Meeting of the Minds
March 23, 2021 | Gladys Wu
During our weekly middle school team meetings, 4-8th grade math teachers have been virtually meeting to discuss curriculum and unpack cross grade level observations.
Teachers have shared barriers and collaboratively problem solved with a common goal:
Developing expert learners in mathematics.
What is an expert learner? A Mustard Seed graduate acts as a protagonist in their education.
- Students understand that they play an active role in their education.
- Students build, represent, and express their learning through both academic and artistic engagement.
- Students pursue rigorous learning by setting goals, designing action steps, executing plans, and engaging in reflection.
- Students critically seek, interpret, analyze, and synthesize information in order to make complex decisions.
- Students apply content knowledge to solve multi-faceted, real-life problems with fluency
- During these “Meeting of the Minds,” the 4-8th grade math teachers looked at Mustard Seed math holistically and asked these questions:
- How does one grade level’s skills connect with another grade level?
- How do the math objectives and practices in lower grades (i.e. 4th grade) translate and transpire in upper grades (i.e. 8th grade)?
During our meetings, we have learned and discussed…
Teachers are all using strategies and best practices in differentiation. There is peer tutoring, small groups, math manipulatives, online platforms and tools, ongoing projects, opportunities for students to share their mathematical thinking, and more! These practices support and challenge our mathematicians at Mustard Seed.
We are paying attention to how the pandemic and how our hybrid models are impacting students’ academic progress.
There are limitations and barriers that have existed or still exist, and we continue to problem solve. Hybrid learning has certainly expanded the tools we feel comfortable using to help us remove barriers to math growth.
Students continue to demonstrate ownership of their learning and we celebrate this!
