{"id":829,"date":"2015-12-31T10:38:34","date_gmt":"2015-12-31T16:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mctmmathbits.org\/?p=829"},"modified":"2016-01-31T18:07:51","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T00:07:51","slug":"get-off-the-escalator-teaching-is-active-and-intentional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mctmmathbits.org\/?p=829","title":{"rendered":"Get Off the Escalator! “Teaching” is Active and Intentional."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"vanderwerf\"
\nSara Van Der Werf<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Teacher, Minneapolis South High School<\/p>\n

MCTM President<\/p>\n

In recent years I\u2019ve showed a video of a man and a woman on an escalator to my students each year. (You can watch it HERE<\/a>, it takes only 2 minutes) The escalator stops in the video and the man and woman start screaming for help. Hours pass and you see the 2 individuals sitting on the escalator waiting for help to arrive. As I show the video my students laugh and some scream \u201cWalk!\u201d Essentially my students are telling the people in the video to DO something, that they have the power to change their circumstances. I tell my students that many times they look as silly as the people in the video in math class. I say \u201cThis year if I see you sitting there without a pencil doing nothing, I will say \u2018get off the escalator\u2019 meaning I want you to do something to solve your problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

The message of this video is not just great for my students, it is also totally appropriate for those of us who teach mathematics. I think we (math teachers) at times know that things are not working in our classroom and we scream for help. Sometimes these screams for help are internal, we don\u2019t want anyone to know what we know, that what we are doing is not working. We make excuses. We waste time wishing to teach a different group of students. What we fail to do at times is to actively do something that could change the outcomes in our classrooms.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0 My wish for 2016 is that all of us would \u2018get off the escalator\u2019 and make intentional choices in our teaching.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article is part 3 of an 8 article series highlighting 8 words in the MCTM Mission Statement highlighting the word \u2018TEACHING<\/strong>‘.\u00a0\u00a0 (Here are links to part 1: \u2018PROFESSIONALS<\/a>\u2019 or part 2: \u2018PROMOTING<\/a>\u2019) I, as President, am MCTM. You as a member of our organization are MCTM. Our mission statement gives us direction around our profession. In my series of articles I hope to give insight into 8 of the words it contains and how they inform our practice. Please take a moment to reread our mission statement.<\/p>\n

\"sara1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

January and February\u2019s articles highlight the words \u2018Teaching<\/strong> and Learning\u2019. As I sat down to write this article it was tough to separate these 2 words because they are so intertwined. Teaching<\/strong> and learning are inseparatable. I am sure many of you have seen this comic at one of your professional development sessions in the last several years. It is a simple comic we should all hang above our desks. It reminds us that not everything we do that looks like \u2018teaching\u2019 is successful. We need to make sure students have learned something. In February I will talk about what it means to \u2018learn\u2019 something. This month I will talk about the only thing that we can control in the process and that is \u2018teaching<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"sara2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start by looking at \u2018teaching<\/strong>\u2019 from <\/em>NCTM\u2019s Principles to Actions (2014)<\/em> book. Afterward I will give you a few practical things that have worked for me in my classroom around teaching<\/strong>. NCTM writes, <\/em>\u201cTeachers\u2019 beliefs influence the decisions that they make about the manner in which they teach<\/strong> mathematics<\/em>\u201d. (page 10) WOW! What I believe influences my decisions as a teacher. What I love about NCTM\u2019s publication is they include lists of \u2018unproductive\u2019 and \u2018productive\u2019 beliefs. What I know for sure is I want to spend my time on beliefs that are productive (meaning they get me off the escalator) Please take a moment to read NCTM\u2019s list.<\/p>\n

\"sara3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

NCTM\u2019s Principles to Actions book (2014) then goes on to list 8 Mathematics TEACHING<\/strong> practices:<\/p>\n