MCA Assessment Update
Now that the New Year has begun, it’s time to turn our attention to the MCAs. The following is some important information about OLPA and the 2016 MCA tests.
Continue readingAuthor: MathBits
MCTM CONNECT – A Resource for Beginning Teachers
Pre-service teachers and those in their first few years of teaching are invited to the CONNECT Session held during 7:00–9:00 PM on Thursday, April 28th, the evening before the MCTM Spring Conference in Duluth.
Continue readingGet Off the Escalator! “Teaching” is Active and Intentional.
Submitted by Sara Van Der Werf
As we enter 2016, my wish for the all teachers is that we would stop wasting time making excuses for why our students are not learning, we would not waste time wishing for students to arrive with more skills than they have. I wish we would see the assets our students do arrive with. I wish for all of us that we would actively do something different if our students are not successful. My wish for 2016 is that all of us would ‘get off the escalator’ and make intentional choices in our teaching.
Math On-A-Stick
Submitted by Jessica Breur.
Those of you from Minnesota probably understand that for most Minnesotans the last “official” summer event is the Minnesota State Fair. I attended the fair. I did not eat anything on a stick. I did, however, experience Math On-A-Stick, and it was amazing.
Observations from a New Teacher
Submitted by Heather Novak.
With any career pursuit, most learning happens in the first few months on the job – the learning curve is inevitable…In my classroom, the following have been absolutely essential in building a classroom environment where learning math is engaging, interactive and fun.
Graphing Stories
Submitted by Anna Thompson.
Does every picture tell a story?
Conversely, we might say that every story has a picture and in algebra that picture is usually a graph…. enter: Dan Meyer’s Graphing Stories.
The Importance of Quick Images and Multiplicative Thinking
Submitted by Nina Smith.
Faye B. Clark and Constance Kamii report “Multiplicative thinking was found early (45% of second graders demonstrated some multiplicative thinking) and developed slowly (only about 48% of fifth graders demonstrated consistently solid multiplicative thinking)”. So how can we support students to develop this type of thinking?
Happy Hunting
Into the fall and winter many people find themselves out hunting. No different the mathematicians perusing the NCTM Regional Conference Program Book in November in Minneapolis. With pen and highlighter poised participants were ready to hit the target of the perfect session(s) to find that “just right” strategy to address the focus of classroom or district needs.
Continue readingAcademic Mindset
The word “Mindset” has a nearly automatic association to many educators out there…but what if all along we haven’t been putting this theory in its rightful place as a facet of a larger, more important mindset, the Academic Mindset?
Continue readingReport Cards for Famous Mathematicians
See report cards for famous mathematicians.
Continue reading