GECDSB Professional Learning Sessions
Jump to Professional Learning Sessions:
- Friday February 3rd, 2017 – Intermediate PLC
- Wednesday March 22nd, 2017 – Kindergarten SBL
- Monday March 27th, 2017 – School-wide SBL
- Thursday April 13th, 2017 – School-wide SBL
Friday February 3rd, 2017
Great learning with you all again today. Please find some resources below:
Slide Deck
Download the Slide Deck in the following formats:
Learn More About the Progression of Fractions:
[postshortcode the_query=”p=17492″]
Other Resources Related to this Session:
[threeactshortcode the_query=”post_type=realworldmath&p=16696″]
[threeactshortcode the_query=”post_type=realworldmath&p=15612″]
Looking forward to working with you again in the next couple weeks!
Wednesday March 22nd, 2017
It was awesome to work with the Kindergarten team at McWilliam. Have a look below for resources from our time together:
The GECDSB Mathematics Strategy
Mathematical Proficiencies
The full GECDSB Mathematics Vision is here.
Paying Attention to Spatial Reasoning
Warm-Up: How Do You See the Dots?
We did a quick Dot-Card warm-up asking you to visualize how you saw a series of dots on the screen. We went around the table and it seemed that everyone had a different perspective.
Here’s some of the ways you might have visualized the dots:
Tiny Polka Dots
We also explored Daniel Finkel‘s game, Tiny Polka Dots. We made some connections between the counting and quantity principles and the different card decks in this game.
Also be sure to check out his TED Talk here.
Counting Principles
We briefly discussed the importance of counting and quantity principles like subitizing and unitizing. A full summary is below:
[postshortcode the_query=”p=18603″]
We also discussed the difference between perceptual and conceptual subitizing. See this link for some more information on these ideas.
Pentomino Challenge
We spent some time working on the Pentomino Challenge and discussed ways that this activity could be modified for Kindergarten students to physically manipulate objects in space to activate their spatial reasoning.
Some other links I promised to share are included below:
- Why Kids Should Use Their Fingers in Math Class – Atlantic Article By Jo Boaler
- Finger Discrimination vs. Finger Counting – A White Paper & Discussion – YouCubed
- Math Learning Center – Web Based Apps for SMARTBoard / Computer
- Mathies.ca – Interactive Math Apps and Math Resources
Looking forward to working with you all again soon!
Monday March 27th, 2017
It was a pleasure spending time with three different groups for a full day, school-wide SBL at McWilliam! Here’s a summary of what we did with each group:
3 Act Math Task: Donut Delight
The main math task explored was Donut Delight where we played with multiplication to predict how many donuts there were in the “double hundred dozen” box and then used repeated subtraction to lead to a flexible division algorithm for division when we tried to find how many layers there were. To see all kinds of different representations and access all of the resources, head to this post here:
[threeactshortcode the_query=”post_type=realworldmath&p=18719″]
Pedagogical System
We then took some time with our Pedagogical System placemats to write down some elements from the Donut Delight task that fit into one of the four categories.
Based on work by Glenda Anthony and Margaret Walshaw, the Pedagogical System is the result of a meta-analysis of many studies which are summarized into four key components:
You can also see a “silent solution” animation of the pedagogical system in detail:
Japanese Multiplication
In some of the groups, one of the multiplication strategies we explored was Japanese multiplication. You can view the post below:
[postshortcode the_query=”p=18762″]
Here’s a video that gives a detailed explanation of Japanese multiplication.
What a great day of learning. Can’t wait for the next one!
Thursday April 13th, 2017 – School-Wide SBL Day
It was a pleasure spending time with three different groups for a full day, school-wide SBL at McWilliam! Here’s a summary of what we did with each group:
3 Act Math Task: Toilet Paper Problem
The main math task explored was a modification of Todd Romien’s Toilet Paper Rolls activity where instead of determining how much less toilet paper we now get on a roll, we looked at ways to incorporate multiplication and division strategies when dealing with the number of packages that were on the shelf in the following image:
This gave participants an opportunity to explore multiplication strategies.
I hope to post the task in its entirety shortly, however you can access the slide deck for use in your own classroom here:
Teams had an opportunity to discuss the tasks they brought to the table in an attempt to have an open discussion around how one might make the task more rich by using visuals, making it more open, or using some of the other “look-fors” explored during the session.
We then heard from mathematics education leaders Jo Boaler and Marian Small about their thoughts on open tasks and making tasks rich:
https://youtu.be/5kZH13eTQl8?t=11s
Always fun when I’m able to join the McWilliam Math Learning Team for some professional development! Looking forward to the next one!