Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight!

Supporting Math from Outside the Classroom

Presented by Matt Vaudrey

We’re responsible for the math learning of all students, even when Math Education isn’t our daily practice anymore. As a math teacher, then instructional coach and consultant, then an administrator, Matt Vaudrey has gathered some insights. In a quick hour, we’ll:

• Offer math teachers sentence frames to demand the support they need (while being open to needs they might not notice)
• Offer coaches some practices (and case studies) to support math education when you don’t have any skin in the game.
• Translate some values, so teachers and teacher-leaders can both speak a common language as we improve math education for all students.

Includes lifetime support, puns, and probably a Britney Spears reference.

To join us at 9:00 PM EST for this webinar click here!

Next Week 

Six (Un)Productive Practices in Mathematics Teaching

Presented by Juli Dixon

Juli Dixon reveals six ways we undermine efforts to increase student achievement and then she goes on to share what to do about them. These teaching practices are commonplace and often required by administrators. Many of them may have been generated from practices in English language arts (ELA) and might work very well in that content area. As a result of this session, you will understand that they are often unproductive when applied during mathematics instruction and may even lead to issues of access and equity. This session helps you to see why these practices are unproductive and also assists you in generating a plan for what to do about them.

Participants will:

· Make sense of six (un)productive mathematics teaching practices;
· Explore reasons for why the practices exist; and
· Learn productive strategies to counteract the madness ☺.

Register ahead of time by clicking here!

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

From the World of Math Ed

One Page & One Puzzle

In an effort to minimize information, I offer here only two pointers.

The first is a one page note from Marian Dingle that was just published in NCTM’s Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12. You can find a direct link, without a paywall, here. It’s worth a read! As tweeted by Cathery Yeh:

The second is to toy with the puzzles Catriona Shearer has continued to churn out; don’t forget to seek joy – even in trying times. A recent puzzle tweeted by Catriona:

I hope you all are caring for yourselves and your communities, big or small, to whatever extent is manageable. And I’m hopeful that we will emerge better from these times.

By Benjamin Dickman [@benjamindickman]

Two Resources

The district I work for is not doing distance learning because of equity issues, but we are trying to keep some learning happening while at home. One idea was to create print documents with a few interesting problems, games, and/or challenge type problems. One resource that was particularly helpful for grades 6-12 was this spreadsheet from Illustrative Mathematics (@IllustrateMath). They also have a very helpful blog post with a list of resources for caregivers at home who need access to math learning for all grades. Here’s the tweet: 

The other resource that was also interesting and helpful was the hashtag #tmwyk, which stands for “talk math with your kid.” This hashtag always held my interest before, but now it’s even more meaningful as parents are at home talking math with their kids for a different reason. Highly recommend you check it out if you need ideas of how to engage your small people while we are at home together.

Also, if you are not currently an NCTM (@NCTM) member, they are offering free memberships that expire at the end of April. This will give you access to all the resources on their site. Here is the link to sign up: https://www.nctm.org/freeresources/

Stay safe. Wash your hands.

By Amber Thienel (@amberthienel)

Something for Everyone

Read what you need.

Something Humorous: I declare Howie Hua (@howie_hua) as our resident mathy comedian during this pandemic. 

Something Positive: Annie Perkins’ (@anniek_p) #MathArtChallenge has adorned my twitter feed with new, beautiful math art every day. Take a look on her website for more information.

Something Helpful: Desmos has granted us the ability to give students written feedback within a Desmos Activity! Students can see your comments live, and, if they were signed in, students may return to the activity to review your feedback. The des-blog also featured a post from Desmos Fellow, Audrey McLaren (@a_mcsquared), about connecting with students in distance learning.

Something Honest: When my school district shut down for shelter-in-place, teaching mathematics was the least of my worries because my mind immediately went into survival mode (which may or may not have been a result of recently having read Octavia Butler’s Parable series). The two factors maintaining my enthusiasm to teach are those students who still have the capacity to engage in mathematics and are looking to me to facilitate this engagement—and my newfound instructional freedom.

Something Political: In the previous two weeks, GMD writers Lauren Baucom (@LBmathemagician) and Melvin Peralta (@melvinmperalta) encouraged us to be critical consumers and producers of data, and in the same vein, if you have the time and the means, consider who needs your business most.

Something Hopeful: My neighborhood teacher friends reminded me that we need not wait passively to return to schools and systems that have long been inequitable and harmful to our students. We can use this unique time to imagine what we want our schools to be for students and our communities.

Stay hopeful,
Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha)

Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight!

GIRLSwSTEAM: Finding opportunities to Enrich and Empower Girls in Education

Presented by Natalie Latrice Holliman & GirlswSTEAM

Girls in American classrooms are eager to learn in the STEM and STEAM disciplines, but they bring with them isolating histories related to gender in these fields. “Although there is a general perception that men do better than women in math and science, researchers have found that the differences between women’s and men’s math and science-related abilities and choices are much more subtle and complex than a simple ‘men are better than women’ in math and science” (Halpern, Aronson, Reimer, Simplkins, Star, and Wentzel, 2007). This presentation will refocus our attention on gender specific theories associated with histories, powers, and freedoms for women and girls, and the lack there of, that contribute to how they see themselves in American classrooms today. Tenets of equity will be analyzed to depict practices we can pragmatically implement to empower girls in classrooms in the era of gender fluid classrooms. Statistics associated with girls in STEM classrooms and fields will be illuminated to examine the future for mathematics given contributions of girls in the future. Rochelle Gutierrez (2018) stated, “People don’t need mathematics, Mathematics needs people.” This statement reiterates that mathematics as field will need the diverse perspectives of a variety of people. Girls have the potential to bring fresh, new, creative, and innovative ideas to the table of the science. Lastly, we will set our sights on areas of improvements outlined by the U.S. Department of Education to propel girls, young ladies, and women forward in classrooms today and in the future.

To join us at 9:00 PM EST for this webinar click here!

Next Week 

Supporting Math from Outside the Classroom

Presented by Matt Vaudrey

We’re responsible for the math learning of all students, even when Math Education isn’t our daily practice anymore. As a math teacher, then instructional coach and consultant, then an administrator, Matt Vaudrey has gathered some insights. In a quick hour, we’ll:

• Offer math teachers sentence frames to demand the support they need (while being open to needs they might not notice)
• Offer coaches some practices (and case studies) to support math education when you don’t have any skin in the game.
• Translate some values, so teachers and teacher-leaders can both speak a common language as we improve math education for all students.

Includes lifetime support, puns, and probably a Britney Spears reference.

Register ahead of time by clicking here!

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

From the World of Math Ed

Critical Production
 

This is going to be a while. In East Lansing, MI, I went out for the first time in a while to buy groceries and other essential supplies (don’t worry, I was NOT hoarding toilet paper). Having witnessed some misguided behavior just 10 days ago, it was refreshing to see the extent to which people are taking social distancing seriously. Howie Hua (@howie_hua) captures my feelings on the matter:

His commentary about social distancing also raises a point about the difference between physical and socioemotional connection. Although we find ourselves physically distant from one another, this outbreak highlights the extent to which relational proximity matters more than ever. Perhaps it has always mattered, and we have been too occupied with our next meeting or our next promotion to be the stewards for one another that we have always needed to be. But in this particular crisis, relational proximity takes on a new meaning, one that forces us to confront the fact that our actions, attitudes, and beliefs have a quantifiable effect on the lives of others. The explanations of curve flattening make the impact of our decisions clear. And yet despite the fact that countries around the world are urging citizens to stay at home, some people still continue to go about their business. To be fair, for many people they have little choice, and it is up to our governments to provide the necessary relief.
 
There has been no shortage of data and analysis on the coronavirus and the impact it has had on us. In last week’s GMD, Lauren Baucom (@LBmathemagician) raises the question: what does it mean to be a critical consumer of data? Importantly, she talks about the ethics of data consumption, which attends not just to how we calculate data but also what we do with data once we have analyzed it.
 
Inspired by the simultaneous distance and closeness we have found ourselves in relation to one another, I’d like to throw a related wondering out there: what role do we play as critical producers of data?
 
There are several ways to address this question. Of course, there is the obvious role that people play in producing the data that we see in the news. Nonetheless, we ought to remind ourselves that data comes from people and not from the heavens as absolute truth. I have found this medium article helpful in that regard. 
 
There is another, more subtle way in which we become producers of data: by sharing and analyzing data ourselves, we become part of the mobility by which data travels and spreads, only to be analyzed and consumed by others. For instance, consider this tweet from Matt Jones about Kentucky versus Tennessee, which Julie Jee (@mrsjjee) retweeted and eventually found its way onto my Twitter feed: 

Beyond making sense of this data and using it to construct arguments, we must consider the ways in which we are responsible for its production and dissemination. This point raises questions, which I argue are mathematical in nature, such as: 
 

• Why has this data become widespread?, and 
• Where are the sources of my data, and in what ways do I serve as a source of data for others?

 
Finally, there is a third and even more subtle way in which we might be responsible for the production of data. This way relies on the idea that the prevalence, availability, and accessibility of data is not a neutral process. The production of data is deeply entangled with the attention we as humans give to any given issue. For instance, consider this article that speculates that the coronavirus might be the biggest search trend in Google history. Of course, search history metrics are complicated and so it is hard to say for sure whether coronavirus reigns supreme. But I think few people would disagree that this pandemic has taken center stage in the theatre of our attention. 
 
I know that I can’t stop thinking about the coronavirus, and that’s OK. And anyone who tries to underplay its seriousness is about as wrong as this guy:

That said, I can’t help but wonder: where has this same widespread and urgent proliferation of data and analysis been as we fought and continue to fight racism, sexism, and ableism in our education and other social systems? I am not arguing that coronavirus should not be a priority, but I am arguing that we have faced and continue to face “epidemics” that are world shifting, deadly, and disastrous to our social, mental, spiritual, and economic health. The coronavirus is simply more blunt. Perhaps this pandemic will help us rethink our role with respect to the numbers that we attend to and that surround our lives.

 
@melvinmperalta
 

Teaching in a Pandemic

I liked this tweet.  I’m sure lots of teachers did.

It makes me feel appreciated.  But it also makes me think about that parent and the student he is parenting.  I feel for them both.  The parent likely has their job to worry about right now.  He shouldn’t be having to do my job too.  And the student shouldn’t be expected to thrive the way they would/could in a classroom with trained professionals and collaborative peers.    

And then I think about my own situation.  I’ve been at home for a week now.  My wife is home too.  We are both working from home “full-time.”  Our kids are home as well.  They are 1 and 4.  They too are “full time.”  I know there are so many teachers in the same situation.

Then I think about a teacher with kids at home who has a spouse that is a medical worker.

Imagine two kids, no help, a full set of classes to “distance teach” and all the stress and anxiety and …

These are not normal times.  We didn’t just pack up our classrooms and head home for a distance learning adventure/experiment.  There is a pandemic going on.

I think about my students and how hard this is for them.  They will all experience this differently.  They will all have different, unique, unusual needs.  

Everyone will experience this differently.  Everyone will struggle.  I’m going to keep teaching.  I’m going to do my best.  But there’s a pandemic going on.  Nothing will be easy.  Nothing will be normal.

@thegozaway

Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight!

Creating a Thinking Classroom: From the VNPS and VRG to the Lessons to the Aha Moments

Presented by Jennifer Fairbanks

Take a look at how to set up your classroom with vertical whiteboards and visual random grouping. Explore how to incorporate your current lessons into having students working at the whiteboards. Learn how to create and find problems that will allow a classroom flow to lead to practice time, mistakes being uncovered, classroom discussions, and exciting discoveries.

To join us at 9:00 PM EST for this webinar click here!

Next Week 

GIRLSwSTEAM: Finding opportunities to Enrich and Empower Girls in Education

Presented by: 

Natalie L Latrice Holliman + Girls w/STEAM

Girls in American classrooms are eager to learn in the STEM and STEAM disciplines, but they bring with them isolating histories related to gender in these fields. “Although there is a general perception that men do better than women in math and science, researchers have found that the differences between women’s and men’s math and science-related abilities and choices are much more subtle and complex than a simple ‘men are better than women’ in math and science” (Halpern, Aronson, Reimer, Simplkins, Star, and Wentzel, 2007). This presentation will refocus our attention on gender specific theories associated with histories, powers, and freedoms for women and girls, and the lack there of, that contribute to how they see themselves in American classrooms today. Tenets of equity will be analyzed to depict practices we can pragmatically implement to empower girls in classrooms in the era of gender fluid classrooms. Statistics associated with girls in STEM classrooms and fields will be illuminated to examine the future for mathematics given contributions of girls in the future. Rochelle Gutierrez (2018) stated, “People don’t need mathematics, Mathematics needs people.” This statement reiterates that mathematics as field will need the diverse perspectives of a variety of people. Girls have the potential to bring fresh, new, creative, and innovative ideas to the table of the science. Lastly, we will set our sights on areas of improvements outlined by the U.S. Department of Education to propel girls, young ladies, and women forward in classrooms today and in the future.

Register for the webinar here, and join us next week!

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

From the World of Math Ed

Critical Consumers of Data

This last week has been one really long year. Here in Union County, NC, we found out on Thursday that there was a Boil Water Advisory due to an abundant presence of E.coli in our water system leaving most of us feeling like this: 

As you can imagine, the local response and panic was compounded due to the global pandemic issue. While authorities were working diligently to fix the issue and communicate with the general public, I watched as some in our community responded with fear, some with facts, some with data to push an opinion, and others with humor. I was fascinated as the community’s response to this local crisis mirrored that of the concern over the global pandemic. 

This week, we’ve all looked at lots and lots of data explaining the spread of the coronavirus, how to #flattenthecurve of the virus through social distancing and hand washing prevention, and listened to first-hand stories as members of our global community share their experiences to inform those of us in the Western hemisphere. To put it shortly, we’ve been inundated with data this week, and I fear that period has only just begun. 

While data scientists have named the last two decades the “Information Age” because of the flood of information accessible to the general public due to the increase in connection to the internet, this last week feels like a really concentrated version of that, like the caffeine intake escalation that occurs when you switch from hot chocolate to espresso. Chances are that social media sites will continue to feel this way until the virus outbreak begins to decline. 

Both experiences made me wonder: What does it mean to be a critical consumer of data?

Normally, as math teachers, we’d say use the standards of math practice to make sense of how we define critical consumption. For instance, we’d want a critical consumer of data to be able to: 

1. Make sense of data and persevere in using it to make inference. 

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively about the data presented

5. Use appropriate tools strategically, including information found on a graph to construct an argument or critique the reasoning of others. 

6. Attend to precision when reading a graph, making sense of both what is fixed and what varies, and communicating one’s uncertainty clearly. 

For me, the current standards of math practice leave something to be desired. What I keep looking for within them is a way to communicate to students the ethics behind data use, not just a how to calculate and then make sense of data, but what to do with the information once you have it. 

For instance, check out this tweet by Francis Su (@mathyawp): 

If a student were to look at this graph, based on the definition of critical consumer of data above, would they be able to:

1. Make sense of the data presented and make inference around, for example, the difference between polio and COVID-19? ✅

2. Reason quantitatively about whether COVID-19 is more fatal in comparison to other known diseases? ✅

3. Use the tools of this graph to communicate with others how fearful one should be over the possibility of fatality if one does contract COVID-19?✅

4. Attend to precision in understanding the variability around the range provided for COVID-19 in the graph? ✅

So what is @mathyawp calling irresponsible? If none of our definitions for critical consumers of data include ethical use of communicating, we forget the purpose of data. The purpose of data is to serve the people. When we stop humanizing the people we are serving, we stop being critical consumers of data. 

This week, as you try to drink in graphs like this, 

Let’s try to be critical consumers of data who: 

1. Question the author’s intention behind the graph

2. Make sense of the message the graph/data is sending. 

3. Use more than one piece of data to make a decision or create an opinion because we know there is variability between graphs. 

4. Are comfortable with the uncertainty that comes when something is unknown. 

5. Hold others to sharing data that is humanizing and serves the people. 

Socially Distant but Close at Heart, 

Lauren Baucom

@LBMathemagician

Look for the Helpers

“When I was a boy, I’d see scary things on the news. My mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” – Mr. Fred Rogers

This week felt like a tipping point. On Wednesday, my university closed school for a week and is moving all courses online. On Thursday, my daughter’s daycare closed. On Friday, the NC Governor announced that all NC schools would be closing for two weeks. That’s a lot of change in a little bit of time, and the news is pretty scary these days. But, I’ve been overwhelmed by the response of people who are looking for ways to help. 



While I’m sure I’m missing many and this list is by no means exhaustive, I thought I’d share a few people/groups who are helping by sharing the skills they have. 



Sarah Bent & Mike Flynn (@MikeFlynn55) are offering a free online teaching support group to assist educators in moving their instruction online in the event this is what your school or district decides is best. 



Michelle Torres (@teachmathtorr) shared her Activities for Geometry class.



Louisa Connaughton (@lpconnaughton) offered to help any elementary teacher design Desmos lessons for online learning, and Joel Bezaire (@joelbezaire) jumped on to help Middle School teachers! 



There’s a huge list of companies who are waiving their fees to provide both parents and teachers with access to resources. Do be critical consumers of this list, as some vendors are using this as an opportunity to advertise based on need. 



Charter is offering free Spectrum Broadband and Wifi for 60 days to homes with K-12 and college students and no internet access.

 

Cathy Yenca (@mathycathy) shared lots of standards-aligned Kahoots on her blog. 



The Team at Illustrative Mathematics (@IllustrateMath) has posted a blog on math resources for caregivers. 



Ilana Horn (@ilana_horn) has started a thread to compile other math resources for caregivers under the hashtag #COVID19Days 

Laura Benanti (@LauraBenanti) offered to be the audience of one and watch videos of musicals that were canceled. 

 

Desmos (@Desmos) will be hosting workshops for professional learning and activity clinics, as well as offering support through their online groups during this period of time. Their first webinar was Saturday. It was awesome.  Check back for updates. 

 

Dylan Morrison (@dylan_thyme) posted a thread about food safety for people who normally don’t cook to make sure they don’t get food poisoning and burden hospitals. 

 

This list is just the beginning. I’m thankful for this math-teacher-twitter community, that you all brought me to the greatness that is Twitter, and for reminding me that whatever we have to offer, it will always be enough. 

 

Here’s looking at you from 6 feet away, 

 Lauren Baucom

@LBmathemagician

Pi Day Round Up

Yep. That was intentional. The infamous day of 3/14 occurred, and while some called for a raincheck and a chance to celebrate on the 22nd of July, others participated in celebrating this mathematical day in lots of ways! Here are a couple highlights: 





Zak Champagne (@ZakChamp) ran exactly 3.14 miles. 

David Butler (@DavidKButlerUoA) posted this awesome connection between the algebraic and graphical representations of quadratic equations with no solution. It happened on Pi Day, and it was awesome. So I call that a celebration. 

Lots of people made pie for Pi Day, including Kristen Fouss’ (@Fouss) student who is not so happy about being out of school and away from school family. 

Kelly Wickham Hurst (@mochamomma) brought back this controversy. 

Howie Hua (@howie_hua) started a pi day game. You can go add your pi-subbed movie title. 

There was lots of poetry for the beloved number pi, including an irrational limerick by Sam Hartburn (@SamHartburn) & a pi-ku by Steve Phelps (@MathTechCoach) 

Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) shared LOTS of pi-puns.

Jennifer Lawler (@jenniferklawler) shared her favorite pi day activity…which involves tossing frozen hotdogs!

Alicia Bena (@littlemissbena) shared a drawing by one of her students, featuring baby Yoda.  

And for those of you who forgot to celebrate, don’t worry! You weren’t alone. Nichole (@iTEACHiLEARN) was feeling the same way!  

Virtually yours, 



Lauren Baucom

@LBmathemagician

Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight!

Meaningful Student Math Reflections That Lead to Action

Presented by Matt Coaty

Students are used to the cycle of participating, studying, testing and then repeating the process all over again. Ending this cycle is a challenge, but it’s possible to give students opportunities to intentionally reflect on their progress, make adjustments, and set actionable goals related to math skills that need strengthening.

To join us at 9:00 PM EST for this webinar click here!

Next Week!

Creating a Thinking Classroom: From the VNPS and VRG to the Lessons to the Aha Moments

Presented by Jennifer Fairbanks

Take a look at how to set up your classroom with vertical whiteboards and visual random grouping. Explore how to incorporate your current lessons into having students working at the whiteboards. Learn how to create and find problems that will allow a classroom flow to lead to practice time, mistakes being uncovered, classroom discussions, and exciting discoveries.

To join us at 9:00 PM EST for this webinar click here!

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

From the World of Math Ed

Slow Reveal Graphs, Racially Expansive Histories, #SidewalkMath, and nCov1

Jenna Laib [@jennalaib] has continued to release examples of Slow Reveal Graphs:

I especially appreciate the one from fellow GMD Newsletter contributor Melvin Peralta [@melvinmperalta] that can be found in an earlier blog post and on google slides. 

In other news, I was impressed and excited to see the @MathforAmerica write-up on Master Teacher Nasriah Morrison’s co-facilitated Professional Learning Team with MfA Master Teacher Jae Berlin called Mathematicians and Scientists Who Look Like Me: Teaching Racially Expansive Histories:

Further information is included in a PDF (also available at the link above) called Racially Expansive STEM Histories: Resources. (I am working on encouraging Nas to become active on Twitter!)

Finally, two things that I’ve been working on and disseminating via Twitter, etc. First, I teach a class called Problem Solving & Posing in which we engaged with #sidewalkmath earlier in the school year. A student in our class has a wonderful write-up [I’m biased, but judge for yourself!] about what we did and the Sidewalk Movement, along with additional resources, now available online as a News Story.

Second, I have been trying to keep a thread of (mathy) items related to the coronavirus. Teachers play an important role in shaping how young people come to understand and process current events; for this particular item, the uncertainty around the virus itself as well as the potential global/local ramifications make it all that much more important for educators to be intentional about engaging with reliable information in a responsible way. The parent thread is linked below, and continues to be updated; I will be glad to receive other pointers for worthwhile additions!

In the weeks to come, I expect that matters will change rather significantly; some of these changes will be pedagogical (e.g. if prolonged distance learning is implemented) and others will be supportive in ways that aren’t based in acquiring content knowledge (e.g. helping students to maintain a sense of structure). Those who use Twitter and read the Global Math Department newsletter almost certainly possess a higher degree of “digital literacy” than a randomly selected educator; I hope that we can come together to collaborate creatively despite what may be very serious constraints. A pandemic is as good a reason as any to recommit to acting in ways that are best for our students, our families, and ourselves.

By Benjamin Dickman [@benjamindickman]

Assessments, Reflections, and Student Thinking

Aristotle Ou (@Camboyano) shared his end of chapter reflection practice on twitter, which requires students to revisit topics through summarizing prompts in College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) known as Learning Logs. 

This post kicked off numerous conversations for me in the last few weeks about how we make time for and respond to students communicating their own thinking and how this practice promotes learning for other students.

First, the math coach at my school site shared a guiding document that was adapted from The Education Trust (@EdTrust), Equity In Motion, Checking In: Are Math Assignments Measuring Up (April 2018). Since using this guiding document, our math department has created more opportunities for student communication on our assessments, which The Education Trust notes are underrepresented in math assignments in the graphic below.

At the most recent Math for America Los Angeles Professional Development, Master Teacher Fellows presented on how to support re-engagement with returned assessments.

One fellow begins re-engagement by contrasting a correct response next to an incorrect response, which allows students to see possible misconceptions. Following this exercise, students look at incorrect sample work, discuss errors and misconceptions, and write reflections and advice for the student in the sample work. The fellow also provided data from before and after this exercise which showed an increase in scores for most students. While the fellow noted that there is not a one-size-fits all solution, the practices of analyzing, discussing, and writing about common misconceptions in their classroom are what have moved students toward stronger understanding.

Another fellow presented on Two Structures for Looking at Student Work by Annie Fetter (@MFAnnie) at CMC-North 2019, where participants were asked to #NoticeWonder about student work, and generate questions for these students to which participants did not already know the answer. Among other benefits, these prompts honor student mathematical thinking, and challenge teachers to question their own assumptions about student thinking.

These discussions and resources are shifting my mindset around assessments from “What are students able to do, and what can I do to move them to where I want them to be?” to “What are my students communicating? Does the task allow me to understand what students are communicating? Am I prepared to understand? What is my responsibility when I understand student thinking?” 

By Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha)

Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight!

Catalyzing Change: Engaging in Critical Conversations and Taking Action to Empower and Engage Our Students in Mathematics

Presented by Trena Wilkerson

Participants will learn about NCTM’s 2020 Catalyzing Change in Early Childhood/Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations that bridges the conversation begun with the 2018 Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics. It identifies and addresses critical challenges in Pk-12 mathematics to ensure that each and every student has the mathematical experiences necessary to engage successfully in mathematics. We will explore the 4 key recommendations: 1) broadening the purposes of learning mathematics; 2) creating equitable system structures mathematics; 3) implementing equitable instructional practices that transform the teaching and learning experience for Pk-12 students; and 4) developing a deep understanding of mathematics, by examining implications, challenges, and potential actions—all with a goal toward cultivating a positive math identity and strong sense of math agency in each and every student.

To join us at 9:00 PM EST for this webinar click here!

Next Week 

Meaningful Student Math Reflections That Lead to Action

Presented by Matt Coaty

Students are used to the cycle of participating, studying, testing and then repeating the process all over again. Ending this cycle is a challenge, but it’s possible to give students opportunities to intentionally reflect on their progress, make adjustments, and set actionable goals related to math skills that need strengthening.

Register ahead of time by clicking here!

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

From the World of Math Ed

A Constant Source of Trauma
By: Hema Khodai

At the end of 2019, I was concussed. At the start of 2020, I was ill for weeks with what I now lovingly refer to as the “death flu” (in reality, a long-lasting virus with the generous parting gift of chronic laryngitis). I’ve missed writing for two editions of the GMD Newsletter and truth be told am struggling to write this piece. As the weeks passed and symptoms of illness lingered, I struggled to make sense of needing increasing amounts of rest daily and denied the chronic fatigue and pain that kept me from my usual self-care routines. I had little interest or energy to reflect on my mental health as an IBPOC educator. 
 
Whether it be in the work of being in solidarity with teachers unions across the province, preparing professional learning for colleagues to disrupt harmful educational practices in the teaching and learning of mathematics, advocating for humanizing mathematics experiences for our students, their families and communities, or showing up to witness the continued oppression of Black communities and Indigenous peoples, I and other educators are living and operating within systems of oppression. A constant source of trauma.
 
In the release, A socioeconomic portrait of Canada’s Black population (Statistics Canada, February 2020), a heading reads “Black youth have higher educational aspirations than other youth, but lower levels of educational attainment.” This release summarizes the findings of two articles produced as a result of continuing efforts by Statistics Canada to provide a statistical profile of the Black population in Canada. We work in and for a system that has and continues to fail Black children and their families. A constant source of trauma.

By the time you read this, the City of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) will have held its inaugural #BlackMentalHealthDay to raise awareness and increase action to address the impacts of anti-Black racism on mental wellness. Events were held in spaces across the city to drive productive dialogue and acknowledgment of the need for systemic change.

In January, the City acknowledged in an official news release, “Anti-Black racism is a historic, pervasive and systematic issue in Toronto.” This is not news to any educator who has truly served Black children in the Greater Toronto Area. Our District School Boards perpetuate systemic racism. A constant source of trauma.

The Calgary Journal published an article, Decolonizing mental health: The importance of an oppression-focused mental health system in February of 2020.

This particular quote from the article resonated deeply with me,

“We say that somebody is struggling because they visually are depressed or they’re going through their individual grief or individual struggle and we don’t often think about pain in the context of historical forces or social structures or cultural dynamics”.

Our schools are teeming with initiatives for student and staff wellness; everything from colouring pages to strawberry-infused water. How are we addressing the root causes of oppression and racism on the mental health of children and adults alike? What are the initiatives that address the cognitive dissonance of folx who observe harm inflicted on children and communities? 

How are we disrupting the discourse of mental health and illness that demonizes certain communities? What are we doing to ensure schools are not a constant source of trauma?

Mimi Khúc asks, “How do we disrupt those systems of power to have people be able to claim their own knowledge and experiences?”

All of this and we haven’t even considered the work of serving children in special education programs.

In From the margin to the center: A framework for rehumanizing mathematics education for students with dis/abilities (Yeh, Ellis, Mahmood; February 2020), the authors share a culturally responsive and relational framework that combines the following three concepts to “inform a rethinking of dis/ability”:

• historical-political awareness: the historical and political use of school mathematics as colonized by Western and ableist norms;
• mathematics as cultural and relational: mathematics as a product of human thought and interaction learned through activity;
• dis/ability as a cultural identity: the “complex embodiment” (Siebers, 2013) of dis/ability as both corporal and social has implications for notions of mathematical activity and mathematical knowledge.

 
They pose the question, “What approaches might we take to the study of mathematics education for students with dis/abilites that better value their ways of being and becoming in the world?”
 
Every day of Black History Month 2020 served as a reminder that educational institutions are a constant source of trauma. What are you doing to ensure your mathematics classroom isn’t?
 

@HKhodai

Vulnerable Moments: Opening Your Classroom to Feedback
Written by Brette Garner
 

Seeking feedback on teaching can be pretty vulnerable. When we invite someone into our classroom, they could see and hear any number of things — the good, the bad, and the ugly. They might notice things that we don’t like, including some things that we weren’t even aware of. Students might do something unexpected, and the lesson might not go as well as we’d like. 
 
Teaching is inherently complex and uncertain: Each lesson entails countless interactions between students and the teacher. This can make observations and feedback intimidating, even if we know that it’s also necessary for us to learn and grow as professionals.
 
For the last few years, Project SIGMa has been partnering with secondary math teachers to: 1) Ask what questions they want feedback on; 2) Videotape their classrooms, including students’ small-group conversations; 3) Review the video with their questions in mind; and 4) Provide feedback around their questions. 
 
Basically, we’ve been asking teachers to get SUPER vulnerable with us.
 
When we interviewed teachers about their experiences being videotaped, a number of folks talked about vulnerability, and some even mentioned Brené Brown’s work. Brown is a psychologist who studies shame, that painful feeling that you are flawed and unworthy of belonging and connection (I am bad). She distinguishes this from guilt, which is a feeling of discomfort about your actions, thoughts, or circumstances (I did something bad). The difference is important, since there’s a lot of psychology research that shows how guilt can be a motivator for change, while shame inhibits change. If you did something bad (guilt), you can make amends or change future behavior. But if you are bad (shame), you try to hide your mistakes and avoid change — you might even think it’s not possible to change.
 
After diving into the Brené Brown corpus — including Dare to Lead, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection — and revisiting our interviews with teachers, I noticed four mindset shifts that can help teachers be more open and vulnerable to feedback. And even though these were themes that came out of interviews with our partner teachers, they’re also things that I have experienced as a teacher and teacher educator. If these resonate with you, I recommend checking out Brown’s books or TED Talks.
 
Unlearning perfectionism: Try healthy striving
As teachers, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves by trying to be good — or even perfect! — every day. To some teachers, observations (especially with video) felt like being under a microscope, where every flaw was magnified so that their shortcomings were on display. But perfectionism is a trap: There is no such thing as a perfect lesson, much less a perfect teacher. We all have good days and bad days, and we can always tinker with and improve good (and bad) lessons.
 
Instead of perfectionism, we should try healthy striving, recognizing that reflection and growth are natural parts of teaching. Classrooms are always changing, so we’ll never be “done” learning. Furthemore, every choice we make will be good in some ways and bad in others — so all we can do is strive to be thoughtful about our choices, trying to do the best we can, with what we have, where we are. 
 
Resisting gremlins: Try self-compassion
Brown writes about shame tapes — the voice in the back of your head that keeps repeating something you feel shameful about — and calls them “gremlins.” These gremlins ruminate on that one mistake you made. They overemphasize critical feedback and downplay positive feedback. After observations, some teachers said that they kept worrying about “all the things that went wrong” and second-guessing themselves. Those were the gremlins talking.
 
But it’s important to remember that gremlins exaggerate and lie! To combat them, we should try self-compassion. Treat yourself with the kindness and empathy that you would extend to others. This includes reality-checking the gremlins — they’re probably lying — and acknowledging positive and negative feedback together. We wouldn’t tell a student to focus on the 95% correct at the expense of the 5% incorrect, and we shouldn’t do the same to ourselves, either.
 
Stop avoiding: Shine light on what is darkest
When we feel ashamed of something, we tend to avoid talking about it or getting help to fix it. We might tell ourselves that “that one class” isn’t going great, but it’s a lost cause (there’s no point in trying to fix it). We might even deflect blame onto the students, their parents, or external circumstances. And almost certainly, we avoid asking for feedback. 
 
But if something isn’t going well, that’s even more of a reason to seek feedback from a trusted colleague. Feedback lets us shine light on the dark spots, which is the first step in finding a solution. This allows us to reflect on our own part in the situation and develop the skills and strategies that will help us grow as professionals. A thought partner can help us think outside the box to come up with a new approach, or reframe the problem in a more productive way. If it matters, it’s worth leaning in to the discomfort.
 
Building trust: Empathy supports connection
Brown writes about the importance of being vulnerable with those who have earned your trust. Trust is absolutely vital for seeking and giving feedback, but there’s a chicken-and-egg problem: How do you trust someone who hasn’t earned it? But how can they earn trust if you don’t give them a chance? Over and over in our interviews, teachers said that the risk of vulnerability was worth it because we (Project SIGMa team members) worked to earn their trust.

We built trust in a number of ways, but perhaps the most important was empathy. By listening to teachers, withholding judgment, and recognizing where they’re coming from, we built connections with our partner teachers. Importantly, we approached the relationship as a partnership, where we each brought different (but complementary) expertise and experience to the table. Finding a colleague who will respect your perspective and expertise is crucial for building a supportive environment for feedback.

Brette Garner, University of Denver

Educational Justice Analogies

Drawing inspiration from a recent GMD article by Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha), which was about coded language in education, I’d like to share a Twitter thread by Paul Gorski (@pgorski) in which he asks for “your best educational justice analogy”.

In the image above, he shares the analogy “Grit is to structural racism as sunscreen is to climate change.” That’s dope.
 
Ms Dillon (@MsDhillon6A) shares the following: “Privilege = Changing lanes without ever having to check your blind spots”.
 
Gwendolyn Donley (@gwen_donley) says “Thoughts and prayers are to trauma as a can of La Croix is to a forest fire”.
 
“Rebecca is bad at sleep” (@beccatheteacher) shares “Good intentions are to justice as flapping your arms is to flying”.
 
What’s your best educational justice analogy in mathematics education? Tweet out to @GlobalMathDept and @melvinmperalta for your thoughts. Here’s mine: “Objectivity is to a standardized math test as beauty is to the cover page of Vogue”.
 

Millionaires and Billionaires

The recent push by Michael Bloomberg to be the Democrat front runner in the upcoming U.S. presidential election has opened up debates about the difference between being a millionaire (e.g. Bernie Sanders) and a billionaire (e.g. Michael Bloomberg). Dr. Courtney Gibbons (@virtualcourtney), among others, posted a great metaphor that frames the difference in terms of peas. It’s a great use of mathematics to help students and adults truly grasp the difference and feel the levels of inequality that persist in our society. It also highlights how difficult it is to reason about large numbers but also how important (critical) numeracy can be toward helping us become better informed citizens.

In the image above: “If 1 pea represents a million dollars, then most of us are in the 0-1 pea range. Bernie has a few peas. Meanwhile Bloomberg has over *3 liters of peas*”.

@melvinmperalta