In the OUR 6-8/IM 6-12 Math Curriculum, lessons are designed for students to make meaning for themselves through a carefully sequenced series of activities. As the facilitator of this learning process, the teacher has the complex task of pulling out key ideas generated by students and linking them for the class to ensure that all students achieve the learning goals of a lesson. The OUR 6-8/IM 6-12 curriculum authors embedded Smith and Stein’s “5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematical Discussions” in lesson materials to support teachers with this facilitation. The 5 Practices (Anticipate, Monitor, Select, Sequence, Connect) provide teachers with a framework for intentionally soliciting student thinking and organizing specific student ideas in a discussion that supports all students in the class to develop their conceptual understanding.
This workshop is designed for educators who have already had a structured opportunity to explore the basics of the OUR 6-8/IM 6-12 Math curriculum design and have begun teaching with the curriculum materials. Teachers must be familiar with the day-to-day experience of the curriculum in order to benefit from “going deeper” into this kind of exploration. Those who are currently implementing the curriculum materials will get the most out of this experience.
I create an environment that supports students to collaborate and communicate about their math thinking.
Define
Explore
Build