“Look! I showed my work!”

8 Sep 20218 Sep 2021

It's surreal to be back at my school, in person, after 18 months away. I feel a tremendous sense of vertigo when I look around at this place that is…

Reducing Bias & Desmos

17 Aug 202117 Aug 2021

When I am teaching in person, I circulate around the room. When I first started teaching, I would circulate in similar patterns, winding my way through the desks and rows…

Windows and Mirrors: Fair Shares for Eid al-Adha

2 Aug 20212 Aug 2021

A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Hadith attributed to Prophet Mohammed (ra) Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha was a little over two weeks ago. It…

Kids Mathematize the World: Arrays

30 Jul 2021

It's fascinating to observe how my children mathematize the world! Where do they see mathematics? How do they interact with it? Doing Puzzles in a Ballgown This morning, my 5yo…

How Much Is Enough: Using Student Feedback to Reflect on Practice

28 Jun 202112 Jul 2021

Do students need to finish every problem? When I have asked this of colleagues, everyone has responding with a resounding no! Definitely not!Not every student needs that much practice.It's okay…

Clinical Interviews in the Virtual Space (Using Flipgrid)

2 Apr 20212 Apr 2021

One of my favorite things to do as a math specialist is clinical interviews. During a clinical interview, I sit down with a student -- one-on-one -- and ask questions…

Pushing the Edge: Podcast with Greg Curran

6 Jan 20216 Jan 2021

I am supremely honored that Dr. Greg Curran invited me as a guest on his most recent season of his podcast, Pushing the Edge. Greg is an incredibly thoughtful and…

Notice, Feel, Wonder, and Act: How Can Data Inspire Us to Help?

7 Dec 20203 Apr 2021

"Is this another sad graph?" Serafina wrote to me in the zoom chat. We had just started our Slow Reveal Graph routine. At this point, students could only see a…

Using Videos to Reflect on Practice, Student Identity, and Agency

29 Nov 20203 Apr 2021

I hate watching myself on video. I squirm. I flinch. I last, I don't know, a maximum of 9 seconds...? And now I have to teach in an environment where…

Using Screenshots & Photos to Reflect on Practice

28 Nov 20203 Apr 2021

Back in the Before Times, I took hundreds of photos of student work. "What do you do with all of those photos?" students would ask. I am a student of…

How Are Students Representing Their Ideas During Remote Learning?

27 Nov 20203 Apr 2021

I come from the Marilyn Burns School of Student Work Samples -- which is to say I prize student work that fills a large, blank page. (#TeamBlankSpace) Marilyn Burns, one…

Johnny Upgrade

29 Sep 20203 Apr 2021

If you've never played Johnny Upgrade before, you should know that it begins with music. Epic music. Like anthemic, sweeping, about to vanquish the villain at the 11th hour music.…

Which Shape Covers More: Orchestrating a Sixth Grade Math Debate

27 Sep 202022 Jun 2021

First, we must mourn for the loss of the Way We Used to Teach. I love my work. If I let you scroll through the photos on my phone, you'd…

Back to School PD: Sharing Participant Thinking

12 Sep 202011 Sep 2020

Last week, I facilitated a few PD sessions for elementary teachers in my district. There were some predictable -- and wildly unpredictable! -- tech hiccups. I stumbled over some words.…

Caterpillar Math

20 Jul 202020 Jul 2020

This spring, my children fell madly in love with insects. Ants. Bees. Butterflies. We read books. We went exploring outside with magnifying glasses. We developed elaborate pretend play rituals based…

Crime and Punishment: A Tale of Changing Beliefs

26 Jun 202028 Jun 2020

"Man is what he believes."-Anton ChekhovWhat happens when those beliefs are unintentionally racist -- and never examined? This is a story of how I changed a belief I once held…

An Open Letter to the Seattle School Board

28 May 202026 Jun 2020

Last night, I sent off a letter to the Seattle School Board in support of Tracy Castro-Gill, the head of Seattle's Ethnic Studies Program Manager, who was recently removed from…

Making Meaning with Arrays: More Preschooler Division

20 Mar 202020 Mar 2020

While my 2 year old napped, my 4 year old and I baked some chocolate chip muffins. "You know, mama, there are 4 people in all," she announced, while swirling…

Blindspots

5 Mar 202026 Jun 2020

---originally published on slowrevealgraphs.com -- In January, I chaperoned a field trip to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. We took in the larger-than-life portrait of George Washington and troops crossing…

Assessments: Capturing a Moment in Time

20 Feb 20205 Feb 2022

It can be tempting to overgeneralize what we learn from an assessment. See how that second grader drew tally marks to solve 54 + 28? He's a direct modeler. He…