In this episode of Room to Grow, our hosts discuss ways to support student sense-making in teaching and learning mathematics. Building out on the ideas shared in Episode 3 of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie dive more deeply into what it means for students to “make sense of mathematics.”

They discuss what it looks and sounds like when students are making sense, as opposed to just repeating back learned ideas, and consider which classroom structures and teacher moves might best support students’ sense-making.

They acknowledge that sense-making is not more or less important than learning mathematical skills and fluency, but that it is a part of deep learning and of a student’s ability to generalize their understanding.

As Peter Liljedahl says in Building Thinking Classrooms, “The goal of building thinking classrooms is not to find engaging tasks for students to think about. The goal of thinking classrooms is to build engaged students that are willing to think about any task.”

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• The Standards for Mathematical Practice, now referenced in most states’ math standards and originally published by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Governor’s Association;
• Jo Boaler’s Math-ish book and website;
• Peter Liljedahl’s book and website Building Thinking Classrooms, and Robert Kaplinsky’s blog post about why you should read it.

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, our hosts look for the balance between instruction that is teacher-driven, traditional lecture-style, and inquiry-based, discovery-style lessons. They recognize the value of both types of teaching, understanding that there is a time in learning for both exploration and for direct and explicit teaching.

The conversation offers explanation of what conditions may require different teaching strategies, based on the goals and content of the lesson as well as how students are responding to and progressing (or not) toward intended learning.

The common theme between these approaches is student sense-making, and our hosts each share a personal example of taking opportunities to encourage sense-making in students.

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• NCTM President Kevin Dykema’s President’s message that sparked this episode: https://www.nctm.org/News-and-Calendar/Messages-from-the-President/Archive/Kevin-Dykema/Balancing-Instructional-Strategies-in-the-Math-Classroom/
• TI’s Building Concepts lesson on structure in solving equations: https://education.ti.com/en/t3-professional-development/for-teachers-and-teams/online-learning/on-demand-webinars/2016/building-concepts-foundations-for-success-in-expressions-and-equations
• A sample problem-based curriculum for middle school (NOT the one Curtis’ son uses!): https://curriculum.illustrativemathematics.org/MS/teachers/what_is_pbc.html

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com.

Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, our hosts share conversation with Rebecka Peterson, the 2023 National Teacher of the Year (NTOY). Rebecka is a high school math teacher at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on leave for the 2023-24 school year to fulfill her NTOY responsibilities. She views the NTOY not as an award, but rather a job, that of spokesperson and ambassador for the teaching profession.

In this conversation, we learn about her teaching journey and the lessons she learned along the way that have shaped her focus in the classroom. She shares how she focuses on connections with students – connections to each other, to school, to the content, and to their communities. She reflects on current struggles facing math education systems, and her belief that choice could drive better student engagement, more student learning, and less teacher burnout.

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• Learn more about the National Teacher of the Year program HERE
• See Rebecka’s NCTM Handout with more detail about her “Connections” talk and resources she uses in her own classroom
• Learn more about Explore Mathematics by Sam Shah, mentioned by Rebecka
• Learn more about Rebecka’s End-of-unit creative summary project
• Visit Rebecka’s NTOY webpage HERE
  • Direct link to press kit (including photos)
  • Direct link to request Rebecka
• Connect with and learn more about Rebecka Peterson
  • Instagram - @Rebeckapeterson_
  • X (formerly Twitter) - @RebeckaMozdeh
  • Medium blog - medium.com/@rebeckapeterson

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others! Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com.

Be sure to connect with your hosts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.