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Making Math Lessons More Inclusive: ALN Problem Introduction Protocol
What if there was a way to get students more comfortable sharing ideas during a math lesson? What if there was a way to reduce the amount of “I don’t knows” during a math lesson?
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Math as a Door Opener
All means all. Not “some” or “most,” but every single person deserves to have a humanizing learning math experience that affirms themselves as the capable, competent math thinkers that they are. As educators, we must consider all aspects of a person when planning high-quality learning experiences in order to increase access for all. The current status of our national education system has highlighted the disparities in the traditional delivery of, and access to, quality math instruction that effectively exclude certain students from college and career opportunities.
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Unpacking Belonging in Math Class
Why is belonging in math class so important? Feeling a sense of belonging is a vehicle to engagement. Engagement promotes both learning and empowerment as an expert learner. At All Learners Network (ALN), we believe in opening the doors to all learners, especially those who have historically struggled to learn math in traditional instructional design. Inclusion means all students are considered when designing instruction and providing access to grade level mathematics. Maslow (1943) posits five sets of goals, or basic needs, which are related to each other and are arranged in a hierarchy of im …
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Why do the High Leverage Concepts (HLCs) focus on one skill?
This blog post pulls from chapter three of our book, Teaching Math for All Learners: Teaching educators to use effective strategies to help all children learn math.
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What is math coaching? What is not math coaching?
All Learners Network (ALN) facilitators Erin Oliver and Tara Trudo pull from their experiences as classroom teachers, interventionists, math specialists, and coaches to collaborate on this basic coaching primer.
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Strengthen Resilience with Math Anxiety
You hear the chime. Chairs scrape across the floor. You see your classmates walk towards the meeting space and find a spot on the rug. Your teacher gets out the easel markers and some linking cubes. It is time to start math. What is happening in your body right now? Many students are coming into schools with symptoms of anxiety that are preventing them from engaging in their learning. Anxiety is associated with feelings of panic, tension and helplessness. Anxiety affects the brain's working memory. Some students experience symptoms of anxiety only when they are faced with a math task. Why?
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What does an intervention cycle look like?
All educators can frame the process of their work with students as a cycle. All Learners Network (ALN) particularly recommends this specific framing to special educators and interventionists, or any teacher working with students in small groups. Using a cycle of instruction provides both educators and students a structured process for reflecting on growth and moving forward in math understanding. It actually functions as a rapid cycle of inquiry, where we are seeking information about our students’ thinking, planning responsive instruction, and monitoring growth in a continuous cycle. The inte …
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What Do I Do With a Small Group?
Whether you are a classroom teacher, an interventionist, special educator, English as a second language teacher or other educator you might be wondering what do I do for small group math instruction? We know all kids do not learn math at the same time and in the same ways and we know all kids need access to high quality grade level instruction. That is why our All Learners Lesson Structure includes opportunities for both inclusion and differentiation. What happens when we get to that differentiation part? All students may be engaged with purposeful offerings through Math Menu and one or more e …
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