The purpose of the following response questions is to support you as you make sense of the assigned readings and synthesize key ideas across them specifically, the connections between productive disposition and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, including the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs), as well as the role of exploration and attention to identity and equity in K-12 math classrooms (CLOs 1 & 3). They also provide a space for us to share thoughts, ideas, and wonderings so we can learn with (and from!) one another.
As you respond to your peers across this course, be sure you are thoughtfully engaging with the ideas we are working with in this course (and other education/mathematics courses) to answer questions and continue the conversation.
Instructions
After completing the assigned readings for Week 2, choose two of the following response questions and answer them via this Canvas Discussion Board.
Initial Post
Choose two of the following Response Questions. Identify the numbers of the questions you answer in the initial post. Those numbers will be important when it comes to responding to peer posts.
The chapter on exploration (Su, 2020) reminds us that exploration – asking questions, probing at a problem to see what happens, and learning from those probes to re-strategize – is something that happens naturally within all cultures. What sort of tasks and activities in mathematics classrooms provide these sorts of opportunities for exploration? What are their similar and important characteristics? Did you ever have a chance to explore mathematically in your learning journey? If yes, share details of that opportunity, including what it covered and how it made you feel. If not, discuss how you would adapt a project or activity to be more conducive to exploration.
Schoenfeld (2014) reviews the shift in mathematics being taught in school supported (and potentially complicated) by the Common Core. Propose, in 3-4 sentences, how Schoenfeld and Sus thinking are aligned and not-so-aligned. Then, consider Schoenfelds thinking on Whats Needed to Fix Things? What do you think is needed to fix things? Identify at least two areas to fix things that seem relevant to you. Connect your identified areas to your own experiences in mathematics – how have these areas or instances influenced your learning? Then, identify one existing question about the Common Core and reframing mathematics that you would like to explore further over this course.
The lecture on the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) (we will do this during Monday class) overviewed the policy document that guides what and how mathematics content is organized for learning across the country. The CCSSM and SMPs attempt to develop increased coherence, rigor, and focus of mathematical ideas by providing progressions for how these concepts build across grade levels and content areas. The standards also begin to outline how mathematics is done, supporting students in actively engaging in math. After exploring these standards (both content and practice), explain how you think they support and obscure the vision of mathematics and mathematics education we have discussed so far in this class. Specifically, identify an example (each) of increased coherence, focus, and rigor that you found within your review of the standards. Then, share at least two questions or doubts that you have around how coherence, focus, and rigor are attended to in the standards.
Allen & Schnell (2016) outline four ways to support the development of mathematical identities in your classroom: knowing and believing in your students, redefining mathematical success, prioritizing the student voice, and monitoring identity formation. The authors introduce specific ways of acting on these pillars in the classroom. Pick two of these four pillars and reflect on when, where, and how if any, did you experience teachers (or others) in your math learning journey attending to these pillars. That is, did you experience teachers knowing or believing in you as a student? Did you have opportunities for multi-dimensional mathematical success? Did you have opportunities to have your ideas shape the mathematics learned in a specific course or topic? Did you experience a teacher paying attention to your mathematical identity? Once you have chosen your two pillars of focus, describe your experiences. Be specific around which characteristics of that experience were foundational for you. Then, share how those experiences have shaped your ongoing mathematical identity development.
Articles/resources:
Chapter 2, Su, F. (2020). Mathematics for human flourishing. Yale University Press.
Schoenfeld, A. (2014). Common sense about the Common Core (Links to an external site.). [Blog post]. Teaching Math Culture.
Allen, K., & Schnell, K. (2016). Developing Mathematics Identity download. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 21(7), 398405.
