Jenna Laib // Blog

@jennalaib

Embrace the Challenge

I am a math specialist near Boston, MA. Find me on twitter @JennaLaib. For the last few years, this blog has served as a way for me to process and reflect on my work. Scroll down to check out my latest posts, or use the menu to browse by category.…Continue reading “Embrace the Challenge”

five practices…

Stenhouse Blog Post: Using Student Work as an Anchor for Mathematical Discourse (Something to Talk About)

11 Jan 20221 Jan 2022

This blog post was published on the blog for Stenhouse Publishing, as part of a series on classroom discourse. You can read the complete post on the Stenhouse website. While…

“Oops, I Forgot”: Small, Beautiful Moments

2 Jan 20228 Oct 2022

I sat with fourth grade teacher Ms. Goldman in the back of her classroom as students cleaned up materials from the class. There were 15 minutes left in the school…

in the classroom

More Peas, More Carrots: Student Agency in Representations While Problem Solving

Today, the first graders revisited "Peas and Carrots." They had spent several days exploring part-part-whole thinking in the context of games like "how many are hiding?" and "counters in a…

in the classroom

The Half-Triangle: Attending to Precision and Building On Others’ Ideas

12 Dec 202111 Dec 2021

From Investigations: Grade 4, Unit 4, Investigation 2, Lesson 2 "This shape fits my rule," said 4th grade teacher Ms. Cohen, moving the green right triangle to the left side…

in the classroom

“Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say”: Peas and Carrots Edition

Yesterday was an exciting day in first grade: the launch of peas & carrots! This is the first "how many of each?" problem in first grade. Students wrestle with two…

Exploring Geometry with Simon Gregg (Addendum to ‘Digging in the closet’)

18 Nov 202120 Nov 2021

Shortly after posting my recent blog post -- "Digging in the Closet: The Return of the Museum of Rarely Used Math Manipulatives (MoRUMM)" -- I received a DM from Simon…

in the classroom…

Digging in the Closet: The Return of the Museum of Rarely Used Math Manipulatives (MoRUMM)

18 Nov 202112 Dec 2021

My officemate and I have an embarrassment of riches -- in the form of math materials. In the first district where I taught, manipulatives were hard to come by. My…

Making Space to Listen and Observe

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…

five practices…

“Look! I showed my work!”

8 Sep 20218 Sep 2021

It's surreal to be back at my school, in person, after 18 months away. I feel a tremendous sense of vertigo when I look around at this place that is…

Reducing Bias with Desmos Dashboard

17 Aug 202123 Oct 2024

When I am teaching in person, I circulate around the room. When I first started teaching, I would circulate in similar patterns, winding my way through the desks and rows…

Windows and Mirrors: Fair Shares for Eid al-Adha

2 Aug 20212 Aug 2021

A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Hadith attributed to Prophet Mohammed (ra) Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha was a little over two weeks ago. It…

#tmwyk

Kids Mathematize the World: Arrays

It's fascinating to observe how my children mathematize the world! Where do they see mathematics? How do they interact with it? Doing Puzzles in a Ballgown This morning, my 5yo…

How Much Is Enough: Using Student Feedback to Reflect on Practice

28 Jun 202112 Jul 2021

Do students need to finish every problem? When I have asked this of colleagues, everyone has responding with a resounding no! Definitely not!Not every student needs that much practice.It's okay…

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…

Pushing the Edge: Podcast with Greg Curran

6 Jan 20216 Jan 2021

I am supremely honored that Dr. Greg Curran invited me as a guest on his most recent season of his podcast, Pushing the Edge. Greg is an incredibly thoughtful and…

in the classroom…

Notice, Feel, Wonder, and Act: How Can Data Inspire Us to Help?

7 Dec 20203 Apr 2021

"Is this another sad graph?" Serafina wrote to me in the zoom chat. We had just started our Slow Reveal Graph routine. At this point, students could only see a…

Using Videos to Reflect on Practice, Student Identity, and Agency

29 Nov 20203 Apr 2021

I hate watching myself on video. I squirm. I flinch. I last, I don't know, a maximum of 9 seconds...? And now I have to teach in an environment where…

Using Screenshots & Photos to Reflect on Practice

28 Nov 20203 Apr 2021

Back in the Before Times, I took hundreds of photos of student work. "What do you do with all of those photos?" students would ask. I am a student of…

How Are Students Representing Their Ideas During Remote Learning?

27 Nov 20203 Apr 2021

I come from the Marilyn Burns School of Student Work Samples -- which is to say I prize student work that fills a large, blank page. (#TeamBlankSpace) Marilyn Burns, one…

Johnny Upgrade

29 Sep 20203 Apr 2021

If you've never played Johnny Upgrade before, you should know that it begins with music. Epic music. Like anthemic, sweeping, about to vanquish the villain at the 11th hour music.…