Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

I have read a couple articles of late that have kind of pissed me off.  Mainly because they perpetuate the ideas that 1) The Common Core State Standards are handed down from the Federal Government, and 2) that the CCSS are the driving force behind Standardized Testing.  While there are connections, both claims are a complete disservice to the purpose behind and the reason for The Common Core State Standards. And they completely ignore the fact that Standardized Testing is actually controlled by testing companies and publishing companies. I've already posted on this before - " What People Think Is Common Core ISN'T"  and "Common Core, It's NOT the Devil"   so I apologize now for being repetitive. One article I read last night, entitled " What's the largest number you can represent with 3 digits? Nope. It's not 999."   is a great article. I agree with everything the author said and applaud his sticking by his daughter, the second teache...

I was listening to NPR this morning, as usual, during my workout. The Pulse did their entire hour on the Rebirth of the Library .   As an avid reader, this was of great interest to me. I love books. I have a crazy collection of books, all down in my basement now since I live in a tiny house with little room for my shelves and shelves of books. But - I don't have the heart to get rid of them, and I do reread them - it's like coming home to old friends.In fact, I just reread over the holidays The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (an annual tradition)...which can only be done correctly with a the actual book that allows me to flip back to the maps a million times. NPR's many stories related to the library included many things about how libraries of today are still relevant, and how many libraries are changing. I would suggest reading/listening to the different stories. The one that really sparked my mathematical interest however was the one by Peter Crimmins entitled Will BookBo...

I am often asked by teachers how do I engage my students? What questions can I ask? Questioning is a skill that many teachers struggle with, as we are often prone to ask simple yes/no questions or one-word response questions (i.e. what's the answer?).  It takes effort and practice to ask questions that help students think, analyze their thoughts, make conjectures, etc. But, as I often tell teachers, if there a few questions that you can ask that force students away from the simple responses or the yes/no answers. Questions such as Why? of Is that always true? or, my favorite's What if? or What do you wonder? Annie Fetter, of Math Forum fame, did an incredible Ignite Talk at NCTM one year entitled "What Do You Notice or Wonder" and it really opened my eyes to the power of observation & wondering. I share it here as a here as inspiration to help you ask the questions that will invoke wonder, inquiry and thinking in students. Additionally, Randall Munroe ...

I swore to myself I wouldn't do my next post on the Common Core, but I just get so irritated by the postings I see out there about it, I can't help myself! On Facebook, I see silly things like this: And then the current huge controversy about the math quiz and the teacher grading the problems wrong: Let's not forget the multitude of articles and storylines on the news talking about parents being angry and states opting out. Thank goodness there are some people who are trying to bring reason back to this madness about the Common Core. Great response here to the quiz example above by Andy Kiersz. Or this one in response to a parents obnoxious use of what he calls "Common Core Math".  I have already written my own response to my nieces and sisters hatred of what they perceived as Common Core math in a post last year, Common Core: It's Not the Devil . The problem with all these pictures and stories and examples of problems that are "common c...

I am tired of the #CommonCore bashing, so I am just going to start writing some posts about things I have learned that have helped me realize how powerful and SUPPORTIVE of student learning these standards and practices can be. Don't get me wrong - I never needed to be convinced that the Common Core State Standards for Math (CCSSM) were a good thing for math education.  I cheered their adoption because to me, these standards supported what I had been practicing and preaching, both as a teacher and a professional development provider. But - even though I have spent the last several years studying and coaching others in implementing the Common Core in a variety of ways, I just recently learned more to solidify, for me, their power. It was sort of an ah-ha moment: if I, who consider myself very familiar with the CCSSM, just learned something new, imagine how those who have spent little, if any, time with these standards (i.e. parents, news reporters, politicians) could benefit fro...

In perusing the internet for edtech and math news of interest, I came across Sony Global Education Inc.' s Global Math Challenge.   On September 27 you can get online, take a brainteaser math test, competing against mathematicians (young and old) all over the world.  Wow! According the the description, " GMC is full of beautiful illustrations, helping to put math puzzles into a real-world context". This is true if you look at the sample.  You can sign up for the free-Trial Plan, where you will just get your score, or the Standard Plan, in which you actually get to review your results and compare your results with all the other competitors. There are some sample questions for you to 'try it out' before signing up.  Which of course I did.... I was much relieved to find I could actually answer them, though I did get #3 wrong because I misinterpreted the question (I assumed we started from 2, vs. using the given five already assembled). What I loved was t...