October 28, 2016 at 1:49 p.m.
Building deeper math foundations at Pelican school
Building deeper math foundations at Pelican school
By Amy Squires, Laurie Pohnl, Kelly Meyer, Martha Knudtson and Rachel Hoffman-
Teachers are given the opportunity to collaborate within and across grade levels. This gives teachers a better understanding of what students already know and what they will be learning in the future. They are then able to help students see where, why, and how math concepts fit together. Teachers and curriculum personnel have worked to develop a scope and sequence bridging any gaps that were noticed between grade levels K-12. Instructional formats including looping (where students and teachers progress to the next grade level together) also help teachers have a better understanding of the spiral nature of mathematics.
Hands-on activities help foster a deeper understanding of math concepts. Younger students are best able to grasp abstract concepts when using concrete objects. Using math manipulatives like snap cubes and base ten blocks for counting and grouping hundreds, tens and ones help children visualize what numbers actually mean, more than just writing numbers on a paper. These concrete math tools help students move to a more representational level with their learning. Representations of numbers include pictures and number models. Once they have mastered this level of understanding, they are then able to think abstractly about math concepts. Students are able to use multiple strategies to arrive at their answer and then to explain their thinking. Teachers at Pelican asked for and received many supplemental math manipulatives for their classroom use to make this become a reality.
At our last professional development day, time was set aside to provide teachers with the chance to discuss the use of manipulatives, to explore math apps, and websites that enhance instruction. Another aspect of our math instruction that we are beginning to explore and use are the concepts of "Number Talks" and "Math Talks." Teachers model and then have students practice using different strategies to get the same answer. Students are given opportunities to make their thinking visible by discussing how they got their answer to a problem using phrases like "My strategy was to.." and "I agree / I disagree with you because..." and "To add on to what you said..." This not only helps them clarify and deepen their understanding of math concepts, but also gives them tools to work respectfully in a group. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator than a giver of knowledge. Math becomes more of a discovery process and promotes good productive struggle and reasoning. Students learn to persevere and try new approaches as they collaborate and learn from each other.
Second- and third- grade looping teachers, Laurie Pohnl and Amy Squires, were instrumental in creating awareness for the need to enhance our math instruction. These teachers attended math intervention classes and a WSMI (Wisconsin Statewide Mathematics Initiative) Summer Institute to develop their skills and have shared their expertise with the staff. Over the last couple of years, they led "Math Tuesdays" to demonstrate and practice key math instructional strategies with the classroom teachers. In addition, they taught remedial math during summer school for grades three through five using these same instructional practices. They will continue to lead building level professional development based upon the needs and wants of the staff.
Expanding both the teachers' and students' understanding of math is the focus at Pelican School. Teachers that are excited to teach math using this deeper understanding and tools translates to their students. This can best be stated by Amy Squires, looping teacher of grades 2 and 3: "Teaching Math used to be a struggle for me. Now I enjoy it. The students are so much more engaged, and I can tell they really understand what they are doing. They often tell me "I LOVE math!"
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