Reflect
Read the two summaries linked below to get a better understanding of the design principles and key structures of Illustrative Math. Then watch the short video to learn more about the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Math Discussions.
Consider
- What is resonating with you from these readings or this video?
- What caused you to pause and think?
- What principles or structures from your own math classroom align with some of these beliefs or components?
Respond and Interact
After reading and watching, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
Allowing students to investigate and discover, instead of beginning with direct instruction, is an incredible process to witness - but not always my first approach! For some students, this process can be frustrating when the “answers” don’t come easy. For others, it is exciting. I think I would have probably fallen into the former category in my elementary years more often than not and perhaps that has influenced my preference for providing direct instruction and the “steps” to solving. I can see that this shift may be a bit of a challenge for me. I do love the focus on metacognition and reflection because that will be powerful to my students (and to me as I get a glimpse inside their thinking!).
ReplyDeleteI like that this curriculum will shift further away from direct instruction. In the first article, it discussed how the IM curriculum encourages students to solve problems through exploration and collaboration with peers. I've looked briefly at the curriculum and the centers appear to be a great way to encourage students to solve mathematical problems independently. I imagine that the shift in the teacher's role might be a bit difficult at first because the teacher is now becoming more of a facilitator of collaboration between students. However, I'm excited to see how the students do with the new curriculum.
ReplyDeleteThis las school year, I progressed through kindergarten iM for the first time. It was new, so the fact that I did not feel at ease with all of the new components was not uncomfortable or surprising. Now that I am in this class, I am gaining insight to the design principles and intentional structures imbedded in the curriculum and am all of a sudden feeling overwhelmed by the task of teacher as facilitator. Did I do it right this past year? Not sure! But when I look at the design principles, I can answer yes to accomplishing many of the expectations... I provided a math community where students took risks, engaged in discourse, did mathematics, used tools and I helped consolidate and synthesize math ideas. There are areas where I feel less confident, and I am anxious to grow. How do I identify students who are struggling, identify successful lessons, what does productive struggle look like in kindergarten? I am looking forward to being joined by my team this year, so that I am not alone in figuring it all out. I am also looking forward to visiting each lesson for the second time, having some experience and more knowledge (this class) with me.
ReplyDelete“Effective teaching requires being able to support students as they work on challenging tasks without taking over the process of thinking for them”. This statement jumped out at me. It is a repetition of the ideas from unit 1, so clearly important to the process.
ReplyDeleteIn preschool, math involves a lot of exploration with materials. As the excitement over new materials dies down, the kids start to ask questions and express interest in exploring ideas presented by the adults.
The section on Teacher Reflection Questions is something I didn’t learn in school (a long time ago!) I have found it important to my own practice though. It helps me think through what is happening at the time, and also helps remind me in future years of what was most effective.
During this last school year, I taught IM math and had to learn how to shift my teaching from direct teaching of, " I do, we do, you do," , to IM’s problem-based approach of "you do, we do, I do." I must admit it was difficult to do after twenty years, but I have grown to love it. And my students love it as well. I have never had so many students say how much they love math as this past year.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the idea of a math community was new to me. I had never done a looks like/sounds like chart for math community norms. I followed the IM math verbatim and decided to use this type of chart for all subject areas afterwards. It sets the expectation that we are a community of learners and helps us all understand that everyone has a voice and encourages students to join in on the math conversations. It helps in creating a safe environment for all students to share.
So much to think about! I'm growing excited about how to empower my students to discover, build and learn during math time. While I've always loved to learn from my students and let them come up with their own conclusions, I feel a chance now to start fresh with creating a community of math learners that work together to solve problems. Since it's Kindergarten, setting up routines is something we do for every single minute of school, so this will not be anything new...but also very new. I'm looking forward to learning more about how to take these very new learners and set them up for not only Kindergarten, but the steps that build on each other in grades 1 - 12. How exciting. It's going to be cool to learn alongside my students, and I'm thrilled to model how to problem-solve while LITERALLY problem-solving this new way of thinking about Math learning and instruction.
ReplyDeleteThe parts of this program that resonate most with me are: “all students are capable learners of mathematics” and “students learn math by doing math.” I appreciate the aspect of this curriculum’s addition of warmups that have multiple entry points for all learners to be able to participate. I am excited to put more in my student’s hands to help them wonder and notice before asking them to build the problem and figure out the solutions. I think that changing my role to facilitator will be an exciting shift.
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom I found it essential to have learning routines and procedures established in the first weeks of school. This was important as it allowed smoother transitions from one activity to the next. I know that this will be even more important with this new curriculum as the lessons have many parts that require more time than usually is allotted for the math block.
One part that really resonated with me is the quote "Math ideas are the outcomes of problem solving rather than the elements that must be taught to solve problems". I have spent so much time teaching my students strategies in the past and then using what we have learned to help us solve problems. The IM curriculum is going to be a big shift and reversal of how I have taught in the past. I am really looking forward to the students doing most of the work and using the 5 strategies to help guide them to the big ideas in each unit.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really appreciated about the IM Principles and structures is that it seems very intentionally planned in that they include what to look for and how to advance students learning for each unit/lesson. I also felt that the PLC activity and structures for every unit will be very helpful as our PLCs shift to focus on math this coming year. I also really like that the curriculum starts with the lessons that teach the students how to be a math community. Encouraging students to take risks and building a math community where they feel safe to try new things is something that is very important to me and something I have strived for in the past. I feel that this will be even more important with this curriculum.
I love that the Key Structures of IM includes suggestions for PLC work. I also appreciated the table with teacher moves & questions that will support building a math community in our classrooms. Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteI found the following concepts to be of particular interest and importance:
ReplyDelete1) Students learn best when mathematical instruction is centered around problem-solving and when productive and meaningful conversation takes place between students and teachers.
2) All students, including our most marginalized students, are empowered by creating a space that values trust and partnership for sharing thinking.
3) Students learn to think and communicate mathematically when instructional routines are in place that are invitational, promote discourse, and are predictable in nature.
I look forward to building a math community next year using IM. I am excited that the IM curriculum establishes norms and builds routines while also focusing on problem-solving and discussion. I especially look forward to the depth of discussion that is built into the lessons, and to the norms and routines that will encourage all of my students to participate and learn. Additionally, the teacher moves provided in the Key Structures article will help our discussions and learning to go deeper. A good starting point will be the questions “What do you notice?” and “What do you wonder?
The statement “the curriculum included classroom structures that support students in taking risks, engaging in mathematical discourse, and productively struggling through problems” resonated with me. I am looking forward to this new format of instruction where the students are an active participant. I agree that students learn mathematics by actively doing mathematics. In past curriculums, there was more modeling and telling students what needs to be done prior to independent work. One of my classroom rules is it is OK to make mistakes. I like that students can think, share their ideas, and revise their thinking. I am planning on implementing procedures and routines that foster a mathematical community of learners. I am also looking forward to the time we spend in PLC. I think it will be valuable time where we can collaborate with teammates and reflect on what is going well and how we can improve our instructional practices. I am interested to see how writing about mathematical thinking works at primary grades such as kindergarten and first grade. Perhaps students could share their ideas in pictures and words such as we have done in our problem solvers in the past or through conferencing. I have not had students do mathematical journaling in past years of instructions. I am excited to implement a new format of instruction.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about kindergarten and math journals too... how we could incorporate this component into the classroom even at the very start. I like the idea of using pictures and I'm excited to brainstorm more ways we can creatively add in math journaling.
DeleteI love that IM supports the idea of changing our approach to teaching math, making it less about “teaching” and more about “learning” and changing the focus from teacher to student. If we start each school year with the mindset that, “All students, each with unique knowledge and needs, enter the mathematics learning community as capable learners of meaningful mathematics,” we are starting on the right path. This coupled with intentional planning and changing the order in which we approach math lessons will help students to develop deeper understanding. We are moving away from the “I do, we do, you do” and repetitive worksheet practice and moving into a “you/we do” and “I will support” through questioning mentality. I liked when the video spoke about anticipating what you might see from your students and monitoring students as they dive into their problem solving with peers. As teachers, we need to remember to stop talking and do more listening and observing. We can learn so much from just watching and listening to how our students look at the math being posed to them. The idea of sequencing solutions and helping students make connections through our solution sharing choices was powerful. Using student work to “teach” the concept on a level that makes sense to the students and eventually adding in the “academic language” when the time is right. IM includes teacher reflection questions which I think will be very helpful in planning the next steps and making sure we are intentional about what we do day in and day out with the students in our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many good things coming our way with the new math curriculum! I really like journaling for the students. It can help a student confirm that they know a concept or not. They can also jot down clarifying questions to get the parts they don't know answered/explained. By thinking and writing what they know will create deeper understanding. Having the prompts already created and easy to access will make journaling easier to get to and part of the regular routine.
ReplyDeleteI also like how the students will be working in 2 - 3 student groups on the wall space so everyone is participating and we can learn and grow from each other. I liked how the video helped me see how I will be able to pick which examples of work to point out - relating similar work and also showing how work that looks different can also be used to solve mathematical problems. Students will be able to see that there is more than one way to think about a problem and learn from each other.
I thought the statement made on the very first page was poignant, "Students learn mathematics by doing mathematics, rather than by watching someone else do mathematics or being told what needs to be done." I love that IM places an emphasis on giving students opportunities to notice and figure out what needs to be done before having everything explained to them. This is going to be a real shift for me personally. The idea of math being learned and experienced as a community really resonates with me...especially in the world of kindergarten where so much learning is done collectively. I'm excited to see how this program will provide all students the opportunity to engage in math conversations. I love the idea presented in the video to involve students and the solutions they have come up with to explain the learning to others. There is much to be excited about as we jump into this program!
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ReplyDeleteThere was so much good information in these articles. In the Key Structures, I liked that it gave questions and prompts for reflecting on content and practices as well as reflecting on learning and feelings about math I also appreciated the teaching moves chart to support math community with student vital actions and teacher moves. All of this support helps when learning a new math curriculum and not having to stop and think of what to do or what to say. I am also excited for all the PLC suggestions as that will be nice to have as guidance at our PLC meetings. Math journals are also something I would like to try this year like so many others have mentioned already.
Deleteproblem solving in math-
ReplyDelete“Students learn mathematics as a result of solving problems. Mathematical ideas are the outcomes of the
problem-solving experience rather than the elements that must be taught before problem solving”
This stuck with me because I think this math concept really creates a strong math community. problem solving allows the student to work with their peers to converse and try out other strategies to see what works. I like that the teacher serves many roles in this problem solving. such as listener, facilitator, questioner, synthesizer. I think this keeps the math talk rich and allows many students to have a voice and think in different ways. Based off the video, you can see how many students showed their work in other ways, but still came up with the same answer. I think problem-solving based activities allow the teacher to use the 5 math conversions to move learning forward. I am excited to see what math communities and math conversations are created with the IM program.
The video teaching about the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions really resonated with me. After completing my first year of IM in first grade, learning to become an effective facilitator was immensely challenging. I learned to be successful in supporting students as they worked on rigorous tasks without taking over, monitoring the problem solving during the course of the activity, and could gain insight into what my students were able to do independently. However, my biggest challenge was selecting and sequencing which student solutions and representations would best connect prior learning and advance student thinking and understanding of the mathematical concept or strategy. I found this video extremely helpful and look forward to practicing each step, especially steps 3-5, with more confidence this year!
ReplyDeleteSomething that stuck with me in the readings was that the IM curriculum encourages students to problem solve though exploration and collaboration. I am excited to help guide students in this exploration, but I also think it might be somewhat challenging for me to not provide the step-by-step processes. I am excited to set up these routines and learn together with my class in the new curriculum. In the video it was great to see the teachers set up and how students worked together to problem-solve and come up with the same answer in many ways.
ReplyDeleteI took the Building Thinking Classrooms course first and now that I am working on this course I have found many connections. The first one that stood out to me was "Students learn mathematics by doing mathematics, rather than by watching someone else do mathematics and being told what needs to be done....By engaging in the mathematical practices with their peers, students have the opportunity to see themselves as mathematical thinkers with worthwhile ideas and perspectives." I am excited that students will have math experiences filled with collaboration, problem solving, exploration, thinking, and much more! I am interested in the PLC opportunities with the IM curriculum and hoping they greatly help us and our students as we figure out this curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI really like the quote “Students learn mathematics by doing mathematics, rather than by watching someone else do mathematics or being told what needs to be done.” This resonated with me, because I know sometimes in my own classroom, I talk at my students, rather than with my students, and this is a habit I am trying to break, or un-learn. I am hoping this will help with my shift. I also love how IM talks about community building within mathematics in your classroom. Additionally, I loved the piece about PLCs. I think this will be really valuable this next school year, as we work closely with our teams/PLCs in regards to math and our growth in math.
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