Making Student Thinking Visible: Replacing Math Tests with Math Chats in a Remote Learning Environment

Making Student Thinking Visible: Replacing Math Tests with Math Chats in a Remote Learning Environment

Presenter: Kristen Emmel

Date: March 15, 2021

Do you love a good number talk? What if we could make our math assessments less like a traditional test and more like a math chat? In this presentation we will investigate how to leverage technology to help us make our assessments match our classroom routines (even in a remote setting). Discover how Math Chats can provide students with the opportunity to make their thinking visible with multimedia responses. Watch how teachers can gain a deeper understanding of student misconceptions through dynamic interview-style assessments. During our time together we will look at sample tasks and student responses, discuss the power and flexibility of scoring assessments on a 1-point rubric, and how to use Math Chats as a progress monitoring tool.

Recommended Grade Level: K – 6

Hosted by: Leigh Nataro

Watch the full presentation at: https://www.bigmarker.com/GlobalMathDept/Making-Student-Thinking-Visible-Replacing-Math-Tests-with-Math-Chats-in-a-Remote-Learning-Environment

This Week at Global Math – 3/9/2021







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Curated By Nate Goza @thegozaway

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Online Professional Development Sessions

No Webinar this Week.

Next Week 3/16:

Making Student Thinking Visible: Replacing Math Tests with Math Chats in a Remote Learning Environment

Presented by Kristen Emmel

Do you love a good number talk? What if we could make our math assessments less like a traditional test and more like a math chat?

In this presentation we will investigate how to leverage technology to help us make our assessments match our classroom routines (even in a remote setting). Discover how Math Chats can provide students with the opportunity to make their thinking visible with multimedia responses. Watch how teachers can gain a deeper understanding of student misconceptions through dynamic interview-style assessments. During our time together we will look at sample tasks and student responses, discuss the power and flexibility of scoring assessments on a 1-point rubric, and how to use Math Chats as a progress monitoring tool.

To register for this webinar, click here.

#GMDWrites

Thursday (March 11) will be the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Despite its apparent “natural” cause– the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami– an independent investigative panel called Fukushima “a profoundly manmade disaster– that could and should have been foreseen and prevented. And its effects could have been mitigated by a more effective human response” (Kurokawa, 2012). Its effects are still being lived by displaced people, sick workers, and animals designated for slaughter because they are no longer good to eat. Philosopher Alexis Shotwell writes about farmers who have chosen to stay/return to Fukushima to care for radioactive cattle, calling their work a form of “care-as-protest” against the systems and ideologies that suggest the human and animal lives affected by (manmade) disaster no longer matter.

Thursday will also be the first anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID a pandemic: another profoundly manmade disaster, despite its apparent “natural” (viral) cause, because of how humans have responded and failed to respond. As people continue to die at a pace nearly impossible to make sense of and properly grieve, other people have created memorials as a form of care, for those whose lives were truncated and for those who are mourning, and as a form of protest against the anonymization, minimization, and anesthetization– the not mattering– that happens when lives affected by (manmade) disaster are relegated to statistics.

For many people, the events of the past year have heightened questions about how to be a human in a hot mess of a world, and specifically, how to be a mathematics teacher. I have so appreciated the many brilliant posts in this newsletter exploring and pressing on what mathematics teachers can and should be doing (by @LBmathemagician, @Hkhodai, and @melvinmperalta especially) for their students, for themselves, and for our world. There are no simple answers, because we are all complicit (as participants, especially with institutional authority) in the disastrous systems that tell mathematics students– especially BIPoC students for whom US public schools were not designed, students who identify or are identified as girls, students who are labeled or made disabled– that they and their mathematicalness do not matter. And there are certainly no universal answers, because we all operate from who we are and where we are and how we are uniquely, and what’s right for one of us may not be right for another. But that does not mean there are no responses.

For my dissertation, I had the opportunity to spend a year observing how two veteran mathematics teachers “do what [they] can– recognizing that what [they] can do, on its own, will never be enough” (Shotwell, 2016) to singlehandedly disrupt or dismantle the manmade disasters we are all living through. And what I found in what they do prompted me to think about a concept philosophers call response-ability. More than just a play on words, response-ability is a way of being that emphasizes what responses are made possible by your responses, and what responses are made possible by those responses, and so on.

For example, one of the teachers described getting to know students as a process of constantly trying out new ways of interacting with individual students: “is this something that makes [a student] smile when I say it? Is it something that makes them laugh when I say it? Is it something that makes them cringe when I say it?” In other words, what student responses are made possible by what you say and do, and what kind of further responses do those responses enable from you? Responses matter because they are how we show what matters, and what matters to us is often revealed by responses we aren’t able to deliberate about in advance. When a student turns off their Zoom camera in the middle of class, do we mention it publicly, privately, in the moment, later, or at all? When a student interrupts a classmate, do we ignore it? Correct the behavior? Embrace the contribution? What student responses are made possible by each of these responses– and what further responses are then made possible for you? 

This past year I know many people have sought meaningful ways to enact their values that Black Lives Matter, that migrant lives matter, that incarcerated lives matter, that elderly and immunocompromised lives matter. We can post signs or statements, we can design lesson plans, we can speak up in meetings, we can vote, we can certainly do many more things. But also, how can your in-the-moment responses show students that they matter? That their thinking matters, their mathematical ideas matter, but also, even if they don’t have any ideas they feel like sharing in the moment, mathematical or not, that they matter?

Written by Grace Chen @graceachen

It’s been a year, friends. 

 
Although the last 365 days have felt more like a lifetime than a single rotation around the sun, that is exactly what it has been: one year since many of us began doing a new, difficult thing, learning new, difficult skills, teaching in a new, difficult way. With doing difficult things, the heaviness of this season has been ever present, like a weight sitting on the chest, preventing a full inhale.
 
Since President Biden announced the positioning of teachers as essential and therefore eligible for vaccination before the general public in their same age bracket, I have seen many a picture grace my twitter feed filled with hope. And since almost all of the last 365 days have brought with them a sense of dread and despair, I am thankful for the remembrance of hope. Each of your masked smiles, band-aid covered arms,  and “I DIDN’T THROW AWAY MY SHOT!” stickers remind me that hope is eternal. No matter how long we sit with despair, hope will return. 
 

 
I encourage you, friends, that with every “Second Dose Done!” tweet you see, you pause and rest in hope. Let it fill you up. Let it bring you joy. May you be encouraged. Even if you haven’t been offered your vaccine yet, may you receive the joy in being connected to the hope fulfilled from others. 

Lauren
@LBmathemagician

Get Involved with the Newsletter

Our team of writers and curators is committed to produce content that is reflective of our Statement of Solidarity and with the goal of moving these words into action.

With this in mind we are calling for new volunteers to expand our perspectives and raise our collective voices to move this publication forward. If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor or would like the opportunity to contribute as a guest writer, please fill out this form.

Research and GMD – Join the Study!

The Global Math Department and researchers at North Carolina State University are undertaking a study to learn about teachers’ learning experiences from participation in the GMD. You can participate in this study if you have participated in the GMD as a presenter, attendee of a GMD conference, or reader of the GMD newsletter. 

We invite you to click the link to join the study as a participant and to learn more!

Check out past and upcoming Global Math Department webinars. Click here for the archives or get the webinars in podcast form!

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“Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications” An Algebra 2 Alternative for Struggling Students – 3/2/21

“Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications” An Algebra 2 Alternative for Struggling Students

Presenter: Dr. Robert Gerver

Date: March 2, 2021

Selected topics from Algebra 2, probability, statistics, trig, geometry and precalculus, all taught with an algebra 1 prerequisite, are used to cover banking, credit, mortgages, income taxes, auto insurance, investing, budgets, and much more. The perfect alternative to algebra 2 for a struggling student who would be set up for failure in algebra 2.

Recommended Grade Level: 9 – 12

Hosted by: Rana Hafiz

Watch the full presentation at: https://www.bigmarker.com/GlobalMathDept/Advanced-Algebra-with-Financial-Applications-An-Algebra-2-Alternative-for-Struggling-Students

This Week at Global Math – 3/2/2021







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Curated By Nate Goza @thegozaway

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Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight at 9:00 PM EST!

“Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications” An Algebra 2 Alternative for Struggling Students

Presented by Dr. Robert Gerver

Selected topics from Algebra 2, probability, statistics, trig, geometry and precalculus, all taught with an algebra 1 prerequisite, are used to cover banking, credit, mortgages, income taxes, auto insurance, investing, budgets, and much more. The perfect alternative to algebra 2 for a struggling student who would be set up for failure in algebra 2.

To register for this webinar, click here.

Share Your Experience in a GMD Webinar

We are looking for GMD webinar attendees to share how the GMD has impacted their work in their classrooms.  The webinar will have approximately four presenters sharing for 10-15 minutes each. We are interested in hearing from people that attend the webinar live, watch the recording or listen to the podcast. Consider sharing with us for this special session on June 29, 2021.  If you are interested, email us at globalmathdepartment@gmail.com.

#GMDWrites

Anti-Asian Violence
 

I’m pissed as I write this: Asians and Asian Americans are being attacked all across the U.S., and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. In mid-February, an elderly Filipino woman was punched in the face in San Diego. That could’ve been so many titos and titas I know. People blame Trump’s use of the term ‘China virus’, and in part they’re right. However, this anti-Asian violence is part of a larger story of colonization and state violence.
 
Below are images of the Tweets for the links above, which share nuanced takes on anti-Asian violence. 


The question comes up as to why talking about anti-Asian violence makes sense in a math education newsletter. “Where’s the math?” I hate that question. If one insists, a possible response is to say that conversations about these issues belong in the classroom regardless of the subject we teach. Does this mean we should turn the news about anti-Asian violence into a math lesson? No, definitely not. It does mean that we need to be ready to have a conversation about these things if that’s what being culturally responsive means for our classroom.
 
Math class also often conjures stereotypical images of the “genius” Asian (male, heterosexual, able-bodies) math student. “No matter how good you are, there’s always an Asian better”. “I thought all Asians are good at math”. We’ve all heard this. It’s not flattering, it’s racism disguised as a compliment, pervasive in math classrooms, and consistent with the racism and xenophobia that have simply become less bashful in the era of COVID. 
 
The math and science education communities bear a special responsibility for combating anti-Asian biases and stereotypes because of the ways stereotypical images of and narratives about who can and cannot do mathematics contribute to the unique racialization of Asian and Asian Americans. I want to emphasize that such racialization can’t be separated from the violence that Asian and Asian American communities are experiencing today. To be specific, I’m thinking of:
@melvinmperalta
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#Eventmath: a math educators community resource for lessons paired with news articles and social media posts

“But the next thought I had really stopped me cold. I thought, ‘That’s the thinking we need to do in order to understand our national dialogue.’ I had not once, in more than a decade, taught a single student to do that thinking. I taught over a thousand students mathematics. This was the math they needed to be responsible citizens. And it’s not in our college curriculum. It’s not in the K-12 curriculum.

Jefferson knew that we needed an informed electorate to sustain our democratic republic. And part of that is mathematical knowledge. Where are we giving our students the math that they need to be informed citizens?”

That’s a quote from the beginning of a TedX talk by Dave Kung, Professor of Mathematics at St. Mary’s College. As Director of the MAA’s Project NExT, Dr. Kung has advised early-career college teachers. He also won a 2006 Teaching Award from the MD/VA/DC Section of the MAA. And here he is in this presentation talking about how, for a long time, he was failing students. (My words, not his.)

I first watched this video in December 2020, at the end of a semester during which I taught a “math for liberal arts” course for college students majoring in humanities. It’s a course I’ve taught for several years now, and I’m always tinkering with the subject matter and course design to make it better. But this video made me really wonder about how effective I have been at giving students the mathematical knowledge – and, moreover, confidence in that knowledge – that they need to make informed decisions in the modern world.

I tweeted about that video and how it made me question my teaching practices and course design. And that tweet sparked a conversation and some questions, including:

  • Does there exist a living resource of examples that map important real world topics and current events to the standard mathematics curriculum?
  • Where are these kinds of examples found, and how can we make it easier for instructors to find and use them in their classes?

Link to relevant Twitter thread:

This was the genesis of #Eventmath, an online repository of mathematics lessons based on current events, news articles, and social media posts. There are a few guiding principles of this project:

  1. Students of all ages need to practice mathematical thinking in context. They want examples that are relevant and important to their lives, not contrived “real world” exercises in a textbook.
  2. Dedicated math educators are already finding and sharing interesting examples that require mathematical thinking. For instance:
  3. However, it is challenging for instructors to do this on their own, to keep finding good examples to use in their classes. Even after finding a good example of a news article or social media post to use, it can be hard work to craft a lesson plan around that example and to create meaningful assignments for students.
  4. Some textbooks aim to teach quantitative literacy, numeracy, and mathematical thinking. For instance:
    • My Tweet above quotes the “Calling Bullshit” account which also has a book.
    • Dave Kung mentions the Common Sense Mathematics text from the MAA Press.
  5. Alas, those texts are inherently static resources. Furthermore, not all instructors have the resources and/or freedom to choose such texts, and not all students have the ability to pay for such texts.
  6. Therefore, it would be wonderful to have a resource that accomplishes the follow things:
    • Has lesson plans and assignments based on current news articles and social media posts, as well as relevant math curriculum content.
    • Is open and freely available to all instructors: anyone can find, use, and contribute to such a resource.
    • Is open and freely available to all students: the news articles and posts on which the lessons are based are not behind paywalls.

After looking around online, we found that no website currently accomplishes all of those goals. So, we want to build one! It started as a shared Google Doc, where Greg (@HigherMathNotes) and I worked on fleshing out two lesson plans:

One lesson plan is based on an activity I’ve done in that “math for liberal arts course” where we read an article from the Huffington Post that makes a claim about “voting power” in the Electoral College. We gather census data in a spreadsheet, perform calculations to quantify “voting power”, and then discuss the main claims of the article. This is the kind of numeracy and mathematical thinking that Dave Kung described in his video as what we students need to be informed citizens. But it’s also something that I developed over several semesters, tweaking the lesson, creating assignments and resources. Now, all of that information is described in the Google Doc, including a link to a spreadsheet with all the necessary data, so that an instructor does not have to reinvent this wheel. There are also links to relevant websites and YouTube videos about the mathematical content (proportional reasoning) and the “real world” content (how the Electoral College works).

The other lesson plan is based on a recent semi-viral Tweet that purported to show that Germany’s COVID-19 deaths are somehow comparable to the USA’s. I encountered this Tweet in my feed when I saw several people commenting about Riemann sums and calculus. Greg made this into a lesson that could fit in a precalculus or calculus course. It asks students to grapple with what the original Tweet is implying, to question how one might confirm or refute that claim, and then to use calculus-based reasoning and graphing to investigate further.

Okay, at this point, I hope I’ve convinced you of the usefulness and importance of having such a resource. You might also be thinking: “Wouldn’t a Wiki site make the most sense here? That way, members of the math educators community can find the site, consult the resources there, use them in their classes, and then edit the resources and make suggestions, based on their classroom experiences.”  To which I would say: Exactly! Now, here’s you can help with that …

We want to build the infrastructure for such a Wiki site, and we’ve applied for grant funding from the Wikimedia Foundation to do exactly that. Our grant proposal describes the vision for this resource that I have shared here, as well as how we will work to initially build the portal and teach people how to contribute to it. Importantly, we are proposing to create the infrastructure, not the entire site. The whole point of using a Wiki is so that this will be a living resource, sustained and updated by the math educators community. We don’t claim to be the arbiters of what makes for good content, and we certainly won’t be creating all that content. Rather, we hope to start building a place that all math educators can use, support, and develop over time.

We need endorsements and feedback on the proposal. From now until March 4th, grant proposals are in Community review. The goal is for members of the relevant community (that’s you, math educators!) to comment on the proposal (which is a Wiki site, of course) so that the grant reviewers understand how beneficial this project would be for the community and whether it could be a self-sustaining resource in the long term.

Please go to the proposal site and look for the endorse and join buttons below the main info box. Click “endorse” if you’d like to add a supportive comment for the grant reviewers to see. (You can scroll to the bottom of the page to see an ongoing list of such endorsements.) Click “join” if you’d also like to add your name as an interested volunteer who would contribute this resource during and after its creation. Both of these types of support are helpful at this stage!

If you are able and interested, we would also appreciate constructive feedback on the proposal so that we can make changes before the next stage of the process. You can click the “Discussion” tab to open the “Talk Page” for the site and add your comments there for us to see.

We appreciate any guidance, support, and suggestions you might have. Thanks for reading.

Brendan W. Sullivan [@professorbrenda]

Get Involved with the Newsletter

Our team of writers and curators is committed to produce content that is reflective of our Statement of Solidarity and with the goal of moving these words into action.

With this in mind we are calling for new volunteers to expand our perspectives and raise our collective voices to move this publication forward. If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor or would like the opportunity to contribute as a guest writer, please fill out this form.

Research and GMD – Join the Study!

The Global Math Department and researchers at North Carolina State University are undertaking a study to learn about teachers’ learning experiences from participation in the GMD. You can participate in this study if you have participated in the GMD as a presenter, attendee of a GMD conference, or reader of the GMD newsletter. 

We invite you to click the link to join the study as a participant and to learn more!

Check out past and upcoming Global Math Department webinars. Click here for the archives or get the webinars in podcast form!

You can also visit our YouTube Channel to find videos of past sessions and related content.

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Twitter

Visit our Website Visit our Website

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