Math on the Rocks

Phil Daro joins us for another episode that Cole and Duane recorded live at the California Math Council South Conference in Palm Spring in November 2024. Phil is one of the authors of the Common Core Mathematics Standards. He was Duane's boss and mentor 20 years ago at eh National Council on Education and the Economy and is one of the most thought-provoking mathematics educators in the nation....

Steve Leinwand joins us to share his passionate belief that the traditional Algebra II curriculum (heck...all of high school math) often includes unnecessary repetition and outdated content, advocating for a more focused and relevant approach to the material that builds upon strong foundational algebra skills learned in earlier grades, emphasizing real-world applications and deeper conceptual unde...

Yolande Beckles was our guest for a live recording at the CMC South Conference in Palm Springs, November 2024. Her energy and passion are absolutely infectious!  In this episode she shares a vision of a "classroom that represents me". Amazing. RESOURCES… Principles for the Design of Mathematics Curricula and MLRs https://ul.stanford.edu/resource/principles-design-mathematics-curricula-and-mlrs Reg...

What a gift the Math on the Rocks community received! Deborah Crayton was referred to us from a friend of a friend of a friend. The math community really stepped up! Deborah knocked our socks off with her take on how to build community by inspiring curiosity. Of course, this doesn't happen without some deliberate moves on the part of the teacher. Deborah shares those moves!  RESOURCES… Principles...

Cathy Williams was our guest for a live recording at the CMC South Conference in Palm Springs. She brings the heat regarding modernizing what good mathematics and mathematics instruction should look like. What should math class in the 21st century look like and how should we support teachers make the transition? RESOURCES… Register for our conferences: Register for CMC Central Symposium in Bakersf...

Hilda shows why she is a leader in California on equity and access in mathematics. In this episode, Hilda shares how to value and identify our students' knowledge and skills that exist outside the classroom. And then she shares how to use that information to plan relevant mathematics that students can connect to and build strong math identities. RESOURCES… Hilda's slides: https://docs.google.com/p...

Duane and Scott get together to bounce around ideas for how to get students more engaged in math class. Sheesh…we came up with sooooo many ideas. BTW - hang tight! Duane is still editing the live episodes from CMC South conference. Read Chapter 2 of the 2023 California Mathematics Framework to learn more about the Three Dimensions of Systemic Change: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf/   RESOURCES… R...

Duane and Cole get together in a room to prepare for the SEVEN live sessions we will be doing at CMC-Couth Conference in Palm Springs. We finally announce the seven guests who will be joining us. We spend most of our conversation discussing the newly released 2023 CAASPP scores and share what we are doing to get districts back to pre-pandemic achievement levels. Listen to this podcast to hear what...

In this episode we replay the webinar we recently hosted with the remarkable Dr Kyndall Brown. Kyndall is currently the executive director of the California Mathematics Project. In addition to presenting at local, state, and national conferences on mathematics education, Kyndall also writes articles for mathematics education publications. His research focuses on the impact of culture and identity...

Duane and Cole talk about how to work with the teacher next door to you who might be very skeptical of the kind of teaching CMC, NCTM, and the California Mathematics Framework would like to see in the classroom. RESOURCES… Register for CMC South Conference in Palm Springs, November 7-9, 2024:  https://www.cmcmath.org/cmc-south-conference Register for CMC North Conference in Asilomar, December 6-8,...

The boys from Math on the Rocks is going on the road! We will be recording SEVEN live podcast episodes at the CMC-South Conference in Palm Springs, November 8 & 9, 2024. In this episode we play with our new recording equipment by talking about NIM and the keynote Duane delivered at the Kern County Math Council Fall Conference. RESOURCES… Here are the slides from Duane's keynote presentation: h...

In this episode we replay the webinar we recently hosted with the effervescent Brandon Smith. Brandon is the Director of Mathematics Innovation and Lead Mathematician at MIND Education and he comes sharing his thoughts about how to unlock the loy in math class.   RESOURCES… MIND Research Institute: https://www.mindresearch.org/ MathMINDS games: https://www.mindresearch.org/mathminds Learn about fu...

In this episode Cole pulls his car over to record the episode near a random vineyard. Scott shows up…late, but better late than NEVER. Duane is just in his office. We talk about how to  incorporate big ideas into your math lessons. RESOURCES… Duane's video on YouTube about sorting and comparing decimals: https://youtu.be/qiQW-wlpHC0?si=xPrAbtLbXJm5vQlG 5 Components of Equitable and Engaging Te...

In this episode we get the band back together. We enjoyed our summer break, but school is back in session and we've got our game faces on again. Cole is wondering what the heck Big ideas are and how they may or may not conflict with some of the basic tenets of PLC work. We dig into that topic and would love for YOU ALL to chime in with your thoughts! RESOURCES… 5 Components of Equitable and En...

In this episode Annie Fetter shares how to place Sense-Making at the core of your classroom instruction. Why should you care about what Annie has to say? Annie is one of the folks involved in crafting the Notice and Wonder routine which has weaved its way into the very DNA of American classrooms…of all subjects…not just math. Placing sense-making at the core of task might begin with something as s...

Cole hosted the latest Inspiring Math Minds webinar because Duane was off galavanting with this family. Albert Vilalta shares some simple, but profound, tasks that bring to life the 5 components of instructional design that encourage equitable outcomes and active student engagement. (This is straight from Chapter 2 of the 2023 CA Math Framework.)   RESOURCES… California Mathematics Framework...

Cole finishes his Ed. D. Scott shows up late. We talk about timed activities. We debrief the brilliance of Ed Campos and look forward to visiting with Jo Boaler. Finally we talk about how students LOVE when teachers use a problem-solving approach to instruction, but teachers don't feel equipped to teach in that way. RESOURCES shared in this episode… Cole's article he wrote with Jo Boaler:...

Ed Campos shares his futuristic thinking about how teachers might use ChatGPT in their classrooms to make teachers BETTER rather than in a way that attempts to replace teachers. He shares his favorite prompts and his favorite ways for using Chat GPT in the classroom. RESOURCES SHARED... One Stop Doc with all the resources for this webinar: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZrbUD_svp0zYomYjyH1Qqw...

While Cole is away getting his PhD, Duane and Scoot shoot the breeze a little bit about the fact that they both have sons with Down syndrome. Then we get down to the business of having Scott reflect on his school year. Irrigation circles: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crop_circles_north_of_Umatilla,_Oregon,_USA.jpg What is a Fermi Question? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_problem Som...

In this episode we talk a little bit about how cool it is to be a member of the California Mathematics Council and especially being on the leadership team. We encourage everyone to join CMC…maybe even volunteer some time to help run one of our conferences. For the video versions of our episodes, go here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvolZqLMhJmlKZXVW-HMWHmGsXXaeH09f CMC website: https://...

In this episode Duane and Cole debrief the webinar Dan Meyer recently hosted and then we talk about how to create active student engagement through investigation and connection.  Download Chapter 2 of the California Math Framework here: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf/index.asp Three-Act Math Task Dan Meyer's collection:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jXSt_CoDzyDFeJimZxnhgwOVsWkTQEsf...

On the 3rd Thursday of every month the Math on the Rocks team hosts live webinar with a math ed luminary. This time it was the legendary Dan Meyer. He shares how to invite student into more effective math learning. Check out the entire line up of webinars: https://www.cmc-math.org/cmc-central/virtual-learning-series Listen to all our episodes here: https://www.cmc-math.org/podcast For the video ve...

In this episode we dig into the Three Dimensions of Systemic Change That Support Mathematics Instruction. We will discuss each dimension during the next three episodes! An Assets-Based Approach to Instruction Active Engagement Through Investigation and Connection Cultural and Personal Relevance CMC - Central Webinar - April 18, 2024 - with Dan Meyer Register for this webinar here:  https://forms.g...

On the 3rd Thursday of every month, the MotR crew sponsors a webinar guest-hosted by some sort of luminary in the math education field. In this episode, it is Fawn Nguyen! This episode might best be experienced by watching the video. Use this Google form to let us know to remind you of upcoming webinars: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdS9jltcD1_rBfSAtMj7cnCvtbViZ08supxQCqTl_iNZdO8KA/vie...

Whew! The CMC Central Symposium was a WILD success this past weekend, so this episode we debrief that amazing experience. We also dabble in math anxiety and share an idea for how parents can mathematically interact with their children in healthy ways. Duane's math anxiety blog post: https://theothermath.com/index.php/2024/03/05/math-anxiety-parents-and-children/ Research on math anxiety and pa...