Dave Ebert Oregon High School dde@oregon.k12.wi.us Effective Instructional Strategies in Math for Middle/High School Students Dave Ebert Oregon High School dde@oregon.k12.wi.us

Common Core Standards Two parts: Standards for Mathematical Practice Grade Level Standards

Standards for Mathematical Practice Make sense of problems Reason abstractly and quantitatively Construct viable arguments Model with mathematics Use appropriate tools strategically Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure Look for regularity in repeated reasoning

NCTM Process Standards Problem Solving Reasoning and Proof Communication Connections Representations

Grade Level Standards 347 standards for students in grades 6-12 “The Standard Algorithm” Standards are benchmarks, not the curriculum Good teaching and learning can incorporate the Common Core, but teaching to the Common Core is not necessarily good teaching.

Jonathan Kozol “What did you do in school today? Were you taught to believe? Or were you taught to think?”

Steve Rasmussen “Boredom is more damaging to math programs than minor discontinuities in standards, sequence, program, or pedagogy” Make your math classes engaging and interesting!

What do we want for our students? Problem Solving Reasoning Communication Connections Representations

Backward Design Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe Focus on end goals first, and instructional activities last Set the vision, decide how students will show evidence of learning, design instructional activities to help kids learn

The Vision Problem Solving Reasoning Communication Connections Representations

How can we guide our students to show evidence of learning? Let students wrestle with challenges Focus on understanding Have students explain Encourage student intuition Let students build the problem Be less helpful Make it engaging and interesting

Design instructional strategies with these in mind

Linear relationships - Algebra Battleship Design graphing The wave Cars & ramps Barbie bungee Statistics

Geometry Geometric terms Heights of objects Art – symmetry Flipbooks

Advanced math Statistics and data analysis Radar gun Hot dog cooker Finance Exponential decay – M&M’s Trigonometric data

Don’t focus on the knowing of truths, focus on understanding.

My advice Move away from the textbook Move away from content coverage Focus on reasoning, understanding, sense making Aim for a student-centered classroom Be less helpful

“If my students’ papers all look the same, then I know that I am denying them access to mathematics.” -Olga Torres