You’re Both Right: Examining and Honoring Mathematical Assumptions

21 Mar 201922 Jun 2021

Even from across the room, there was no mistake: Jacob and Ian were deep into a mathematical debate. Jacob had pulled his chair up to Ian's desk, and they were…

“I see the same hands”: Dealing with Discretionary Spaces

12 Feb 201912 Feb 2019

The teacher frowned as she looked out at her 25 students, only 3 of which had their hands raised -- the same three students who always had their hands raised."I see…

Doris

23 Jan 20188 Sep 2020

A student from my first ever fourth grade class -- now in his 20s -- contacted me on Facebook today. He was glad that I remembered him. "u and mrs…

Making Connections during Number Talks

28 Mar 2017

All hands shoot up in 1M, a first grade classroom. The students strain their arms, employing arched eyebrows and pursed lips to entreat me to call on them. Of course, once I…

Inaba’s Place Value Puzzles: Making Connections and Asking “What If”

21 Feb 201713 Feb 2019

Last week, my sixth graders helped me make connections between a puzzle I used in third grade and their current work with place value, specifically multiplying and dividing by powers of…