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The last few years have been an absolute whirlwind with trying to balance parenting and teaching.  I have been making many changes in my teaching as I move toward personalizing learning.  I continue to prioritize professional reading and wanted to share with you what books I am reading this summer as well as a few life updates. Taking a real vacation This past week, I went with my family to Wells, Maine and had my first full week off from thinking about or reading/writing about teaching in at least 3 years.  I didn't take any of my professional reading or even bring my laptop.  I did read 6 books just for fun!  It has been at least 7 years since I have been able to read 6 books for pleasure in a week! My favorite read of the week was the Gilly Salt Sisters .  Despite my attempt to stay away from professional reading for the entire week, the house we rented had several bookshelves full of random treasures, one of which was this interesting looking book by R...

Recently, I received an email letting me know about the National Math Festival.  This is an event I had never heard of before so I quickly went to check out their website and was amazed at what I found there! The National Math Festival brings together some of the most fascinating mathematicians of our time  to inspire and challenge participants to see math in new and exciting ways. Through a day of lectures, hands-on demonstrations, art, films, performances, puzzles, games, children’s book readings, and more, everyone from toddlers to teens and adults can experience the unexpected sides of mathematics. The National Math Festival is free and open to the public from 10:00 a.m. till 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Those outside the D.C. area can join in via events at dozens of science museums around the U.S. or explore math games, puzzles, books, and other resources available online . For more information ch...

This week we are wrapping up our Mathematical Mindsets book study.  I have loved reading this book and going deeper into the big ideas in my classroom.  If you are just joining us, be sure to check out part 1 , part 2 and part 3 .  Chapter 8: Assessment for a Growth Mindset Big Ideas -Teachers are being asked to test and to grade students to a damaging degree -Often what is easy to test is being assessed rather than valuable mathematics knowledge -It is common to start a math class with a pre-test to determine what students know.  This gives students a message that math is about performance.  -Research has shown that test scores demotivate students and convey a fixed messages that result in lower achievement -Boaler recommends assessing less -Use more formative assessment  Impact in the Classroom Test Less I am happy to get on board with this one.  We use standards based grading on our report cards so I don't have to worry about giving a percent score...

Welcome to week 3 of our Mathematical Mindsets book study! If you are just joining us, be sure to check out our launch , The Power of Mistakes and Struggle  and Creating Mathematical Mindsets .  Chapter 6: Mathematics and the Path to Equity Big Ideas -The myth of the mathematically gifted child: This section reminded me of my own math story !  - All students should have access to high-level content -Try to change ideas about who can do well in math - Make sure students have opportunities to think deeply about math - Importance of group work - Eliminate homework - Encourage minorities  Impact in the Classroom   Eliminating Homework  The strategy that resonated the most with me is the elimination of homework.  Last school year, I made the decision to stop assigning math homework altogether and it has been great.  The kids who were the most likely to do the homework were the ones who needed it the least.  Having parents and caretakers "hel...

I am finishing out the #FractionsFebruary blog tour put on by Math Solutions .  I had the privilege of interviewing Julie McNamara, author of Beyond Pizzas & Pies  and Beyond Invert & Multiply .  I love reading about teaching fractions and always feel like there is more I can learn.  I read both of these books about a year and a half ago and they brought great changes to my teaching practice, especially the idea of using cuisenaire rods in my fraction lessons.  Beyond Pizzas and Pies is great for grades 3-5 and Beyond Invert and Multiply is great for grades 4-6.  If you teach 4th or 5th grade, I highly recommend you read both of these books!  What is the most exciting piece of research on teaching fractions that has come out over the last 10 years? Siegler, Thompson, and Schneider’s (2011) work highlighting the importance of students’ understanding of fraction magnitude provides much needed insight into the importance of the number line. They...

Welcome to week 2 of our Mathematical Mindsets book study ! Last week , we looked at the latest in brain research and talked about the importance of mistakes and struggle.   Chapter 3: The Creativity and Beauty in Mathematics Big Ideas - Math gets treated differently than other subjects.  It is much more of a performance subject than any other. -There is a big gap between real world mathematics and school mathematics - Students (and the public in general) see math as calculations, rules and procedures rather than creative and beautiful.   Impact in the Classroom Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio One of the examples given in this chapter was about taking a look at the Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio with kids.  I have always loved this series of numbers and many years ago was given a copy of Fascinating Fibonaccis  which I have now used many times to talk with kids about Fibonacci numbers.  I also love the picture book Rabbits Rabbits Everywhere ...

Welcome to week 1 of our book study of Mathematical Mindsets .  Chapter 1: The Brain and Mathematics Learning Big Ideas -Folks who have a fixed mindset can develop a growth mindset.  Their learning approach can become much more positive and successful. -The students who show the highest achievement in mathematics around the world have a growth mindset.  This can put them a full year ahead of other students.  -Folks with a growth mindset are more likely to do something perceived as hard. They see mistakes as a way to grow their brain and motivation to keep going. -Fixed mindsets can develop as a result of praise given by parents and teachers Impact in the Classroom Teach kids about brain research.   Research about the brain and growth mindset has come a long way over the last few years.  I have found Jo Boaler's Week of Insiprational Math  to be a fantastic (and free!) way to show kids about how the brain works and get them excited about math.  We...