroom
• having productive conversations every day
• empowering our students to participate

About our Guest Paola Sztajn:

• Biography
• Activating Math Talk: 11 Purposeful Techniques for your Elementary Students click HERE to purchase

Mentioned in this Episode:

 Corwin Mathematics (Use code CORWIN25 to get 25% off and free shipping!)

Episode 80 – Ambitious Teaching with Margaret “Peg” S. Smith 

 

I’m making updates to Math Chat podcast for 2024! For almost episodes I’ve been sharing strategies and tips to get students engaged in learning math through student centered instruction.

Looking for More on Math Discussions?

• Boost Math Engagement with Math Discussions
• Questions of Math Discussions
• How Math Discussion Can Amplify Your Classroom
• Purposeful Planning for Math Discussions
• Simplify Math Discussions with a Routine

I want to know what support & ideas YOU want and need!

Can you take 1 minute to answer this 2 question survey?
Click HERE for Survey!


Go to my instagram @hellomonamath & share with me how you’re listening!

Support the show

OMG Do you love our weekly chats, but wish there was more?

Become an Insider of Math Chat. Get exclusive episodes, freebies, and interviews. Insider only Q&As and Happy Hours with Mona each month!

Have Questions? My DMs on IG are always open @hellomonamath

The post 92: Use Purposeful Techniques for Math Discussions, an Interview with Paola Sztajn appeared first on Mona Math.

Now is the time … it’s almost the new  year. Do you have any plans for your winter break? I love to check out for that first week and then in the second week of break, first week of the new school year I like to get a PLAN together. So, today we’re going to talk about how you might prepare for building math thinking in your math class.

This is going to be a quick and actionable podcast because this is a VERY busy time of year and I want you to get what you need and get back to your to-do list or relaxing!

In This Episode on Preparing for Building Math Thinking:

• establishing a classroom community that allows students to problem solve
• structures and routines to make the community feel predictable and safe, AND allow for deep thinking
• do more with less

Let’s Start with a New Focus

Are you ready to make some shifts in your practice in the new year? If you want to move toward a more sense-making, THINKING classroom in 2024 then let’s start to put a plan together now for how you can do that. Today we are going to:

• Establish a classroom community that allows students to problem solve– take risks and feel safe being wrong
• Talk about structures and routines to make the community feel predictable and safe, AND allow for deep thinking
• Do more with less– Use word problems to help students practice MULTIPLE standards at once.

Here’s a quote from Peter L talking about research from Kerkhoff (2018), “Her research showed that after doing just 18 rich tasks over the course of 18 classes, the students  encountered almost all of the curriculum outcomes for her grade, along with numerous curriculum outcomes from previous and future grades.”

I’ve said it and I’ll say it again. When you teach skills in finite sets of time and lessons students learn to only apply those skills in that context. However, when you allow students open tasks to problem solve they apply everything they know. You practice MANY standards in one problem during the grapple and the discussion and reflection.

Let’s Move to Sense-Making, not mimicking in 2024

How do we do this? Let’s start here.

1. Reset your classroom norms
2. Use structures to get every student participating – keep it simple and try the same thing for a few weeks
   1. Turn and talk 
   2. Partner work– 2 minutes of grapple, 5 minutes of partner. 
   3. Talk moves– revoicing
3. Establish a routine for warm ups. Stop going the first few minutes of class without getting students immediately involved in thinking. Use one of my favorites
   1. WODB
   2. NUMBER OF THE DAY
   3. DECIMAL OF THE DAY
   4. ALIKE & DIFFERENT
4. Create a problem solving routine -The reality is you don’t have time. So what you need is a routine or framework. Then, you can plop in the lesson content into that routine. Stop over thinking the HOW of your lessons and start spending more time on planning the WHAT- the math content and understanding. Create a routine that will make the how so easy because its the same each day.

Using BTC?

Thin Sliced Problems are ready for you here.

Not ready for thin sliced but you want a word problem of the day… I got you covered. Get a full year of problems here– all editable and for your grade level 1-5th

Mentioned in this episode on Preparing Math Thinking:

My favorite warm ups:

• Which One Doesn’t Belong
• Number of the Day
• Decimal of the Day
• Alike & Different

 Problem of the Day Bundle

  Thin Sliced Problems

Go to my instagram @hellomonamath & share with me how you’re listening!

I’m making updates to Math Chat podcast for 2024! For almost episodes I’ve been sharing strategies and tips to get students engaged in learning math through student centered instruction.

I want to know what support & ideas YOU want and need!

Can you take 1 minute to answer this 2 question survey?
Click HERE for Survey!

Leave a review!! If you love listening to Math Chat, please take a few seconds to leave a review so other teachers know this is a valuable place to spend a few minutes each week.

Support the show

OMG Do you love our weekly chats, but wish there was more?

Become an Insider of Math Chat. Get exclusive episodes, freebies, and interviews. Insider only Q&As and Happy Hours with Mona each month!

Have Questions? My DMs on IG are always open @hellomonamath

The post 91: Preparing for Building Math Thinking in 2024 appeared first on Mona Math.

What is your relationship with math? As an elementary school teacher, I always planned to avoid math. Just do the bare minimum and keep myself safe from math. I avoid math.

When I walked into my first ever classroom I brought with me a lot of math baggage I didn’t even know I had. I had been avoiding math for almost 2 decades at that point. As far back as I can remember I never enjoyed math, and I was always casually told how good I was at reading and writing… implying that it was okay that math wasn’t my thing. I don’t even think I was bad at math… I just was better at discussions, analyzing, and finding connections in stories and telling my own stories.

Our society is SO okay with people just saying terribly disparaging things about math. “I’m not a math person” is EVERYWHERE you look (tv, social media, your family party).
Worse maybe, is IF you are a math person you are automatically a specific archetype.
Go ahead, get the picture in your mind of someone that’s a math person.
NERD alert, right?

I still hide and downplay my math person-ness from my friends and family because I feel less than. Like I cannot live up to that brilliant math person bio. I can’t calculate fast, I have almost 0 algorithms memorized, and I’m not just naturally gifted with a way with numbers.

I do though know I’m a bad ass mathematician… and so are you. But it took a LONG time because of my math baggage or math trauma. Trauma has been in the spotlight post covid, for good reason. COVID produced trauma in many of us.

In This Episode on Math Trauma We’ll Chat About:

• the definition of math trauma
• knowing our students and their traumas 
• re-define math culture

Do Your Students Face Math Trauma? Check This Out!

Download this guide on tackling math trauma in your classroom, 8 ways to address math trauma in your classroom!

So, What is Math Trauma?

First trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event- accident, disaster, etc. 

Add in math– this event could be failing a class, an embarrassing moment, a constant feeling of confusion, test scores, a parent or teacher’s reaction.  

Then, it is our students’ emotional response to math class. Students show signs of anxiety, stress, worry, low confidence & self efficacy when in math class. 

We know that test scores in math continue on the downward trend post pandemic. But that’s not the only thing that matters. We also know that students struggle to overcome these feelings of math trauma that were amplified by not having a teacher and learning at home, basically teaching yourself. Students lost out of valuable classroom time of developing a positive experience with math.

So, now our students are achieving at lower rates and have math trauma from experiences related to COVID and/or math.

What Do We Do About Math Trauma?

Address Math Trauma

We have to address math trauma – We have to acknowledge that it exists and it is real.

Disrupt Math Trauma in Society

We have to disrupt math trauma in society – We have to STOP people from saying things like “I’m not a math person, go ask your dad.” or the ELA teacher saying “I just never have been good at math”. Stop disparaging math in front of kids, or better at all. We are their role models and the way we talk about math matters. We would NEVER say reading is just not for me.

Find Out About Our Students’ Trauma

We have to find out about our students’ trauma – Not every person will have math trauma, but everyone has a feeling about math class. Let’s make it our mission to get to know that aspect of our students well. I like to use a math survey multiple times a year to check in on their mindsets and trauma. You can find one I use here.

Intentionally Develop Positive Mindsets

We have to intentionally develop positive mindsets about mathematics for our students starting at the youngest age possible. We have to empower our students to see that math is fun and a part of life. But this will require us to depart from what “school math” often looks like– worksheets, answer seeking, focus on procedures vs. reasoning.

Empower Mathematics in the Classroom

Empower mathematics in the classroom by reflecting on what your current math instructional practices. Do they support sense making? Do your students have to think everyday in math class or can they get by with just doing?  After your reflection, take the steps to empower the mathematicians in your classroom to make sense of math through your instructional practices.

Re-Define Mathematician

Re-define mathematician – Our students need a diverse set of images and experiences with mathematicians to develop the definition of a real world mathematician. This was one of my biggest worries for the students I taught here in Chicago. They never saw a mathematician that looked like them, had a similar culture to them or had the same goals as them. So, the year of the at home teaching I went on a MISSION to find African American mathematicians. And OF COURSE I found a lot of them, but they just were not well known. So, I created some digital drawings and made them into posters for my students. Each day when we signed into Zoom I displayed a mathematician and their quote. We started every class by discussing the mathematicians job, mindset, and inspirational words. By the end of that year my students could name at least 5 Black mathematicians. Since then, I’ve created over 35 mathematician posters of people from all cultures and backgrounds. These posters are my attempt to help redefine the image we hold of what a mathematician is! LINK

Mentioned in this Episode:

 8 Ways to Address Math Trauma in your Classroom

 Math Survey

  Mathematician Posters

Go to my instagram @hellomonamath & share with me how you’re listening!

I’m making updates to Math Chat podcast for 2024! For almost episodes I’ve been sharing strategies and tips to get students engaged in learning math through student centered instruction.

I want to know what support & ideas YOU want and need!

Can you take 1 minute to answer this 2 question survey?
Click HERE for Survey!

Support the show

OMG Do you love our weekly chats, but wish there was more?

Become an Insider of Math Chat. Get exclusive episodes, freebies, and interviews. Insider only Q&As and Happy Hours with Mona each month!

Have Questions? My DMs on IG are always open @hellomonamath

The post 90: Math Trauma & What To Do About It appeared first on Mona Math.

December…is…a…lot!

You are the expert of your classroom and community. You know what will get  your students excited and engaged. I encourage you to use this season of wild winter break build up to insert some play and fun because in the end it will infuse JOY and building your community with JOY is the best way!

*This post contains affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you purchase products via an affiliate link.

In This Episode on the Winter Break Build Up We’ll Chat About:

• sticking to routines in the classroom
• embracing the extra student energy
• adding extra fun activities to your lesson plans

Sticking to Routine even during the Winter Break Build Up

I am normally a teacher who sticks to my routines. I set up routines so that things can stay consistent and predictable. Routines help my students get through the day when things are a little off (like a looming break or extra energy from holiday events). So, I always stick to my routine. To be honest with you… you’ll find me on the last day of school still circling up for morning meetings and having our final word problem workshop. I love routine.

However, throughout the school year there are times when school is just different… and December is one of those times.

In December I usually like to take the “embrace it” approach. What I mean is, I embrace the energy students come to school with. I embrace the extra events. I embrace the build up to winter break.

The way I embrace it is adding in more time to play in math while still maintaining our routine.

Let’s Define Play

Let’s define what I mean by play. An opportunity to do something that is fun, including art, games, music, etc. I like to add these things into my routine normally… but some days call for some extra play.

For example, we like to sing the multiples songs in 3rd grade at the transition from recess to math. However, to add some extra fun I might play a YouTube video with multiples as a transition. 

4 Ways to Include Play in Math

1. Math Warm Ups– I like to add in seasonal themed (non math) slides. Check out these FREE winter math warm ups! Non-math thinking routines help our students practice the THINKING SKILLS needed in math, without having to apply the math. For example, if students are working on multiplying fractions. I might have a which one doesn’t belong that starts with images of snowy pine trees first. We would launch, grapple, discuss, and for the reflection we would go ahead and do another one which might include visual models fraction multiplication. That non-math WODB almost serves as the warm up for the warm up. It gets students justifying their reasoning and engaged in math thinking… before they have to do math.

2. Games– Like logic games. When I spoke with John SanGiovanni , we got into how important it is that students have experience problem solving in informal ways. He was talking about how a generation or two ago kids played a lot more logic games at home and now students play on their iPads or watch youtube (no judgment at all). However, playing games like Mancala or Blokus allow students to develop mathematical thinking skills while playing.

So, during these times of schedule mix ups or high energy days I like to allow students time to just play a logic game. Sometimes they don’t even know it is a “math” game. We can talk about how that strategy they are using is the same kind of thing they might do when they are solving problems in math class and they need a strategy. These types of conversations always uncover a lot of ideas from students that I hadn’t thought of. The connections they make are always fascinating.

I have lots of ideas for games as well as just math related gift ideas. So, if you’re looking for ideas of what to buy for your child or a kid in your life check out this gift guide.

3. Do a holiday math craft- Last year my students and I made snowflake ornaments. It was SO simple and they were super proud of them. This was in 3rd grade…. Students used pipe cleaners– twisted them together into an asterisk. Then, they put beads onto each arm of the snowflake. The only thing that was required was they had to put the same amount on each arm. They turned out so cute. And because I am who I am, I made them write addition and multiplication equations to match their snowflake. They were super excited to take them home and hang them in their windows and show their families their math thinking.

*Materials you need: pipe cleaners and beads

4. Plan a party & have the students do the work! You know the kids always want to have a party around winter break. I worked at a school that didn’t really allow parties. So, instead I decided to let the kids plan a “party” as a way to recognize the adults in the building that helped them. This was when I was teaching ⅚. We started by identifying what we would want to do at the party– they decided we would eat food, drink hot chocolate or coffee for the adults, and we would circle up and some students would speak and give compliments to the adults. Then, I had the students get together to organize the food, decorations, invitations, etc. It took us 1 class period to get the plan and then I just checked in with them to make sure they were doing what they said they would. I let them have full control and it was so much fun. The day came and it was a huge success. Kids brought in twinkle lights to decorate the classroom. They hung chart paper around the room with each invited adult’s name on the top. They asked everyone to go around and write a note to the person on the chart paper explaining how they’ve impacted them. Then, each guest left with their chart paper.

It was so beautiful and really engaged every child– and built our community. Sometimes, taking a pause and remembering that building community happens through these types of things is important. I made time in my busy pacing guide for it because, when we have that solid foundation of trusting relationships and joy among us we can get more done.

Mentioned in this Episode on Winter Break Build Up:

 Click HERE for FREE Winter Math Warm Ups

 Logic Games –  Mancala and Blokus

Math related gift ideas here

Snowflake Ornament Materials (Pipe Cleaners and Beads)

Episode 85 – Math problem solving with John SanGiovanni

Go to my instagram @hellomonamath & share with me how you’re listening! 

Leave a review!! 

If you love listening to Math Chat, please take a few seconds to leave a review so other teachers know this is a valuable place to spend a few minutes each week.

OMG Do you love our weekly chats, but wish there was more?

Become an Insider of Math Chat. Get exclusive episodes, freebies, and interviews. Insider only Q&As and Happy Hours with Mona each month!

Have Questions? My DMs on IG are always open @hellomonamath

The post 89: Math Joy During the Winter Break Build Up appeared first on Mona Math.