assessment… How Amalia Multiplies: Listening and Learning from a Fourth Grader 19 Dec 2023 It's hard not to let our own bias creep into teaching situations. For one, our decision making processes thrive on context: what thinking has this student demonstrated about this topic?…
assessment… Seeing the World through One Kindergartner’s Eyes 18 May 2023 Sometimes I see Hassan, a kindergartner at my school, at the local mosque where my daughter attends Sunday School. I always wave brightly: "salamu alaykoum! Good to see you, Hassan!"…
assessment… Listening to Understand: Visualizing Adrian’s Thinking about Comparing Fractions 26 Feb 202326 Feb 2023 Marilyn Burns recently blogged about a 38 second video clip that I probably spent 380 seconds watching. (click on the image below to read the post -- but then come…
formative assessment… Secret Squares and Stop Signs 28 Jun 2022 I wrote a deeply sad post today. As I went to publish it, I hesitated. Yesterday was my last day of school, and instead of ending with sadness, I'd like…
formative assessment… What Will Help Plan for Tomorrow? 31 Mar 2022 What do I need to know about student thinking today before I teach tomorrow? Towards the end of a math lesson, this refrain plays in my head. ______ In third…
formative assessment… Understanding Negative Numbers: In Praise of Tiny Games 1 Feb 202217 Jun 2022 "Is this right?" Inaya asked me, pointing to the equation she'd recorded on her paper: 5 + (-8) = -13 We are one week into our 7th grade unit on…
curriculum… Making Space to Listen and Observe 29 Sep 2021 My school recently adopted TERC's Investigations in Number, Time, and Space. The cornerstone of this curriculum is listening to, centering, amplifying, and leveraging student ideas. Many of the embedded assessments…
assessment… Clinical Interviews in the Virtual Space (Using Flipgrid) 2 Apr 20212 Apr 2021 One of my favorite things to do as a math specialist is clinical interviews. During a clinical interview, I sit down with a student -- one-on-one -- and ask questions…
five practices… Which Shape Covers More: Orchestrating a Sixth Grade Math Debate 27 Sep 202022 Jun 2021 First, we must mourn for the loss of the Way We Used to Teach. I love my work. If I let you scroll through the photos on my phone, you'd…
child study… Assessments: Capturing a Moment in Time 20 Feb 20205 Feb 2022 It can be tempting to overgeneralize what we learn from an assessment. See how that second grader drew tally marks to solve 54 + 28? He's a direct modeler. He…
child study… Cultivating a Listener’s Mindset — with ELs 10 Jun 20186 Feb 2022 In a post last January, I wrote about how the "mental load" teachers carry can impact their ability to listen to their students. ...but listening is critical. It's especially critical when…
formative assessment… “Which is Greener?”: Connecting Fractions, Percents, and Ratios in Sixth Grade 16 Jun 201719 Sep 2017 Math should tell a story -- through the structure of units, and the structure of a year. There is no singular correct narrative; instead, I find joy in weaving different…
formative assessment… The Intersection of Fraction Talks & Clothesline Math: Formative Assessment and the Five Practices 8 Feb 201722 Jun 2021 My sixth graders are weary of pre-assessments. No matter how many times we discuss the goal of a pre-assessment – for me to learn more about their current strategies and…
Jenna Laib 