Division Contact Info
Email the Curriculum & Instruction Department Diane Elia Debbi Puente Adam Wade
Ellen Hickey Fax: (831) 466-5846 Division Pages
Educational Services Division
Teaching Algebraic Thinking
This summer marks the beginning of the series in which teachers are provided the opportunity to develop methods for teaching algebraic thinking and rational thinking, as well as academic vocabulary associated with math. Featuring guest presenters David Foster, Sandy Devlin and Suzanne Damm, the Curriculum and Instruction Department is introducing teachers to research-based strategies that support students in becoming mathematical thinkers. After the first day of the series, participants left excited and enthusiastic about Number Talks, a strategy they could use right away in their classrooms. The Number Talk strategy encourages students to analyze multiple ways of solving problems. This in turn helps to build fluency and flexibility in a student’s thinking about Math. Participants practiced Number Talks in the role of the student, then in the role of the teacher, and realized that it was, “okay to struggle and discover answers” and, “more minds are better when solving a math problem.”
At future sessions, teachers will also be learning through video observation of lessons and evaluation of student outcomes. This process of lesson study, will allow them to build strategies that increase student learning, and to see how Algebra connects with other math strands like Number Sense. Lesson studies allow teachers to jointly draw up detailed plans for a lesson and then observe one of their peers teaching their lesson in a real classroom. The group then comes back together to discuss their observations and improve upon the lesson they created together. This type of collaboration helps to ensure that new strategies will become embedded in everyday practice, while at the same time building reflective skills in teachers.
Another outcome of this professional learning opportunity is to build a support team of like-minded teachers, who can examine practice and be strategic about confronting misconceptions in student mathematical understanding. Participating teachers will collaboratively develop the tools and strategies for responding to students who do not “get” something in math. Ultimately, these teachers will be systematically examining their practice with the goal of becoming more effective through honest reflection around their teaching practice and the student learning in their classroom.
At a time when students are expected to master Algebra skills before entering high school, providing teachers from Kindergarten on up with the tools for teaching mathematics is extremely important. The Teaching Algebraic Thinking workshop series, provided by the Curriculum and Instruction department, was strategically designed to address this issue in Santa Cruz County schools.  |
Educators from across the county are gathering five times throughout this school year to learn more about teaching mathematics. Finding skilled Math teachers continues to present a challenge to most districts, so building Math skills within our teachers through professional development, like the Teaching Algebraic Thinking series, is extremely important. Through their participation, teachers are hoping to, “learn methods to help their students build conceptual understanding and confidence, and to have the opportunity to share and learn from peers.”
