Cultivating Fisher[wo]man in Math Class

Tell me to fish--I'm probably day dreaming...
Show to me to fish--I might be able to regurgitate it... 
Teach me to fish--I may catch on...
Allow to experience fishing-- I will apply everything I knew and connect it to this new skill.

How do we create more fishing experiences in our math classrooms? 

Instead of just a simple answer....I am hoping to spark a conversation about it and how this can be more normed in our math classrooms with a few embedded supports and ideas along the way.

The one answer I am not okay with is, we don't have time. I would argue you don't have time not to. Giving our students these experiences is a necessity to honor them where they are at and allow our students to hold math in their hands.
I can also guarantee you won't have time if you attempt do a project as a "dessert" every unit.

Let's think about this. 

Take a look at the next big idea you are teaching...
...
...
...
...
...
......immediately you started thinking about the skills that your student need to be able to regurgitate on the test.

You're not alone. It is almost subconscious how quickly we do it.


So.....
Instead, let's pause.
Why do they need this skill?
How can students experience this "big idea"?
What prior knowledge is actually going to help them access this big idea? 

We tend to teach in these closed circuit units. As if our students came to us with very little and we have so much knowledge to impart on them. By doing this we lose the connections in mathematics that can be so valuable for students to understand the journey they are on as a mathematician.

In addition, as educators, we teach the strategies and at the end of the unit we test out their application of algorithms with some word problems.
So in the case for experiencing the fishing....let's flip this; start with the contextual problems (word problems) to help support the reasoning and connections.

A place to start is with Dan Meyer, the guru of 3 Act Math Tasks or Kyle Pearse's Tap into Teen Minds. Never used 3 Act Math Tasks? Take a look at the awesome #sketchnote below or either Dan or Kyle's sites have tutorials as well.

Awesome visual From Ms. Beattie's Classroom Blog: HOW TO ENGAGE YOUR STUDENTS WITH 3-ACT MATH TASKS

Dan Meyer's 3 Act Math Tasks have a phenomenal framework that stimulate thinking, excite students and build on the countless amounts of prior knowledge that our students come to us with.
This can be easily coupled with the Math Task/Rich Task structure of Math Workshop and 5 Practices book (let's be honest do any of us know it as anything other than the 5 Practices book??)

Recently, I stumbled into Jon Orr and Kyle Pearce's Podcast Making Math Moments that Matter to say that they are amazing and have an amazing podcast is an understatement. I think listening to their 12th podcast might have been life changing.

So, how might we mesh this all the together???
Think about one block/period of your math class...

• Introduce a problem/predicament that is accessible to students without the big idea and that later connections to the big idea could be made 
• Students work in collaborative groups to access and solve the problem using prior knowledge
• Teacher selects and has students specifically share in a CRA (concrete/representational/abstract) order
• Connect these strategies with more efficient big idea/strategy 
• Give a follow up task in which the new method/strategy can be applied 

By doing this what might be the benefits? 

Students will see how their prior knowledge is being elevated and expanded upon. Students will make connections to prior units and prior math classes. Students will see authenticity and the why in their mathematical journey. Students will experience the value in learning the new strategy for future and more challenging problems. This big idea will have meaning. Students will experience fishing and then demonstrate fishing on their own! 

An Example: Big Idea: Systems of Equations 

• Use the Tap into Teen Minds Sticky Situation 3 Act Math Task 
• Have students collaborate in groups of 2-4 to create a strategy in using their prior knowledge on the weight of the glue sticks and bottles of glue (Using Act 1 as the hook/problem and then Act 2 as the details)
• Have groups specifically share strategies (I love having students use large whiteboards to document and later share their work such as Wipebook)
• A concrete strategy that uses manipulatives or pictures 
• A representational strategy that uses a table or pattern 
• An abstract strategy that begins to start using an algebraic strategy 
• Connect ideas and elevate strategies with the use of creating two equations
• Connect to a (or multiple) strategy to solve systems (such as substitution or elimination) 
• (Show Act 3- the answer!)
• Have students complete Task 2: Write and Erase (scroll down) using new efficient strategy 

In thinking of your next big unit how might your students experience fishing? 

How might you apply this idea of teaching through rich tasks in your own math classroom? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!  

How #VNPS has transformed teaching!

I am back!! After a long hiatus which included having our first child and changing jobs! I am hoping to blog more regularly on some of some amazing movements going on in MATH! 

#VNPS

I recall reading about #VNPS (vertical non-permanent surface) last spring and thought this is such a quick way to get students out of their seats and truly collaborating! The transformation that this is making in classrooms is more than incredible and more than I could ever imagined! 

I know what you are thinking, I already use whiteboards in my class [at their seats] 
                         and I am going to respond....."this is different."

So you are thinking, so I take my whiteboards and put them on the walls?? 
                         "Yes... and...."

Wipebooks up in a classroom that dedicated group area collaborative spaces

Here's how it all started... at the end of the year I received a grant at Inspire Loudoun (a teacher-run professional learning day where Loudoun County Public Schools teachers come together to share best practices in teaching with technology and more). As I no longer had my own classroom, I needed to use the money to support multiple middle schools...
I started doing some research on what might have the biggest impact on several math classrooms; this lead me back to my research of #VNPS! 

I would love to whiteboard walls from floor to ceiling or wink walls or adhere huge whiteboards across walls in all classrooms-- and my grant wouldn't have even touched more than one classroom. I started back on Twitter and ran across the company Wipebook. With my grant and their educational discount based on quantities, I was able to purchase 18 sets of 10 whiteboard posters. Each individual poster can easily be adhered to the wall and are about 2ft x 3ft. Additionally, there are two sides on each poster a side that is blank and another side that has light graph lines. I know many teachers permanently adhere (hot glue/3M/etc.) the graph side up as it is so light that teachers feel like it is good for math use all the time! I have no affiliation with Wipebook and I just find their products affordable and hold up pretty well. If I had my choice with no cost associated I would absolutely want to have Winked walls floor to ceiling in every math classroom! 

Students work together and switch roles every minute to resurface prior knowledge on coordinate planes

How have I seen it utilized? 

• Resurfacing prior knowledge in groups 

• Work with your group to write everything you know about coordinate planes

• One marker 

• Students switch every thirty seconds 

• or use the Muscle/Brain technique 

• One student is the muscle (writer) other 2-3 students are the brain (communicates thinking). The brain writes other's ideas, if they have an idea they would like to contribute they must pass the marker to another student.

• Practicing a skill after a mini-lesson 

• Engaging in Rich Math Tasks such as www.openmiddle.com (that's for another day) and countless others 

• As a central work place for groups during 3-Act Math Tasks or group tasks 

• As a place for students to reflect on at the end of the day and write thoughts and group collaborative goals in the future?

• As a huge support to create a thinking classroom environment on a daily basis (if you haven't heard of Peter Liljedahl please look him up, and consider creating a thinking classroom in your math class!) 

• What other ways have you seen this utilized? 

What makes #VNPS so great? 

• Gets students standing and out of their desks 

• Centers group attention on one vertical space (not individual boards, with individuals doing the work), this easily promotes collaboration. 

• Decreases risk (with dry erase marker, standing and groups)

• Can be paired with #VRG (visibly random grouping). We will dive into that another day! 

• Easy to use in your class

• Students can have roles

• Teacher can formatively assess and support where needed 

• Can be used for Gallery Walks 

• Saves time as students help support other students

• Great for pulling small groups  (and still be able to monitor the rest of the class) 

• Can be easily integrated into your day to day math classes, not a big overhaul! 

Oh there are so many ways why I am a believer, I could go on and on! 
What are some of your reasons why? 
Want to increase engagement instantly? Try it out! If you do, let me know how it goes! 

Students collaborate at a large whiteboard on an Open Middle problem