Building Thinking Classrooms: Non-Curricular Tasks

Do you have a desire to work on fun math tasks? How does having time to play around with cool problems with your colleagues sound? The purpose of this professional development experience is to create a space where teachers can explore and play with math. We will work on whatever our hearts desire, choosing from the non-curricular* tasks featured in Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms book and other great tasks** from fellow FUHSD colleagues. After working through tasks, we will have time to share what we liked about the task, what we learned from the task, and what we might do if we were to facilitate the task with students!

*non-curricular tasks are great problem solving tasks that stimulate thinking and create opportunities to explore ideas 

and get interested in math; they have multiple entry points and solving strategies - check out this example!

**email Jessica Uy if you have a great task or two (or more!) to share!

Who: All Gen Ed and SAI math teachers who have participated in the BTC book club

When: One half-day session, lunch provided (choose to attend the Fall session OR Spring session)

• Fall: Thursday, September 4th, 12:00-3:30 

• Spring: Wednesday, January 14th, 11:30-3:00

BTC: Non-Curricular Tasks Outcomes:

1. Fun 🙂

2. A set of great non-curricular tasks to use with your students

3. Practical ideas for how to facilitate these tasks

REGISTER HERE to sign up for this PD!

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Math

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that provides equitable access to powerful learning to all students by offering multiple ways to engage with content, represent information, and express their understanding. When teachers implement UDL, they attend to learners at the margins rather than “typical” students, which enables them to design tasks, lessons, and classrooms that provide students with access to meaningful, challenging, inquiry-based math learning experiences. 

After engaging in this PD experience, teachers will walk away with a strong foundation in the six UDL design elements shown at right.

Through experiencing tasks, routines, and teaching practices that exemplify UDL design elements, teachers will be able to design, enact, and adjust their lessons to build students’ skills in becoming strategic sense makers and expert learners of mathematics.

Who: All Gen Ed and SAI math teachers

When: 4 half-day sessions, lunch provided

• Thursday, September 30th, 12-3:30

• Wednesday, October 29th, 11:30-3

• Tuesday, January 27th, 12-3:30

• Wednesday, March 4th, 11:30-3

UDL in Math PD Outcomes:

1. An understanding of what UDL is/is not, and what it actually looks like in math classrooms

2. Ready-to-implement UDL-based tasks, routines, and teaching practice. 

REGISTER HERE to sign up for this PD!

SAI Math Book Club: Rethinking Disability and Mathematics

After spending more than 10 years as both a special education and a general education inclusion teacher in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, Dr. Rachel Lambert (associate professor in special education and mathematics education at UCSB) has beautifully laid out an inspiring and practical guide to help teachers implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in their classrooms. An expert in both UDL and neurodiversity in mathematics, she shares ideas for how teachers can increase access to meaningful mathematics for students with disabilities. 

The purpose of the Rethinking Disability and Mathematics Book Club is to provide teachers with the opportunity to discuss key ideas from the book, which will help them re-think, adjust, and design lessons to help all students engage in deep math learning. Specifically, we will focus on:

• Goals for math learning

• UDL design elements

• Assessment

• IEP goals 

The book club sessions will also provide teachers with a support system as they apply their learning in the classroom.

Who: SAI math teachers

When: 5 two-hour sessions (2 in the Fall; 3 in the Spring), lunch provided 

• Sessions will alternate between 6th and 7th block 

• Exact dates and times TBD based on participants’ needs and preferences

Rethinking Disability and Mathematics Book Club Outcomes:

1. An understanding of UDL in math and how it intersects with students with disabilities

2. Experiments in the classroom via “mini” action research projects

REGISTER HERE to sign up for this PD!