If you’ve used one of my problem-based lessons or seen me present at a conference, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve used my Problem Solving Framework with your students. I first started working on it in 2012 after seeing something similar on Geodff Krall’s website. It’s now on version 8.1 and I wanted to…
Looking back at my first years of teaching, I think about moments where students disagreed about the answer to a problem. Back then, I hated when that happened because I thought it was a sign that I had not taught students well. Now, when I look back, I regret how I handled it because I…
[This is one of a series of posts that explore real world examples of mathematical modeling to help educators better understand its applications. This is not intended to be a context for a student lesson. To learn about Spies and Analysts, I recommend watching this webinar (with elementary, middle, and high school versions) or reading…
[This is one of a series of posts that explore real world examples of mathematical modeling to help educators better understand its applications. This is not intended to be a context for a student lesson. To learn about Spies and Analysts, I recommend watching this webinar (with elementary, middle, and high school versions) or reading…
[This is one of a series of posts that explore real world examples of mathematical modeling to help educators better understand its applications. This is not intended to be a context for a student lesson. To learn about Spies and Analysts, I recommend watching this webinar (with elementary, middle, and high school versions) or reading…
[This is one of a series of posts that explore real world examples of mathematical modeling to help educators better understand its applications. This is not intended to be a context for a student lesson. To learn about Spies and Analysts, I recommend watching this webinar (with elementary, middle, and high school versions) or reading…
This is the eighth of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the seventh of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the sixth of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the fifth of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the fourth of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the third of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the second of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
This is the first of an eight blog post series where I’ll attempt to make a version of each of the Common Core State Standards’ Math Practices that educators, parents, and students can all understand. Simply put, the Math Practices are really tough to make sense of, which means that few educators have read them…
I recently heard a podcast episode (though I can’t remember which it was) where a woman shared an analogy that helped me sort out my own understandings around learning from mistakes. In the episode, the woman explained how it’s a common belief that practicing and making mistakes will help you learn and improve. But she…
I’m a big fan of NPR’s How I Built This Podcast, and in one episode Jim Koch, the founder of Sam Adams, talks about the differences between scary and dangerous. I had never thought about those words having different meanings, but now that I understand what those differences are, I believe that they are applicable…
I was recently re-reading one of my favorite books: Stephen Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and one part struck me that I hadn’t thought much about before. He talks about two types of language: reactive and proactive. He shares examples of reactive language such as: “There’s nothing I can do.” “That’s just…
How many times have you worked with a student who had misconceptions, but you couldn’t easily spot them because the student didn’t even realize she had a misunderstanding or because you couldn’t figure out the right questions to ask her? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could magically determine who had misconceptions and what they…
Sometimes it seems like collaborative teams of educators are on different pages when it comes to assessment. Are we assessing students to put grades in our grade books? To measure what they’ve learned? To determine what (if any) interventions are necessary? It’s been my experience that sometimes we try to accomplish all of these in…
[This is one of a series of posts that explore real world examples of mathematical modeling to help educators better understand its applications. This is not intended to be a context for a student lesson. To learn about Spies and Analysts, I recommend watching this webinar (with elementary, middle, and high school versions) or reading…