Themes in Math

Here is an update on the work I've been doing in the first semester of the Ed.D. program at San Francisco State University. I have learned how to put theories about social justice, transformational leadership, and equity into action. I'm lucky in the sense that this program is the right fit for me. I enjoy the conversations our cohort has in class, as well as the expertise and experience they openly share. It's a great group!

The program has given me the opportunity to continue my research and learning about mathematics teaching and learning. 

Here's what I have learned and synthesized about mathematics education this semester.
There is unequal math achievement for subgroups. 2015 CAASPP 4th Grade results show the following: 
88% ELL
83% African American
79% SED
78% Hispanic/Latina/Latino
66% Female
STANDARD NOT MET/STANDARD NEARLY MET
Why are the factors (policies, practices, structures) that contribute to the achievement gap in mathematics difficult to change?

Research themes from empirical literature:

Theme 1: Inequities in spending.

“Schools with high instructional spending were able to support higher quality instruction” (Ottmar et al., 2013).

Theme 2: Teacher beliefs about student ability.

"Teachers believed deeply that their students were capable of becoming mathematically proficient if they received appropriate support" (Cobb & Jackson, 2013).

Theme 3: Equity and teaching practices.

"Equity does not merely involve helping minority students reach higher standards set by the mainstream, but is instead a matter of understanding diversity as a relation between the community of practice established in the math classroom and the other communities of practice of which the students belong" (Nasir & Cobb, 2002).

An answer that I've come up with is the factors (policies, practices, structures) that contribute to the achievement gap in mathematics are difficult to change because equitable instructional practices are often tied to financial restraints, as well as intrinsic and reflective teaching practices. 

The following is missing from the research: 1) student voice and 2) research that determines what instructional practices support underserved students and their success in math. 

I will probably narrow my focus in the following ways: possibly focus on one subgroup and possibly focus on one factor. I will also discuss underlying issues of racism and social justice more explicitly as they relate directly and indirectly to math teaching and learning.

The birds' fire-fangled feathers dangle down. #reflection #edleadership

It's important for me to take a moment to reflect on the past year in terms of insights, takeaways, ideas, next steps, action items, successes, etc. This is an opportunity to practice what I preach. If I'm going to ask students and teachers to be reflective, then I should too. I've been thinking about the year a lot.

Last night, before the board meeting, I went to dinner with a colleague. As we were talking about privilege, equity, recent events in the news, our professional goals, vacations, etc. the following quote came to mind, "The birds' fire-fangled feathers dangle down." It's the last line of the poem titled, Of Mere Being, by Wallace Stevens. It's a poem my dad used to say from memory to my sister, brothers, and me when we were little. The last line has always stayed with me- maybe because of the alliteration, maybe because it's the end of the poem. 

Insights: Relationships matter. This theme emerged for me this year, especially at the Equity at the Core conference I attended. Change and progress cannot take place without respectful, trusting relationships. Each relationship is different/unique/complex.

Successes: I'm proud of the work I did to further the research/thinking from my Master's thesis on the SCASA SMP/SEP post. I'm proud I completed my Ignite at the CMC-North Asilomar Conference. I'm excited that I am starting my Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at SF State. 

Takeaways: Breathe. Be concise.

Ideas: What if we lead with curiosity that is truly genuine? Positivity and optimism are important. Build on your strengths. 

Next Steps: Look at science and math through the lens of equity. Talk about and recognize privilege. 

Action Items: Continue to support teachers with math, science and ELD instructional practices. 

Problem of the Month - Gallery Walk, January #maths #edleadership

The end of January marked our second school-wide problem of the month gallery walk. The problem of the month we decided to do for January was Calculating Palindromes.

Prior to giving the task to students, we spent time at a staff meeting working on this problem and then discussing our work and thoughts with each other. We had interesting conversations about zero and patterns.

I happened to be in two classrooms while they were working on this activity. Fourth graders were constructing viable arguments about all the possible ways to make twelve using two numbers between 1-11. Coincidentally, fifth graders were working on the same part. I saw many similarities in their work with Part A. Students came up with the same combinations of different numbers to equal twelve. Seeing the students in action was powerful. Most were working with and talking to partners, while others were working/thinking individually. I saw evidence of SMP #1: Make Sense of Problems and Persevere in Solving Them. The area of SMP #1 that stood out to me was inparticular was the following- students were analyzing givens, constraints, and relationships. They were making conjectures about the meaning of the solution. Part A of this problem had a few constraints and it was interesting to hear how students made sense of that.

The area where I saw the most change was in what students wrote on the post-its. This time, the students were commenting on each other's thinking while noticing patterns. Here are some examples of student comments:

"They all equal 12. And in the first column you counted down and in the second column you counted up." (6th grader commenting on 2nd grader's work.)

"It was a great idea and it works if you're trying to find a pattern." (6th grader commenting on 2nd grader's work.)

Here are some additional pictures of student work from the Gallery Walk:

Second grade work (pictured above), showed how students added different amounts using counting numbers 1-11 to get a sum of twelve.

 Second grade work (pictured above) document their thinking with a shared parnter paper.

Kindergarten work (pictured above) show nine ways to make four using cubes.

 Kindergarten conversations (pictured above) in what they noticed.

 Kindergarten thinking on display (pictured above).

Kindergarten used a variety of objects to show different ways to get four.

6th graders worked in small groups on Levels C and D.

After reflecting on our last gallery walk, I realized student voice and input about the experience was missing, so I sent out a Google form for students to fill out about their experience at the Gallery Walk. Here are screen shots of the form for student input:

Persevere #oneword2016

I chose the word, "persevere" for my #oneword2016 because of Standard for Mathematical Practice 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Already, this word has given me direction and purpose.

The dictionary definition of persevere is: (verb) to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

Last month I was one of ten Ignite speakers at the California Mathematics Council North Conference in Pacific Grove. Here is the link to my IGNITE. I definitely had to maintain a purpose (mindset about math) and continue steadfastly while working on those twenty slides. Overall, I was happy with how the slides and speech turned out. One of the things I learned about myself through the IGNITE experience is that perseverance pays off. I also liked the challenge of speaking while the slides automatically advance every fifteen seconds. I would definitely do another IGNITE.

In having lunch with students today, I was talking to them about my blog post and the idea behind the #oneword2016 hashtag. I was explaining to them that I wanted to pick a word that would be meaningful for my work. I was talking about how I always ask students to persevere in math and their studies, as well as life in general, and how it would be unfair if I didn't ask the same of myself. One student replied, "That's why I wanted to learn Spanish! It's a beautiful language."

 Photo credit: carlocassara.com

Photo credit: huttobible.com