Connected Mathematics Project Parent Math Night

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Connected Mathematics ProjectParent Math Night

• March 22, 2005
• 600 p.m.

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Welcome!

• Please find a seat - we thank you in advance for
  sitting at a lunchroom table. We will be doing an
  activity later in the night.
• At your table is a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.
  Please look at it and relate it to how you
  learned math. Feel free to discuss it with
  someone else at your table.

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Agenda

• 1. Feelings about Math
• 2. Math of the Past vs. Math of Today and the
  Future
• 3. Notebooks and Organization
• 4. Look at how a lesson might be taught
• 5. Do part of an investigation from Comparing and
  Scaling

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How is math taught?

• Math in the Past
• Isolated facts and symbols
• Topics needed to prepare for the curriculum of
  the next class or grade

• Math of Today and Future
• Concepts and facts in context
• Skills Applications Creative and imaginative
  perspectives positive attitudes toward the
  subjects and learning in general.

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How is math taught?

• Information that lacks relevance
• Information that lacks connections
• Depend mainly on lecture and reading

• Topics dealing with major concerns and concepts
  rather than trivia
• Relevance and connections to other concepts and
  knowledge, and to learners life outside the
  classroom
• Accommodate various learning styles

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How is math taught?

• Do laboratory experiences after the fact, for
  proof
• Emphasize coverage
• Emphasize fragmented ideas and concepts
• Reward the right answer

• Do investigations to develop the learning
• Emphasize what is learned (uncover the
  learning)
• Emphasize understanding, making connections and
  application of knowledge
• Encourage a questioning environment that
  challenges and motivates learning

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Mathematical Processes

• Problem Solving - The Standards recommend that
  students learn to develop and apply strategies
  for investigating mathematical content and
  solving problems.
• Communication - The Standards emphasize the
  importance of written and verbal communication.
  Expecting students to convey their mathematical
  ideas to others encourages students to reason
  clearly, articulate their thinking, and justify
  it to others.

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Mathematical Processes

• Mathematical Reasoning - The emphasis on
  reasoning about mathematical situations begins
  with students recognizing and effectively using
  different problem-solving strategies.
• Connections - The Standards also emphasize the
  importance of learning to make connections, both
  within mathematics and between mathematics and
  the world.

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Mathematical Processes

• Representation - The Standards stress essential
  elements in supporting students understanding of
  mathematical concepts and relationships used to
  communicate mathematical approaches and
  understandings to self and others use to
  recognize connections and apply them in
  realistic problem situations through modeling.

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Ask students to explain their thinking
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Teaching Model Launch-Explore-Summarize

• Launch - Engaging the Students
• Teacher
• Introduces new concepts
• Reviews old concepts
• Helps Students understand the context
• Issues the mathematical challenge

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Teaching Model Launch-Explore-Summarize

• Exploring the Situation
• Students
• Gather data share ideas look for patterns
• Make conjectures
• Develop strategies
• Create arguments to support their solution and
  reasoning

• Exploring the Situation
• Teachers
• Asks questions
• Observes individual differences
• Encourages, redirects
• Provides extra challenges
• Makes instructional decisions based on student
  work

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Teaching Model Launch-Explore-Summarize

• Summarize the Results
• Teachers and Students
• Collect, organize, analyze data
• Observe differences and similarities
• Discuss strategies Refine strategies
• Develop rules or generalizations
• Verify generalizations
• Apply skills and understandings

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We Learn

• 5 from Lecture
• 10 from Reading
• 20 of what is Heard
• 30 of what is Demonstrated
• 50 of what we both Hear and See
• 70 of what is Discussed with others
• 80 of what we Experience personally
• 95 of what we TEACH to someone else

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Math Web Sites

• For more information on CMP, go to
• www.math.msu.edu/cmp
• www.math.msu.edu/cmp/newsite/index.html
• Math Challenges for Families
• www.figurethis.org
• www.illuminations.nctm.org
• Evaluation of middle school math texts
• www.project2061.org