Have you ever wondered how to further encourage a mathematical mindset in your classroom? If so, join us for a four week book study of Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching, by Jo Boaler. We will explore the book’s recommendations on questioning for deep understanding, setting mathematical norms, and lesson design. Also, we will learn more about the power of brain elasticity, mistake-valuing, and student wonder for math.
Good evening and welcome to our summer book chat about Jo Boaler's Mathematical Mindsets! @mrsjulienelson and I are happy to have you here with us! All are welcome to join in!
#d25mathmindsets#math
A0: Hi! Julie Nelson, Advanced Learning Facilitator at Westgate. My favorite number is 16- My birthday # & I just love an EVEN number! :) #d25mathmindsets
Hi I’m Kathy Brady, second grade teacher from Greenbrier. My favorite number is 11. It’s my birthday number, and has always been my sports jersey number, etc.#d25mathmindsets
A.1 My family and I had a great conversation about pushing through challenges and how this can help your brain grow. It was interesting to hear about academic difficulties and stresses rom the college and high school age point of view.#d25MathMindsets
A1: One success from last year was that I felt my students did develop better number sense with MIF. Since these chapters were all about number sense and thinking flexibly, it was great to see that my students showed good progress in this area! #d25MathMindsets
A0 - Vicky Stella, Advanced Learning Facilitator at Windsor. My favorite number is 29 — my anniversary, and the sum of my girls’ birthdays. ❤️ #d25MathMindsets
Skipping Q1...
Q2: What message do we send about math when we give an assessment in the first days of school? Now that we are learning more about math mindset, is there a better way to gather beginning of the year information about mathematical ability? #d25mathmindsets
A1: Number Talks have changed the way I teach this year. I used them almost daily in Summer U...loved seeing kids get excited to share how they solved problems, especially when they’d apply strategies we’d discussed. #d25MathMindsets
A2: Ch. 3 really made me think about assessments in a new way! The message we send to Ss is that math is a performance subject and that we're looking for right answers. I think an open-ended task within will show us more about S's thinking and problem solving. #d25MathMindsets
A.2 We can get so much information about our Ss by observing their problem solving and math explorations during the first few days of school. You can gather a lot of information listening in and observing rather than giving a written test.#d25MathMindsets
A2: Another way to get the same information is to try group problem-solving. This could also set the tone for the year--showing math class is about creativity, multiple points of view, and mistake making. #d25mathmindsets
A2: Those early assessments can really get the kids off to a rocky start. It says, “I care about your score on a test.” I want kids to get the message: “We’re going to do math in an exciting & different way this year...you’ll love it!” #d25MathMindsets
Agree! I used to think they were. Good thing because they gave me a starting point, by the message they send far outweighs the information they provide. #d25MathMindsets
A2: I've started thinking about the assessments I give in my classroom and the purpose they serve. I need to be more intentional with making assessments (or something else) that are not skills in isolation and allow students to problem solve. #d25mathmindsets
Q3: How can we help students to see math as a creative, visual, connected and living subject, and not just a series of methods and procedures? #d25mathmindsets
A3: Math is not all about calculating. It’s about finding patterns and making deep connections which are NOT dependent on speed/calculations alone. #d25MathMindsets
A3: By giving Ss tasks that help them see patterns within math can open up their minds about math being creative and visual. I love the idea of posing the questions, then using different methods, and then going back to the real world that Boaler suggested. #d25MathMindsets
A.3 By using manipulatives, visuals and real life stories as much as possible, students can see the math operation and it is much more meaningful and interesting. This book reiterates how important this is, even at the upper grades.#d25MathMindsets
A3: Find the beauty of math in everything around you! See math in the shape(s) in an umbrella, bricks of a sidewalk, leaves on a tree. Open kids’ minds to SEEING math, not just DOING math. #d25MathMindsets
A3: Stop pushing pressure on just getting the correct answer. Stop timed tests and help students look for patterns in different tasks and problems solve until they find it. Always try to bring it back to the real world! #d25mathmindsets
A4: I think knowing facts is important, but thinking flexibly about numbers and facts is much more important. Memorization of facts does not promote reasoning, sense making, or connections. #d25MathMindsets
A.4 Have Ss show you how they got an answer -helps you see if the student knows the fact or has math flexibility. Being able to visually regroup a number as in the 18x5 example is a skill we need to practice more. #d25MathMindsets
A4:Totally get the flexibility but can’t completely abandon *some* fact fluency. I see kids struggle daily...struggles that come from poor number sense. So much so that they have a hard time even using flexible approaches to doing simple computation. #d25MathMindsets
Q5: What did you think about the rich mathematical tasks highlighted in Chapter 5? Have you experienced similar things in your classroom while teaching math? #d25mathmindsets
A5: I've tried some of the tasks from youcubed. They are definitely challenging for students. The tasks had a visual component, which was a great way to invite Ss to engage in the task. I also like the low floor, high ceiling concept to differentiate tasks. #d25MathMindsets
A.5 The 5Cs-all important when planning for powerful math tasks- to make the tasks accessible to all Ss and allow them to have a visual model. It is worth the effort to model expected behaviors at the beginning of the year to help all Ss do this successfully..#d25MathMindsets
A5: We are conditioned to teach, guide, then practice (and practice, and practice!!!) . It's uncomfortable to watch the kids flounder...but exciting if you let it play out! #d25mathmindsets
How do you balance trying these tasks and "keeping up" with the MiF curriculum? I saw teachers who were 4 units apart b/c some just pushed through to stick w/ the pacing guide, even though kids weren't understanding the concepts. #d25MathMindsets
Q6: Do you have a topic / idea from your current math instruction where you could create a rich mathematical task? What is it? What ideas do you have? #d25mathmindsets
Well, one task literally stretched a few weeks because kids would work on it as they finished MIF...it was super challenging and since I didn't give any help, it took quite some time to finish! I used other ones during more open times around end/beg of a unit. #d25mathmindsets
A6: Pose a real life problem in which kids would apply math concepts in order to solve it. Let them discover how math is necessary in their every day lives. #d25mathmindsets
A.7 I loved the story of the 3 boys working together on the “growing shapes”activity in ch.5. It really showed how powerful visuals are for helping an algebraic math operation make sense for Ss who may otherwise struggle..#d25MathMindsets
A7: I think the biggest take away for me is the idea of making sure teachers encourage Ss to think flexibly about numbers and use reasoning as opposed to pushing memorization of facts and methods to solve problems. #d25MathMindsets
My motto this year has been, "Think First, Math Second." It hangs on my classroom wall & I say it at least 10x/day! We have to move kids into THINKING mathematically, not just "doing" math! #d25MathMindsets
Q8: Think about what we’ve learned so far. What would you like to accomplish in your classroom this fall based on the ideas in this book? #d25mathmindsets
A7: Angela Andrews presented at NCTM...her talk was called, "Why Students Fail at Algebra and What K-5 Teachers Can Do About IT." Number sense = algebra's foundation! #d25MathMindsets
A. 8 I plan to make my math lessons involve as many opportunities for the 5Cs as possible. I want to use the resources from youcubed to promote a positive growth/mathmindset in all of my Ss from day 1..#d25MathMindsets
A8: My first goal is to create more meaningful fact practice within my classroom and incorporating activities like Number Talks and the suggested games to help encourage students to think more flexibly. #d25MathMindsets
Q7: One of my ah-ha moments was when she talked about number sense and how important it is. Also, the example about the 'high' and 'low' math student and how they approached the problem so differently because one had number sense and the other didn't. #d25mathmindsets
Thank you for joining @mrsjulienelson and I tonight! We look forward to our chat next Tuesday, July 17, when we focus in on CH 6-7 of Mathematical Mindsets. Enjoy your week! #d25mathmindsets
Sorry to have been “missing” at times tonight. My connection was sketchy at best! I’ll read and catch up before next week. Thanks for joining us! #d25MathMindsets
