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Jenna Laib

Jenna Laib

The Blog of a K-8 Math Specialist

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Tag: child study

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Tomás and the Jellybeans: Increasing Access

5 Nov 2024
How do we support students who are struggling to access grade level content? In my own school, I focus my efforts on co-teaching and coaching, but I also see students…
#tmwyk

Making Meaning with Arrays: More Preschooler Division

20 Mar 202020 Mar 2020
While my 2 year old napped, my 4 year old and I baked some chocolate chip muffins. "You know, mama, there are 4 people in all," she announced, while swirling…
#tmwyk…

Everyone Gets A Handful: Preschoolers Explore Division

28 Jan 20205 Feb 2022
One bag of cheese puffs. Four hungry children. My two children -- ages 4 and 2 -- had been playing with friends -- ages 4 and 8 -- when my…
child study

Building Mental Representations

25 Nov 201917 Nov 2019
"Sabrina is fascinating. She will look at a problem for three minutes, not appearing to be thinking about it at all, and then come up with the correct answer," her…
assessment…

What does it mean to be “struggling” in math class? (Eduardo’s Story)

5 Feb 20195 Feb 2019
It was a sea of dots. Eduardo's work for 47 + 27 Over and over again, for both computational and story problems, third grade student Eduardo drew dots. Eduardo's work,…
assessment…

Presuming Competence: Using Clinical Interviews to Support Classroom Instruction

13 Nov 201827 Nov 2018
"She's not on an IEP, but she's struggling in class. What should I do?" I don't know the student -- Alejandra, or Ali, for short -- very well, so I arranged…
education

The New Kid

16 Oct 201712 Feb 2022
In a nutshell: my district offers a fellowship grant each year for six teachers to spend a (paid) week writing about teaching over the summer. I am never fully certain…
child study

Breaking the “100 Barrier” with Jamal

10 Mar 201727 Nov 2018
“98, 99…” Second grader Jamal and I had worked for a full month -- one-on-one, four days per week -- to develop his sequencing skills and mental number line. Every time we made it…
child study…

Counting to 10 in Danish: Learning from Students, Colleagues + the #MTBoS

23 Jan 201727 Nov 2018
I started this post yesterday, and then read a blog post by Kyle Pearce that filled in some of the gaps in my own thinking. Once again, I feel indebted…
response

Response to Michael Pershan’s Essay, Part 2

13 Jan 201723 Feb 2017
Read Michael's essay, "Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don't Know." Read Part 1: Counting with Celine, about a student I worked with for five years. It was bittersweet to…
child study…

Counting with Celine / Response to Michael Pershan’s Essay, part 1

13 Jan 201723 Feb 2017
I read Michael Pershan’s essay, "Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don't Know," twice. He described a familiar experience: when students seem stuck with operational fluency, in spite of our…

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Upcoming Conference Presentations & Workshops

December 2025 & January 2026
EDC (Waltham, MA)
“Data Routines: Slow Reveal Graphs”

January 15, 2026
Math Coach Virtual Learning Network (virtual)

February 4, 2026
TERC’s Forum for Equity in Elementary Mathematics (free virtual webinar)
“Using Insights about Student Thinking to Shape Classroom Experiences”

SEE OTHER RECENT & UPCOMING EXPERIENCES…

Recent Posts

  • Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom 22 Nov 2025
  • Inputs and Outputs 20 Oct 2025
  • Anderson’s Endless Zeroes 12 Apr 2025
  • How Many Nivelsnorts: Assessing Silly Story Problems 7 Nov 2024
  • Tomás and the Jellybeans: Increasing Access 5 Nov 2024
  • Why Do I Love This Student Work: Examining Context & Bias 22 Oct 2024
  • “Yes! And!” 10 Oct 2024
  • For Our Math Education Community 29 Sep 2024
  • The Love Graph 17 Jul 2024
  • Estimating Products and Co-Planning in Grade 4 30 Jun 2024

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Tags

#tmwyk access centering students ideas child study clinical interview desmos division education equity five practices formative assessment fractions games geometry grade 1 grade 2 grade 3 grade 4 grade 5 grade 6 grade 7 grade 8 illustrative mathematics intervention investigations Investigations (Inv3) kindergarten listening making connections mtbos multiplication problem-based instruction problem-based learning productive discussions race remote learning slow reveal graphs student thinking student work writing
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