Welcome back from MCTM President
Welcome Back!
When you see and hear the number 744, what do you think of? How does it connect to your life?
My first thoughts are:
- 700 + 40 + 4
- 1,000 – 256
- It’s divisible by 3
- It’s about 2 years long
- 744 Boeing aircraft which reminds me of my trip to Washington to hike Mt. Rainier & Mt. Olympic National parks
744 is also the number of times the word relationship is in our 2022 MN Math Standards.
I will be working in a new school this fall and the word relationship has been on my mind all summer as my goals are connection/relationships and curiosity. To lean into these goals, I share questions that may help shape the relationships I get to build on my new adventure.
- How will we create the conditions for positive relationships in the classroom? Among colleagues? Families?
- How will we find the interests, strengths, lived experiences, and cultural capital of our students, colleagues, families?
- How will those relationships support a culture of questioning, curiosity, sharing differing views & lived experiences?
- How will we connect lived experiences and strengths to the content?
- How will we use progressions to connect prior learning to grade level standards?
- How will we create coherence through collaborative planning?
- How will we connect & use relationships between concepts, models, and strategies?
- How will we connect listening, speaking, reading and writing to ensure students’ thinking is visible?
There is no one right way but deeply listening with curiosity is a great first step to building relationships. 
I also encourage you to look into the Math Practices & Anchor Standard webinars as they are a wealth of information and resources to build the relationships between concepts, models, and strategies.