Math Matters

Its "back to school" time and like many of you, I'm excited to get back into the routine of school. Summer is hard for me, and my own kiddo, because we both love learning and we both enjoy the social community of learners we engage with every day. The steady routine of school keeps us structured and looking forward to the next new thing tomorrow may bring. This school year will be a bit different for me as I'm still getting used to not going to work every day in a school district, but rather focusing on how to support teachers and students everywhere with new digital learning opportunities. I hope though that whether you and/or your kiddos are starting back at a public, private, or even a home school this fall, that you find the wonderment in learning new things each day can lead you to exciting places. Welcome Back to School!

This year I hope that every math teacher could make a commitment to teaching solid mathematical procedures that are fully developed and conceptually built. What I mean by this is that we should only teach procedures that we can explain mathematically to students including the reasons behind why the procedure works. When we teach students a procedure that we can't really explain mathematically, in student terms, we are reinforcing a "trick" or a "gimmick". Imagine if every year a student was taught at least 1 and more likely 2 or 3 new tricks to solve problems. Over time that is a lot of tricks without any mathematical foundation. Far too often I work with students in middle school, or even high school, who know little math and a lot of tricks. Given a new problem, all they can do is try to remember whether this situation calls for KFC, PEMDAS, or the Butterfly. This makes me sad because I want our future citizens to be more math literate and have a sense of number to rely on. Reasoning in mathematics means students explore many ways to find an answer and how efficient and effective those processes are. If we continue to drill instruction down to tricks and shortcuts, we have removed all the reasoning, and thus all the beauty that mathematics can truly offer. If you vow to Nix the Tricks this year, then check out the linked site where you have access to a downloadable, FREE, book on all the common, and some uncommon, tricks we have all been guilty of teaching and some ways to reinforce the development of mathematical understanding in students instead.

Recently I joined EduSmart as part of a growing team to support math and science instruction. I believe that Edusmart is the one of the best compliments to the curriculum resources already in the classroom. And you may not know that the Texas version of EduSmart Math is 100% aligned to the TEKS in grades 6 through 8 and was approved as 100% conforming during the 2014 textbook adoption process.

EduSmart's video based instruction supports teachers with content delivery using animation that engages kids, while the characters develop deep mathematics and real connections through modeling. What a great tool for not only supporting a teacher's instruction, but also as a review tool for students to hear the content in a new way and support what was learned in class. EduSmart can also be a fun and easy way for math teachers to begin flipping their classroom since the video content is already created. In addition to the video instructional components, EduSmart lessons also have guided notes for students to keep up with learning, practice to reinforce learning, and several online and offline activities to apply learning in real contexts. All of this at an affordable campus price. If you are interested in learning more check out EduSmart Math today. And if you have questions or thoughts, please email me anytime!

Click HERE and link directly to the released test/items page. Scroll down to see Sample Questions for the 2015 released items for grades 3 through 8. The full Algebra I test was also released this year.

Before you read on - I have to give complete credit to the source. My most recent NCTM Teaching Children Mathematics journal hit my in-box last week and this article is in it. I was so inspired by the article that I wanted to share it with you. Since I cannot violate copyright, I'm going to summarize and tell you that if you want to read the full article, you can link to it at NCTM here. And if you aren't a member of NCTM yet, I highly encourage you to become one. There are so many resources there for you!

In this article the authors confront 6 of the common misconceptions about the Order of Operations as we know it today. Covering issues such as "the order of operations is rigid" and "the order of operations is best taught using memory triggers" definitly hit home with me. If you read my above commentary on teaching solid mathematics, these two common misconceptions by teachers and how to correct it in our teaching really got me excited. The authors also address the math behind the process, helping readers understand how to use the order of operations to teach conceptual math and build a stronger base for our young students.

My favorite quotes from the article:

"Preparing mathematically proficient students requires that what is learned is understood - every day, all topics."

"When we teach order of operations in a rigid way, students miss out on opportunities to look for efficient approaches, a critical component of procedural fluency."

Be sure to read the entire article from Jennifer M. Bay-Williams and Sherri L. Martinie!

Math Cut Ups are the heart of what I love to do. This is because they are designed to be hands on, student friendly ways to engage students to do more math. No one wants to work problems on a boring worksheet. Math Cut Ups take the problems off the worksheet and make them interactive and more fun for students.

This month I'm featuring Two Wrongs and a Right because it goes with my topic this month of Order of Operations. The focus in this activity is for students to think about the process and not just find an answer. In a small group students review a set of 9 cards in 3 colors. These cards represent 3 order of operations problems, each presented with 3 solutions as a colored set. For each of the 3 problems there is one card showing a complete and correct worked solution. The other two cards show worked processes that are incorrect. Students have to determine which of the cards in the colored set is "right" and which two are "wrong" and place them correctly on the mat. When ordered with the right solution and then the two wrong solutions on the mat, small letters on the corner of the card set spells a word to make the set self checking for the students. When finished, groups can trade card sets and work through 9 more cards (3 more problem sets). I recommend a recording sheet where students also have to state the mistakes that were made on the "wrong" cards to show they really understand the solution and the mathematical process.

Each package comes with 10 full sets (5 sets of A cards and 5 sets of B cards, and 10 placement mats) so that you can put students in small groups of 3 and have everyone engaged. All materials are pre-printed on colored cardstock. Each package is just $15 and comes ready to laminate, cut, and use!

During the month of August, you can enter the promo code BACKTOSCHOOL at checkout on the square market page and get 10% off your entire order, saving you the cost of shipping.

http://mkt.com/integral-mathematics-inc/

Want to visit? I'll be attending, exhibiting, or presenting at the following conferences in the coming months. Come learn with me!

I recently submitted a session proposal for the South by Southwest (SXSW) education conference in Austin to be held in March. Sessions go through a public voting process to be approved for the conference. I believe this will be a great growth experience for me so please help me by voting for my session. Just click here, sign up for a free panelpicker account, and vote today.

K-12 Mathematics Specialist

Mathematics Enthusiast

Math Cut Ups Creator

Edusmart Mathematics Director

Email: integralmathematics@gmail.com
Website: www.mathcutups.com
Phone: 214-471-5760
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Math-Cut-Ups
Twitter: @mathcutups