ROUNDING UP: SEASON 5 | EPISODE 2

Repositioning the classroom board as a shared space for teachers and students can create opportunities for deeper student learning and have a subtle but significant impact on students' math identities.

In part 2 of this two-part series, Mike talks with Tutita Casa and Katherine Mack from the University of Connecticut about ways teachers can use the board to reflect student reasoning, draw attention to key ideas, and close a lesson without funneling students to a correct answer.

BIOGRAPHIES

Tutita Casa is an associate professor of elementary mathematics education at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Her work is aimed at supporting teachers to empower students to grapple with the mathematics and engage with the discipline in ways similar to how mathematicians go about their work.

Katherine Mack is a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction at the University of Connecticut. She examines how elementary teachers can facilitate mathematical discourse by repositioning the instructional board as a space that centers student reasoning and makes it visible.

RESOURCES

Listen to part 1 of the conversation with Tutita and Katherine.

Listen to Tutita's last appearance on the podcast.

TRANSCRIPT

Click here for a full episode transcript.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction • Exploring Classroom Communication & Board Dynamics

02:35 - The Importance of Anchoring Tasks in Mathematics

04:52 - Understanding Shared Attention & Student Engagement

08:35 - The Role of Bookending in Classroom Discussions

11:31 - Validating Student Ideas & Understanding

13:39 - Creating a Safe Space for Incorrect Ideas

18:26 - Practical Steps for Teachers to Enhance Board Use

22:17 - Wrapping Up • Share Your Thoughts

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 5 | EPISODE 1

Classroom boards have traditionally been a space that belongs to the teacher, even as technology changes. What would it look like to rethink our relationship with the board, repositioning it as a shared space for teachers and students alike?

In part 1 of this two-part series, Mike sits down with Dr. Tutita Casa and Katherine Mack from the University of Connecticut to talk about ways teachers can establish norms and develop practices that make the board a shared space that reflects students' reasoning.

BIOGRAPHIES

Tutita Casa is an associate professor of elementary mathematics education at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Her work is aimed at supporting teachers to empower students to grapple with the mathematics and engage with the discipline in ways similar to how mathematicians go about their work.

Katherine Mack is a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction at the University of Connecticut. She examines how elementary teachers can facilitate mathematical discourse by repositioning the instructional board as a space that centers student reasoning and makes it visible.

RESOURCES

Listen to Tutita's last appearance on the podcast.

TRANSCRIPT

Click here for a full episode transcript.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction • Rethinking the Classroom Board

00:43 - Making the Board Student-Centered

03:40 - Shifting Classroom Norms

08:31 - Capturing Student Reasoning

11:35 - Helping Students Follow the Math Story

14:19 - Using Color & Space for Clarity

18:57 - Adapting Board Work in the Moment

22:14 - Connecting Spoken Language to Written Math

24:51 - Wrapping Up • Part 2 Coming Soon

Rounding Up returns next week for its fifth season, examining even more ideas, concepts, and practices that shape teaching and learning in elementary mathematics classrooms. This season, we invite our listeners to engage with us by leaving a comment on our website, mathlearningcenter.org/podcast. We look forward to hearing from you!

TRANSCRIPT

Mike Wallus: Rounding Up returns for Season 5 next Thursday, September 3rd, with brand-new episodes. We'll examine ideas, concepts, and practices that shape teaching and learning in elementary mathematics classrooms. I'm your host, Mike Wallus, the vice president of educator support at The Math Learning Center, the organization behind the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum for early childhood learners all the way through fifth grade.

This season, we'll chat with experts in classroom infrastructure—

Tutita Casa: We're trying to take those unspoken norms that the board is a space that traditionally is led by the teacher, commanded by the teacher, too often didactically, and how can we open up that space to reflect what our students are thinking?

Mike: Content—

Patrick Sullivan: I felt like my teaching improved exponentially when I just started listening to my students. And I'm like, "Oh, they don't really understand that the way I thought they would." And OK, so now I can modify and I can latch on to what they're telling me as opposed to just me thinking, "Oh, this is what's going to be best."

Mike: Math identity and classroom culture—

Fawnda Norman: Math is about making connections and communicating with each other. It's not just about solving the problem and getting the right answer. And so, if we can get students to communicate with each other, they're gonna learn that they are all mathematicians and we can all do this.

Mike: Identifying critical moments in the classroom—

Jamila Riser: Where's this moment in the lesson where the students have potentially the greatest, most visible opportunities to make the key connections that they had identified in the lesson to reach that goal?

Mike: And a whole lot more.

Make sure to subscribe on your preferred podcast app so you don't miss an episode, or head over to mathlearningcenter.org/podcast, where you can share your thoughts and experiences relating to each episode with us.

Rounding Up is brought to you by The Math Learning Center and the Maier Math Foundation, dedicated to inspiring and enabling all individuals to discover their mathematical confidence and ability.