The Pulse from Jeffco Curriculum and Instruction
  • Blog
  • Blog

December 01st, 2020

12/1/2020

0 Comments

 

How Do You Make Student Thinking the Currency in Your Classroom?

Picture
By C&I Math TEAM

Maybe you remember when Graham Fletcher was in Jeffco last year?  Or, perhaps you saw Dan Meyer when he was here in January of 2019.  Graham Fletcher quoted James Hiebert in Making Sense: Teaching and Learning Mathematics with Understanding, saying
“Student thinking is the currency in the classroom.”  How do we make the learning in the classroom center around students’ ideas?

Jo Boaler says, “By putting problems first, we give students opportunities to make sense, rather than follow prescribed rules.”
When students are making sense of problems, they have valuable ideas to share with their peers.  These ideas, and the conclusions thereof, provide the necessary depth and complexity for students to evaluate, synthesize, adjust, and adapt when problem solving.  These shared ideas are gold we want to mine.  They are the currency of the classroom!
Where do we find problems worthy of our students’ time and attention?  Jo Boaler’s website youcubed.com has lots of math resources.  The staff there has even collected some into “A Week of Inspirational Math.”  These playlists are designed to help students begin to take ownership of their own meaning making.  
Math 3-Act Tasks also provide opportunities for students’ thinking to become central to the classroom conversation.  Graham Fletcher has many ready made tasks for the elementary grades.  Check out Dan Meyer’s 3-Act Math for secondary.
Making student thinking the currency in the classroom isn’t specific to just the math classroom.  The Wonder of Science is a great resource to find rich, inquiry-based problems that encourage students to share their ideas.  EverFi offers engaging digital curriculum from Personal Financial Literacy to Social Emotional Learning and also STEM and Career Readiness.  Actively Learn is a powerful tool for finding texts and videos that support multiple content areas.  Jeffco has a premier membership for teachers and students 5th through 12th grade.  Here is a recorded webinar from EdTech to get started! 
Across the day, students need to share their ideas and make their own meaning.  So, what problems are you going to give your students to grapple with?


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    AUTHORS 

    Curriculum & Instruction

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020

    Categories

    All
    #CAS2020
    #CTE
    #distancelearning
    #ELA
    #Elementary
    #Elementary_ELA
    #Elementary_Math
    #Generation Skills
    #JeffcoDLM
    #jeffcoelectives
    #Literacy
    #Math
    #Middle_Level
    #NGSS
    #P3
    #PE
    #Preschool
    #ProficiencyScales
    #Reflect
    #Science
    #Secondary
    #Secondary_ELA
    #SEL
    #SelfCare
    #SocialStudies
    #STEM
    #Teacher_Appreciation_ 2020
    #Webinar

    Jeffco Ed Tech Blog

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Proudly powered by Weebly