Strategies and Tools to Make Your Math Class AWESOME in 2017

In 2016 I dove into my second year as a Math & Technology Coach. I had relationships in place, teachers ready and willing to test out innovative strategies and tools, and a much more solid understanding of what it takes to bring engagement, excitement and life to a math classroom while not sacrificing clearly defined goals and learning objectives.

Our district is not in a unique space right now where we have just adopted a new Common Core curriculum for mathematics. While this curriculum serves as a solid guide, it is not our script or our bible. As teachers, we need to know our standards and which ones are essential, our learning targets (what is it we want students to be able to DO?) and most importantly we need to know our students. I've been very fortunate to regularly be in classrooms around the district, and have found the following strategies and tools to be the most effective in terms of promoting student engagement (see here for research proof points that higher engagement can translate to achievement).

Ever find yourself saying "Turn to page 234 in the textbook" and anticipating zombie like stares accompanied by groans and growls? (Note: If you are trying to build up your Zombie army in case of a potential Zombie Apocolypse this is not the way to do it! They will revolt.) Consider the alternative; identify what you want your students to learn (the standard unpacked), look at page 234 and decide what components might be most valuable for your students, and then adapt the lesson utilizing one of the following tools or strategies that guarantee higher engagement!

1. 360 Degree Math

The idea is simple: Put up whiteboards around the room. Each student has a space on the whiteboards. Work that was formerly done on worksheets is now done at the whiteboards. This allows for:

• Increased opportunities for collaboration
• Instant formative assessment: teachers can instantly identify and address misconceptions
• Movement! (Try incorporating Music Cues to really liven the room up)

Check out this blog post for more details on benefits, strategies, and examples of 360 Math. Since this post in September, I am happy to report that almost one third of our middle school math teachers in the district have now redesigned their learning spaces and are incorporating 360 degree math!

Photo Courtesy of the awesome Ed Campos

To quote Ed Campos (a leader in the 360 Math movement) from his Ignite at CMC North this year, "We're gonna build a wall. No wait, we're gonna build 3 or 4 walls- and our walls are going to be about communication and collaboration not discrimination and segregation." You can catch Ed and see a fully redesigned classroom at CUE BOLD in May (an event all about classroom redesign and lesson design for 1:1 learning environments- not to be missed!).

2. Cignition

5th-8th grade teachers (especially 6th grade), I just want to say, you're welcome. This is the tool we've been waiting for; the tool that tackles the age old dilemma of helping students understand operations with fractions. Cignition's Fog Stone Isle game allows students to practice and apply conceptual understanding of operations with fractions through building houses and gardens in their own virtual, Minecraft-esque world. Teachers get reports on where students are stuck, and student engagement is through the roof (common question: Can I keep playing at home?). Many of our CUSD math teachers are already utilizing this tool during station instruction (5th and 6th grade have introduced it during the study of fraction operations, 7th and 8th grade are using it to reteach these skills that are so crucial for success in meeting their grade-level standards). The tool is free and the customer service of the Cignition team is exceptional.

3. Quizlet Live

Had you asked me a year ago about Quizlet in the math classroom I would have sighed and said, "So you can drill and kill the students with flashcards?" However, now with the release of Quizlet's newest feature, Quizlet Live, I see so many possibilities of this tool supporting engagement in practicing application of mathematical skills and concepts. You create a flashcard deck which can include term definitions, expressions or equations to be solved, matching concepts (i.e. equivalent ratios). When you launch your game and students log in, they are instantly placed in random groups. Watch the momentary chaos ensue as students try to find their teams, "Elephants! Where are the elephants?! Elephants come to this table!!"). The coolest thing is, you need all of your teammates to be successful in this game since you don't know whose screen will display the correct answer. We tested this out in Kathryn Horn's 6th grade math class with a game on ratios. The students were begging for a second and then third round of the SAME GAME! Each time they were grouped with new teammates and had the opportunity for repetition in practicing the skill while their engagement never decreased.

4. Desmos

Desmos art by CMS student William Xu, James Peng's class

I used to recommend Desmos to bring graphing concepts to life, but now with all of the new features in Desmos it can be used for virtually any mathematical concept.

• Desmos Activity Builder: Build (or access thousands of existing) self-paced lessons that can include graphs, open-ended questions, images and more! Watch students progress in real-time from your teacher dashboard.
• Desmos Polygraph: Students are matched with a partner and use academic language to describe different pictures (could be graphs, visual representations of fractions, etc.). Very similar to the "Guess Who" game us old people used to play!
• Desmos Card Sort: The latest tool to be released, Desmos card sort is just like it sounds. It allows teachers to create lessons that allow students to sort objects into groups or categories (i.e. geometry shapes classification). 

What to learn more about Desmos? Go to learn.desmos.com .

5. Hyperdocs

Sketch by Misty Kluesner, Rolling Hills

Last, but certainly not least, we have one of the most effective ways to personalize instruction in your math classroom. Many of our CUSD teachers have started incorporating Hyperdocs into their math instruction in order to move away from the traditional whole class, teacher directed delivery of content and to move towards instruction that is highly personalized. The most effective use I have seen of Hyperdocs in the math classroom has been the incorporation into station rotation models. Creating Hyperdocs that are low-floor, high-ceiling is crucial for the personalized learning experience. At Teachers Give Teachers, you can access, copy, and modify existing Hyperdocs (as well as share those you create!).

Later this week, I will be presenting on Hyperdocs in the Math Classroom at the California League of Schools Teaching With Technology conference. Below is my presentation, which include links to sample math Hyperdocs at different grade-levels as well as resources and ideas for creating math specific hyperdocs.


Please let me know as you incorporate these tools and strategies into instruction, and reach out as I can support the effort. Let's make math class AWESOME in 2017!