Supporting student learning means so many things to me. One of the strongest elements of the CPM curriculum is that it encourages group work and has developed a variety of strategies for teachers to use to encourage collaboration as students work through new material. Many of these encourage the use of the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice, which I have used for years in my classroom. At our February CPM conference, we received training and advice on how to start writing the practices into IEPs so that student goals are more connected to math growth and skills rather than mastery of a single concept. My new PFAA classroom has whiteboard walls which are something I haven’t ever had in a classroom before. In the past, most of the time my whiteboard was covered by the projector or math notes from class. Now I have a whole wall for students to utilize as we get into group work or review for tests.
In February 2020, I started planning a Family Math Night for PACT. It was planned to follow a very successful Science Night. It was exciting to see so many families show up and engage with the science activities, and I knew we could do the same thing for our first-ever Math Night. Covid shutdowns cut this activity off, but I kept the planning document because I knew it was something I wanted to pursue in the future.
When we had a math data chat early in the first semester, I brought up the idea that families needed to be more involved than ever as we come back from Covid, and start in with the CPM curriculum. We planned our first ever PFAA Family Math Night and it was a huge success with over 70 parents in attendance. They were engaged in the lesson, and asked critical questions about how and why we are teaching math in this new way. I strongly believe that if we continue holding events like this annually, or even each semester, our students’ math skills will get stronger as we solidify student-teacher-parent triangulation.
Finally, a goal for supporting a well-rounded PFAA experience for students is to continue collaborating with other teachers to create experiences that combine content in skills from multiple subjects. In December 2022 and February 2023, we took the 6th graders and 8th graders on a field trip to a roller rink. During the experience, the 6th graders studied the design of a skate, and tested out how a skate rolls on a slick surface like the rink and a flat surface like the carpet. They even took the skates apart to see how they were designed. We previewed the activity in math with a skating rink business project, and followed up with a “design your own skate” activity where students modified the skate by adding something to it. During the 8th grade trip, students talked about sound waves, light waves, and the doppler effect. We had two field trips to the same place, but we created different STEAM experiences for them based on the content we were teaching in our classes. I was so lucky to experience this type of collaboration at PACT as well with my Project X team. We created many learning opportunities for our students, including a cross-collaboration for Greek Day in the spring of 2022. We made Greek pottery and studied Greek art while they learned about Ancient Greece in Humanities. We also had a Greek Feast and a Greek Olympics competition. One of the things I appreciate most about NCS is working with teachers who are willing to collaborate creatively to create these types of whole-student experiences.
Students, teachers and families need to work together to build math skills, confidence, and fluency
Benefits to whiteboard walls and wipe-boards (CPM research on vertical workspaces)
Students need written + verbal feedback and encouragement beyond their grades
Continue Family Math Night
Continue building cross-collaborative STEAM experiences
Continue developing a strong sense of the Standards for Mathematical Practice with CPM strategies