How does the brain learn math?

Understanding How the Brain Thinks

Former neurologist and teacher Judy Willis has begun to present a 5-part series on how young brains develop neurologically. It turns out that for young brains to retain information, they must apply it.

She also offers some research-based classroom strategies to teach critical thinking and other 21st century skills.

Part One: Understanding How the Brain Thinks

Part Two: The Brain-Based Benefits of Writing for Math and Science Learning

Part Three: Improving Executive Function: Teaching Challenges and Opportunities

Part Four: Three Brain-based Teaching Strategies to Build Executive Function in Students

Need math tasks for the Common Core?

At the beginning of November, the Illustrative Mathematics Project website went live!

Why is this important news?

There is now a set of tasks for one standard at each grade level K-8, and eventually, there will be a task for EVERY standard at each grade level.

Eventually the sets of tasks will include elaborated teaching tasks with detailed information about using them for instructional purposes, rubrics, and student work.

Right now, this is what you get:

• A minimum of 4 tasks (although typically 5-6 or more depending on the standard).
• Most will be more like assessment tasks or brief teaching tasks. At least one will be the kernel of an instructional task that can eventually be more fully developed and elaborated with the help of teachers using it in classrooms.
• The tasks in the set will vary in difficulty. Some but not all will be scaffolded.
• A balance in computational/algorithmic and conceptual tasks.
• An appropriate number of contextual problems for the standard.
• Most of the tasks will illuminate the “center of mass” of the standard, and a few will light up the periphery.
• At least one task will bridge in some way to another standard, ideally across domains or grade levels.

Illustrative Mathematics also allows users to register. This is not necessary to see the tasks, but if you register you will be eligible for news bulletins and various opportunities for involvement in the project that will arise over the next few months.

Happy Hunting!

2011 NAEP READING AND MATHEMATICS RESULTS

ED TRUST-MIDWEST STATEMENT ON THE 2011 NAEP READING AND MATHEMATICS RESULTS

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (November 1, 2011) — Michigan now consistently ranks in the bottom of states in both performance and improvement in student achievement, after a continued relative decline, according to data released today from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Michigan’s African American children now perform among the worse in the nation for black children.

Michigan’s continued descent – falling from a relative rank of 28th in 2003 to 35th today in the U.S. in fourth-grade reading – demonstrates the importance of educational leadership in the performance of our schools. Other states have continued to improve their levels of student learning on the national assessment. In comparison, Michigan’s performance on the NAEP – the best gauge of student learning across states -- has remained relatively stagnant.

“The results announced today show some states are doing far better than others,” said Amber Arellano, Executive Director of The Education Trust-Midwest, a non-partisan education research organization and watchdog that advocates for what’s best for Michigan students. “Indeed, our Great Lakes State is hardly great when it comes to educating our kids.”

Today’s NAEP results are particularly devastating for Michigan African American students, which now are at the very bottom for performance among all black students in the U.S.

“This is tragic – and it’s absolutely unacceptable,” Arellano added. “Other states are showing that Michigan can do dramatically better at educating all of our students, particularly our African American and low-income children.”

According to the data released today:

• Michigan’s low performance goes far beyond one subject. It consistently ranks among the bottom states in both performance and improvement, overall and by subgroup, in both subjects and grades, according to the NAEP data.
  
• Michigan’s rank on Grade 8 NAEP Math has declined from 34th in 2003 to 36th in 2011.
  
• Michigan has nearly a 34 point gap and the 2nd largest achievement gap in nation between White and Black students on the Grade 4 NAEP Reading.
  
• In 8th grade math on the NAEP, Michigan has nearly a 36 point gap between White students and African-American students. This is the 5th largest gap between White and Black students on Grade 8 NAEP Math in the country.

Unlike Michigan, some states are leading the way in 2011 in performance or improvement since 2003, or both:

• While their achievement gaps remain large, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey consistently ranked among the top states in both performance and improvement, overall and by subgroup, in both subjects and grades.
  
• In fourth-grade math, Hawaii, Kentucky and Rhode Island were among the top improvers by overall scale score as well as for black, Latino and low-income students.
  
• Alabama made the greatest improvements in the nation in fourth-grade reading scores overall, for African-American students and for low-income students. In eighth-grade reading, Connecticut’s black students made strong gains since 2009, improving by 10 points.

“Michigan’s challenge is to learn from the places making the most progress so we can accelerate and replicate those improvements for all of our children,” Arellano said. “We all need to play a part in improving our public schools in Michigan, for our children’s sakes.”
For more information on Michigan's NAEP performance, click here: http://www.edtrust.org/midwest/presentation/2011-michigan-naep-reading-and-mathematics-results

The Education Trust-Midwest’s mission is to work for the high achievement of all students, particularly low-income, African American, Latino and American Indian students in Michigan. Ed Trust-Midwest is a non-partisan, independent watchdog dedicated to providing honest, reliable information to families and policymakers. It is Michigan’s only state-wide policy, research and advocacy organization focused on what is best for Michigan students. For more information, go to: www.edtrustmidwest.org

PD opportunity: Delta Math implementation support

This session is offered for current DELTA MATH users ONLY.

DELTA MATH Implementation Teams (administrators, team leaders, teachers, and instructors) will gather to plan for intervention instruction.

As an implementation team member, are you curious about:

• Finding DELTA MATH progress monitoring resources and how they can be organized?
• Using DELTA MATH progress monitoring resources to support the first day of intervention for each readiness standard?
• Recommendations for interventions based on DELTA MATH data?
• Planning for a 30-minute explicit intervention lesson?
• Finding resources for explicit lessons and targeted practice and how they can be organized?
• Scheduling systematic interventions based on DELTA MATH Data?

If so, make sure your team registers to attend.

After exploring each of the above questions, implementation teams will begin to plan for targeted intervention instruction using your own school’s data.

Must see: Apple app for Common Core

Check out the amazing new iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone app: Common Core Look-fors (CCL4s)!

What does this app provide?

This is an observation tool for the Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards of Mathematical Content of the Common Core State Standards (CCSSO, 2010).

CCL4s is available on both iPhone and iPad as a single, $2.99 download.

iPad

The iPad version of the app provides an interface for entering observation data as well as access to all the Content Standards for Mathematics K-12. The collected observation data can be shared via email or with our unique built-in instant meeting. The graphs are very interactive and allow observers to merge different observations to compare and contrast different teachers or the same teacher over time.

Visualizing how a population grows to 7 billion

The U.N. estimates that the world's population will pass the 7 billion mark TODAY. WOW! How do we even begin to visualize the size of the world's population when it gets this big?

Check out this video and supporting story from NPR's Adam Cole that helps us to visualize the size of our current world population.

How might we use this video in math classrooms? The video applies to

• rates of change
• proportional reasoning
• mathematical modeling

For high school students, the video presents several topics of potential study within mathematics. Not to mention that it makes lots of connections to social studies and world history.

Check it out now.

For more information...

As NPR's Adam Cole reports, it was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population, especially in the West.

As higher standards of living and better health care are reaching more parts of the world, the rates of fertility — and population growth — have started to slow down, though the population will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

U.N. forecasts suggest the world population could hit a peak of 10.1 billion by 2100 before beginning to decline. But exact numbers are hard to come by — just small variations in fertility rates could mean a population of 15 billion by the end of the century.

Classroom Ideas from the Haunted Hallways of NCTM

NCTM has put together a collection of lesson ideas and activities with a Halloween theme.Take a look at an array of activities for all grade levels that offers some delicious ideas that will be sure to sweeten your Halloween lessons and delight your students.

Newsletter: Common Core Math in Kalamazoo County

The Kalamazoo County Common Core Math Committee announces the release of our October 2011 newsletter.

• Curious about the committee and what members have been working on?
• Wondering about when you're supposed to start teaching under the Common Core?
• Curious about Michigan's upcoming high-stakes assessment system?

Check it out now.
Contact your district representative to learn more and to get involved.

KRESA Math PD: Planning & Implementing the CCSS-M PRACTICES

There are 4 sessions to choose from; click on the link to view each flyer.

• High School: October 13, 2011 and January 18, 2012
• Middle School: October 28, 2011 and January 30, 2012
• Grades K-2: November 18, 2011 and February 8, 2012
• Grades 3-5: November 21, 2011 and February 15, 2012
  

8:30am -3:30pm
Kalamazoo RESA

• Does your department have a shared understanding of the Mathematical Practice Standards?
• Do you know what to look for and expect from your students when they are engaged in the Practice Standards?
• Do you need time to revamp your lessons to help focus teaching and learning on the Practice Standards?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, register to attend this two-day workshop to explore the Common Core State Standards for Math’s (CCSS-M) Mathematical Practice Standards.

The Standards for Mathematical Practice outline the experiences and interactions ALL students should have with mathematics. In these two days, we will explore 4 of the 8 CCSS-M Practice Standards in depth. After developing a common understanding of what the practice standards LOOK and SOUND like in classrooms, we will explore new resources that have been developed for teachers to assist teachers in implementing the practice standards and begin to plan lessons using these resources.

Each participant will receive at least one resource book. We will use the book to explore worthwhile mathematical tasks and to plan lessons around the tasks.

Pair this two-day series with the two-day series “Problem-solving in Common Core Math” in Spring 2012 to round out your preparation for implementing the Practice Standards.

REGISTER NOW

ALL Common Core Resources in ONE Place

Just what you've been looking for! One-stop-shopping for all things CCSS-M related.

• Tired of searching around for that lost Common Core file or website?
• Looking for ONE place that houses all of the important Common Core resources?

Search no further. The Michigan-specific Common Core LiveBinder has been developed to keep you up-t0-date in all things concerning the CCSS-M. Here, you'll find information and resources for curriculum, instruction, and assessment under the Common Core in the state of Michigan.

This LiveBinder is under construction. It launches today but check back often as new resources will be added on a weekly basis.