I have worked hard over the last several years to build a foundation of growth mindset in my mathematics classroom. We start each year with activities to teach students about…
Did She Just Say, “Snowball fight?”
Did I catch your attention like I caught my students’ curiosity? So what does a snowball fight have to do with math? Let’s just say the idea came about because…
Grades That Show Understanding
This year seemed to be the perfect year to uproot my grade book and try something different. I knew students were going to need to be retaught what it means…
Assessing Critical Thought – We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
During the movie Jaws, an iconic scene is when they realize that their boat is not sufficient and they aren’t going to be able to get rid of the killer…
The Evolution of Portfolios
Have you utilized the “Portfolio” tool? Do you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to other teachers? Portfolios have always been an invaluable tool in my teacher toolkit. It started…
Making Homework Problems Matter
The topic of math homework is controversial and enigmatic. If you are like me, never quite satisfied even after thirty years of teaching, you probably research, tweak, and change your…
Student Choice: What Does That Look Like in the CPM Text?
What does student choice mean to you? Does it mean that you give students a choice board with nine different options and they choose three options to show their understanding…
Genuine and Focused Praise
I recently read an article shared by TRC which discussed research regarding praise in the classroom, entitled “Proof Points: Putting Praise to the Test”, by Jill Barshay. In this article,…
The Evolution of Learning Targets and Self-Assessment in Algebra 1
In earlier research with my TRC 4.0 team (2018-2019), we researched how to help students assess their level of understanding of learning targets and success criteria through the use of…
Committed to Students and Choice
As my team engages the topic of student choice in our research, I have noticed an added benefit to making room for choices in the classroom that I did not…