Part 8 of 8, Strategies for Integrating the Mathematical Practices into Instruction

By Dr. Michele Douglass

Last but definitely not least in this series on Integrating the Mathematical Practices into Instruction is MP#6: Attend to Precision, which often impacts a solution more than any other practice. This practice is generally understood to be about accuracy of solutions and good estimations. While these ideas are certainly part of the practice, it includes so much more.

“Mathematically proficient students try to communicate precisely to others. They try to use clear definitions in discussion with others and in their own reasoning. They state the meaning of the symbols they choose, including using the equal sign consistently and appropriately. They are careful about specifying units of measure, and labeling axes to clarify the correspondence with quantities in a problem. They calculate accurately and efficiently, express numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for the problem context. In the elementary grades, students give carefully formulated explanations to each other. By the time they reach high school they have learned to examine claims and make explicit use of definitions.” —Common Core State Standards (CCSS), MP#6: Attend to Precision

By Alexandria Mooney

I present at a number of (mostly technology) conferences throughout the year, and someone in my session inevitably says, “My school can’t afford this technology” or “How am I supposed to do this in my classroom when I don’t have any resources?”

My heart goes out to them. I’ve been fortunate enough in most of my teaching career to be in schools where technology is highly looked upon and sought out. However, I have been on the flip side of that as well, where technology was on the back burner and other, more pressing issues took priority. What I always tell these commenters at my session is, “This may sound harsh, but those are merely excuses. Don’t let your school’s limited budget stop you from using technology—any kind you want—in your classroom.”

By AshaLee Ortiz

I teach music, so being creative is kind of essential to my classroom.  However, a little bit of everything should be present in all content areas, because that helps depth of knowledge and retention. So let’s get past the stigma of what something looks like in an “art” classroom or a “science” classroom. What should student motivation look like in any classroom? 

Make Sense of Problems and Persevere in Solving Them

Part 7 of 8, Strategies for Integrating the Mathematical Practices into Instruction

By Dr. Michele Douglass

This mathematical practice involves the ways students can explain to themselves the meaning of a problem and the ways they find to enter into solving it. It might feel like being a detective who is looking for clues or evidence on how to solve a problem. Students proficient with this practice believe they are mathematicians and try several methods to come to a solution. 

This blog series will conclude by examining Practice #1 in this post and Practice #6 in the final post. These two practices can be thought of as overarching habits of mind that productive thinkers use as they work with mathematics.

By AshaLee Ortiz - winner of the 2014 Voyager Sopris Learning Blog Contest!

21st Century learners are used to being plugged-in. They crave it. They have been raised in a technology rich environment. When toddlers reach for a phone now, they immediately try to text and swipe, rather than mimicking talking into the device. The times are changing, and your classroom should too.

But what if you don’t have the funding? Maybe your district was hit particularly hard during the recession. Maybe resources are being allocated to special programs like STEM or to magnet sites within your district. Maybe you teach an elective course, and resources are reserved for “core class” instruction. How can you tap into your student’s desire for technology on a tight budget and with limited resources?

By Amy Blowers

What did we ever do before tablets, smart phones, and computers? How on earth did we ever teach students without PowerPoint^®, interactive whiteboard, and Google^™?

As an online learning teacher, I find it fascinating to think about teaching and student literacy before technology. I believe that, when it is used appropriately, technology can be the key to the kingdom of excellent student literacy.

I have taught high school English Language Arts for 15 years. When I started, I had a desktop computer, and the high school I worked for had one computer lab with 10 computers. The most engaging activity incorporated into teaching literacy at that time in my classroom was gaming. I had games for everything: vocabulary (Race to the Chalkboard Challenge), sentence building (Grammar Gladiators), and comprehension (Sherlock Search).

Look for and Express Regularity in Repeated Reasoning

Part 6 of 8, Strategies for Integrating the Mathematical Practices into Instruction

By Dr. Michele Douglass

Of all the mathematical practices, I find this one hardest to implement. It is probably from my years of being taught how to just manipulate numbers versus how to use patterns to generalize.

This practice reverses the thinking of the previous practice (MP#7). For this practice, we want students to use patterns that we might give them to generalize a situation. For example, instead of teaching rules for adding integers, how could students look at patterns to generalize or come up with the rule? Think about a lesson that has students examining graphs and matching equations in order to generalize the slope-intercept equation.

Thank you, educators, for taking the time to submit such well-written and thought-provoking blog entries on the four education topics that we provided. It was a tough process, but we have narrowed the entries down to three finalists. Now it’s your turn to read the entries from the links below and vote for your favorite blog! 

Bridget Clark
AshaLee Ortiz
Jennifer Doyle

By Anne M. Beninghof

I pulled my first all-nighter my freshman year of college. My roommate and I had both been assigned to Mr. Seager’s 8 a.m. chemistry class. Mr. Seager was a science whiz who was passionate and knowledgeable about his topic, but he was a lousy teacher. After dozing through many of his uninspired early-morning lectures, Kaye and I had fallen way behind in our understanding of the content. We knew we had to stay up all night and cram.

Up until this point in my life, I had never had a cup of coffee. Both of my parents were British immigrant tea drinkers who believed in serving whole milk to their growing teenagers. But then came college—no rules, no parents, no sleep. And Mr. Seager.

To be fair, Mr. Seager was not atypical of the teachers at many universities. Their practice was to stand at the front of the room, back to the class, as they wrote notes on the board and lectured simultaneously. This type of teaching was fertile soil for dozing students.

By Michelle George