National core standards

The National Core Standards have the potential to make great changes in education. The focus on less concepts in mathematics at the lower elementary grades will allow teachers to go in-depth with their students, not only teaching them beginning math facts, but allowing them time to develop a true understanding of what the concepts mean and how the facts are determined. This may mean that teachers will need more training in the concepts themselves. While I believe all elementary teachers have a variety of strategies for teaching addition, for example, they may not know how to help students develop the deep understanding necessary to take in to adding fractions, understanding algebra, etc.

At the upper grades, the international benchmarking will have a definite impact on what is taught and how it is taught. Korean mathematics is a huge interest with a professor at Truman State University. Through her studies, she has found that students in Korean classrooms will work with one problem for an entire class period. The difference is the depth to which they take that problem and the number of ways they explore deriving the answer. By the time students are finished, they have an understanding that they can apply to new problems, as well as a variety of strategies.

It is interesting to see what other countries are doing. While there are many, many things we are doing extremely well in the US, teaching math could use some help. In Missouri, we tend to score at about 25 - 27 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The new Commissioner's goal is for Missouri to score in the top 10.

It will be a challenge. I foresee exciting days ahead.

Teachers Teaching Teachers

One of the most effective ways for teachers to gain new knowledge and new ideas is from other teacis hers. It is really exciting to watch teachers sharing what worked for them. With the new common core standards about to go national, and the increased accountability placed on teachers, this becomes much more a necessity. I encourage anyone checking in to this site to share something that works for them.

During my last year of active teaching (4 years ago) I was introduced to the book Achieving Background Knowledge by Robert Marzano. My principal thought I would enjoy the book. I was so excited by what I read that I bullied the other first grade teachers into accepting it as a book study during our professional development time. The premise: that building background knowledge is critical if children are to be successful in the classroom, and that this becomes even more critical for children with view experiences or lower ability.

Since that time, I have actively promoted the need for vocabulary development at all grade levels, and especially in mathematics. Mathematics language is precise and very content-specific. Words that mean one thing in literature may mean something totally different in mathematics. As teachers, we need to identify the essential terminology at each grade level, agree on mathematically correct definitions, and then use them with our students.

One method I like is a differentiated instruction strategy called cubing. On a paper cube, place a vocabulary word on one square. On another, you might ask for a description of the word, or an example. Non-examples are great ways to determine if students really understand the term. Have them use it in a sentence. Provide a SR question and let them choose the best answer. Have them draw a picture of the word. Anything that helps the student develop a better depth of understanding of the term.

Good luck! And keep them talking mathematically!

Welcome to Those Who Love to Teach

I was a first grade teacher for 25 years and loved nearly every minute of it. That's not to say I didn't have challenges, but I learned so much from those eager young learners and in meeting those challenges I learned even more about myself. Just to keep it fresh and interesting, and because I truly loved working with all kids, I worked with summer school students at the middle school level. I also coached senior high boys' soccer for two years. In addition, I coached the senior high quiz bowl team for ten years and learned much more from the players than they learned from me! Talk about bright kids!!

Today I work as a consultant on a grant program. As with many state run programs, this could end at any time due to budget constraints, but I continue to learn every day that I am on the job. I assist schools and teachers as they try to incorporate RtI, Depth of Knowledge, Assessment for Learning, Marzano's strategies, PLC, and many other programs into their educational systems. They often don't have the time to research these programs or attend the necessary trainings, so I do the background work for them. It is exciting to be on the cutting edge of education, but sometimes I need help too! That's why I started this blog -- to share information with others and hopefully get new ideas from them.

Welcome to Love to Teach!

Summarization Strategies for Elementary Teachers

I am currently in my third year working with a school that was in school improvement. They are now a Missouri school recognized with distinction, but the work continues. My next visit with them will be to help them understand Summarization and Note taking as an instructional strategy as described by Marzano. While I can find lots of ideas for summarization in reading (although mostly at the upper elementary to senior high grades), I am not finding good examples of this strategy at the lower elementary grades. In addition, I would love some specific examples of using summarization in elementary mathematics. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear from you.