2024 Northwest Mathematics Conference

Are you trying to implement a Thinking Classroom? If you need a refresher or just some encouragement, join me in this workshop as I push deeper into the practices that allow us to transform our classrooms from spaces where students mimic to spaces where students think. I will share strategies I’ve learned over the years that will help maintain the flow of a Thinking Classroom. Come and experience the joy of working in collaboration on rich tasks at vertical, non-permanent surfaces - a few of the necessary elements for building a Thinking Classroom.

In this workshop, participants will learn about the free virtual manipulatives available on Polypad, part of Desmos Classroom. Manipulatives can transform how students make meaning of important ideas by making abstract relationships visible, by teaching creativity and problem-solving, and by allowing students to explore and discover. Participants will learn about using Polypad virtual manipulatives including how to make free teacher and student accounts, how to get started exploring Polypad, how to create custom lessons and activities, how to view students work on Polypad in real-time, and so much more.

Many teachers set instructional and assessment tasks where students do math, but do not really need to understand the math they are doing. We will contrast such tasks with others that both build understanding and that assess understanding. We will discuss strategies to make it easier for a teacher to identify and create tasks that build and demonstrate understanding throughout the grades.

Building Virtues, Not Just Skills

Mathematics education often focuses on skills---like memorizing procedures or factoring a quadratic. Skills are important, but a great math education should also develop mathematical virtues---such as curiosity, creativity, persistence in problem-solving, and a disposition to beauty. And in an age of AI, virtues will be even more important than skills.