January represents the beginning of a new calendar year; however, it is also the beginning of the second semester of the school year for students. The beginning of the second semester is a great time to “take the pulse” of your students' mathematical thinking and
Welcome back from hopefully the most restful, relaxing, and rejuvenating break you’ve ever had as an educator. You deserve it! These past two years have truly been some of the most challenging in my professional career and I assume yours, too. One bright spot I
December is a busy time of year for teachers and their students. Teachers are well into the curriculum and are looking to continue to connect with students, reignite engagement, and manage focus/attention during the upcoming holiday season. One great way to do this is with
Ensuring that every classroom has the tools needed for student success is a high priority for teachers and leaders alike. That said, how does one know which tools are the “right” tools and on what to spend precious resources? And how do you ensure the
If you are among the many educators who have recently read Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics (Grades K-12): 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning, you may have been feeling excited, energized, and ready to start getting your students to think more in math when school started in the fall. And then it became sadly clear that COVID-19 is still with us and your school will likely look
Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools around the world in March 2020, teachers, other educational leaders, and students have faced what may be the toughest and most challenging 12 to 18 months of their academic careers. In addition, parents, caregivers, and families were put
In this post from September 2020, education leaders Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey describe “simultaneous learning” as the situation in which all students in a class are learning the same content, together, but some are not physically present while others are.Those not in the classroom are generally at home on
Much of my research has focused on identity and agency of Black boys to understand the ways these boys make sense of, respond to, and participate in mathematics. Identity has to do with how students engage with mathematics, how others perceive them, and how they see themselves as participatory in the space. Agency is seen in the ways students take risks to
Lately it seems that our inboxes, news feeds, and social media streams are flooded with worrisome messages about “COVID slide” and “Learning Loss.” While it’s true that the past year has been filled with challenges, we invite teachers, parents, and other stakeholders to join us in a
As a young girl, my mother introduced me to the idea of first impressions. She emphasized how my physical appearance and my first words in new interactions would cause others to form an almost instant impression of me. She also explained that it would be extremely challenging to change negative first impressions once they were