Posts

Making a Thinking Classroom

 I am reading Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics , and the idea I'm reading about is fairly radical. Lilhedahl states that he and his colleagues taught classes for 8 weeks in middle school without any classroom furniture. The result was more student thinking...which got me thinking. What are the essential pieces of furniture in our primary classrooms these days? Some might list off the following: Teacher's Desk and computer rainbow table 4-6 sets of tables to seat groups of 3-4 students Play items and storage Classroom library shelf seats on or around the carpet the carpet These are the obvious ones that come to mind at this moment... I am sure there are more.  But, what could we get rid of? What would you want to get rid of?  I'm thinking name tags at desks are problems. Maybe not, but I kind of want to attempt no seating plans and see how it goes. I also really think that having all the desks at the same height is a problem. What if there were floor desks live ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A page a day...

I claim to teach  it;  I've surely preached it, but now it's time to do it.   I'm  going to begin writing 250 words a day. For so many reasons I need to write daily, but most importantly, I need to do it as a cathartic and creative release.  That said, a  big part of me wanting to do this is also to help develop teaching practice.  I'm  not sure yet how it will serve that purpose, but  maybe I  can encourage some others to work at it with me, and we can all improve. I think my first mission will be to write about  teaching  mathematics, and   exploring  how I can better teach the subject.  I’m  going to be reading Marian Smalls   Making Math Meaningful  (3 rd  ed).    Since we have been discussing number sense and the development of number,  I’m  going to begin with early number development to ensure I have a  rock-solid  understanding.  Smalls details 5 main...
Post a Comment
Read more