I often get asked about math manipulatives from educators. Do you really need all those math manipulatives? Where do you put them? How do you keep the students from just playing with them? I always answer with a resounding yes! to needing math manipulatives. If you have read my other blog posts, you know the research from Jerome Bruner on concrete-pictorial-abstract. He found that students need that concrete experience to make sense of new concepts. Their hands are movin

What's the difference between an algorithm and a strategy?

Assessment interviews are a great way to assess what students know, especially in this digital era.

This post comes from questions I get asked a lot when working with different students. How do we encourage students to engage in mathematical discourse especially when there's language issues involved? This is such a great question! The Common Core Mathematical Practices state that students should be able to communicate their thinking with others through writing and speaking. This requires students to use mathematical language, use metacognition, and function upon the nor

I am a HUGE groupie of Dr. Yeap Ban Har. If you have ever heard him discuss a lesson, he has a very specific structure that allows students to collaborate and evaluate. He begins by choosing a thoughtful problem that allows students to solve in multiple ways. The classroom lesson continues in this manner: Exploration with Observation (10 minutes): Students work to solve the problem presented. They use manipulatives, paper and express their methods in their math journals a

Learn 5 lessons to do at the beginning of the school year to ensure a successful year.

How do you tell if students are misbehaving or having a sensory response? Find out more by exploring what how you respond to your environment.