Rounding Up

ROUNDING UP: Making the Shift: Moving From Additive to Multiplicative Thinking with Anderson Norton, Ph. D. One of the most important shifts in students' thinking during their elementary years is also one of the least talked about. I'm talking about the shift from additive to multiplicative thinking. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I suspect you're not alone. Today, we talk with Dr. And...

ROUNDING UP: Enrichment for All with Tisha Jones At their best, programs with titles such as "gifted and talented" seek to provide enrichment to a subset of learners. That said, these initiatives can have unintended consequences, sending messages about which students are (or are not) capable doers of mathematics. What if there was a way educators could offer problems that extend grade-level learni...

ROUNDING UP: Constructing Joyful Mathematics Classrooms with Amy Parks, Ph. D. Teaching is a complex and challenging job. It's also one where educators experience moments of deep joy and satisfaction. What might it look like to build a culture of joy in an elementary mathematics classroom? Michigan State professor Amy Parks has some ideas. Today on the podcast we explore ways educators can constru...

ROUNDING UP: Extending Opportunities for Engagement with Meghan Shaughnessy, PhD When we say students are engaged in a discussion or a task, what do we really mean? There are observable behaviors that we often code as engaged, but those are just the things we can see or hear. What does engagement really mean, particularly for students who may not verbally participate on a regular basis? RESOURCES...

ROUNDING UP: Empathy Interviews with Kara Imm, PhD. If there were a list of social skills we hope to foster in children, empathy is likely close to the top. Empathy matters. It helps us understand how others are feeling so we can respond appropriately, and it can help teachers understand the way their students are experiencing school. Today on a podcast, we talk with Dr. Kara Imm about a practice...

ROUNDING UP: Practical Ways to Build Strength-Based Elementary Math Classroom with Beth Kobett, EdD What if it were possible to capture all of the words teachers said or thought about students and put them in word clouds that hovered over each student throughout the day? What impact might the words in the cloud have on the student's learning experience? This is the question that Beth Kobett and Ka...

ROUNDING UP: Building Fluency and Procedural Understanding with Work Places with Lori Bluemel Many elementary educators recognize that timed memorization activities have the potential to seriously derail a child's identity as a doer of mathematics. But if we want to build fluency, what alternatives are there? Today on the podcast, we talk with Lori Bluemel, a curriculum consultant at The Math Lear...

ROUNDING UP: Building a Broader Definition of Participation with Dr. Juanita Silva Participation is an important part of learning to make sense of mathematics.  But ask yourself, "What counts as participation?" In this episode, we talk with Dr. Juanita Silva from Texas State University about an expanded definition of participation—and what it might mean for how we engage with and value our student...

ROUNDING UP: Why Progressions Matter with Graham Fletcher Rounding Up Season 1 | Episode 18 – Why Progressions Matter Guest: Graham Fletcher Mike Wallus : Many educators were first introduced to the content that they teach as a series of items on a checklist. What impact might that way of thinking have on a teacher's approach to instruction? And what if there were another way to understand the mat...

ROUNDING UP: Asset-Based Assessment with Tisha Jones When you look at the results of your students' work, what types of things are you attending to?  Many of us were trained to look for the ways that students were not understanding concepts or ideas. But what if we flipped that practice on its head and focused on the things students did understand? Today on the podcast, we're talking with Tisha Jo...

ROUNDING UP: Math Talk in Kindergarten & Beyond with Dr. Hala Ghousseini Kindergarten is a joyful, exciting and challenging grade level to teach. It's also a time when educators can develop a set of productive norms and routines around discourse that can have a long-lasting effect on students. On today's podcast, we talk with Dr. Hala Ghousseini , a professor at the University of Wisconsin, about...

Rounding Up   Productive Ways to Build Fluency with Basic Facts with Dr. Jenny Bay Williams Guest: Dr. Jennifer Bay-Williams   Mike Wallus : Ensuring students master their basic facts remains a shared goal among parents and educators. That said, many educators wonder what should replace the memorization drills that cause so much harm to their students' math identities. Today on the podcast, Jenny...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 14 How can educators take concrete steps to enhance tasks for multilingual learners? That's the subject of today's podcast. Today we'll talk with Dr. Zandra de Araujo , the chief equity officer at the University of Florida's Lastinger Center for Learning about three ways to enhance tasks for multilingual learners and how to implement them in an elementary mathematic...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 13 We often ask students to share their strategies. But what does it look like to uncover and highlight the reasoning that informs that strategy? Today on the podcast, we'll talk with Nancy Anderson  , a classroom teacher and professional learning developer about strategies to elicit the reasoning at the heart of a student's thinking. TRANSCRIPT Mike Wallace : We of...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 12 Today we talk with Kim Markworth, director of content development at The Math Learning Center about using and designing rich tasks to support student learning. TRANSCRIPT Mike Wallus : Lately, terms like "rich tasks," "multiple entry points," and "low floor, high ceiling" are being used so often in the world of mathematics education that many educators are confus...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 11 Adopting a new curriculum can be challenging. Beyond the materials themselves, a curriculum adoption may represent changes to long-standing practices, beliefs and classroom culture. On today's podcast, Dana Nathanson, an elementary math coordinator in Leander, TX, talks about how leaders can effectively design, manage and sustain a successful curriculum adoption....

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 10 Take a moment to think about the students in your most recent class. What assets do each of them bring to your classroom, and how might those assets provide a foundation for their learning? Today we're talking with Dr. Jessica Hunt about asset-based learning environments.  We'll talk about how educators can build an asset-based learning environments in their clas...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 9 Today on the Podcast, a team of educational leaders from TNTP , an organization dedicated to great teaching, talks about myths surrounding multilingual learners and introduces specific strategies educators can use to leverage their assets and support meaningful understanding of mathematics. RESOURCES If you're interested in more on this topic, consider the followi...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 8 Today on the podcast, Pamela Seda and Kyndall Brown , authors of Choosing to See: A Framework for Equity in the Math Classroom , talk about what culturally relevant mathematics instruction looks like and identify practical steps educators can take to start this important work in their classrooms.  RESOURCES If you're interested in more on this topic, consider the...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 7 Today on the podcast, we're talking with Dr. Kendra Lomax from the University of Washington about a body of research called Cognitively Guided Instruction and the promise it holds for elementary educators and students. RESOURCES If you're interested in more on this topic, consider the following article for further reading: Cognitively Guided Instruction TRANSCRIPT...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 6  Close your eyes and picture your childhood self learning math in elementary school. What memories and feelings come to mind? When you reflect on those memories, what unspoken messages did you absorb about what it meant to be good at math? And, how did those early experiences with mathematics shape your belief about yourself as a doer of math? Today on the podcast...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 5  Whether it's creating "I can statements" or developing success criteria, there's no denying that writing learning targets is a part of teacher practice. Today, Dr. Rachel Harrington from Western Oregon University talks about creating powerful and productive learning goals that impact student learning. Resources If you're interested in more on this topic, consider...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 4  Multilingual learners represent approximately 10% of the US K–-12 student population, and they are the fastest growing subpopulation of students in the United States. Today Dr. Erin Smith, a mathematics education professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, talks about ways to position multilingual learners as competent doers of mathematics  . Resources I...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 3 Learning to record students' mathematical thinking might best be described as "on the job training" with a great deal of trial and error and a lot of practice. Today Dr. Nicole Garcia from the University of Michigan talks about the practice of recording student thinking and offers insight on this challenging but crucial practice.  Resources Recording Student Think...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 1 Educational theorist Charles Degarmo once said, "To question well is to teach well. In the skillful use of the question more than anything else lies the fine art of teaching." Today, Dr. DeAnn Huinker, author of Taking Action: Implementing Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices in Grades K-5 , talks about the art and the science of questioning and ways that teac...