NCSM, CCSS, and Fall Conference News
Mari Muri, Eastern 1 Regional Director
Fall 2011

Welcome back to another school year, which for us in New England was escorted in by Hurricane Irene. I trust you and your schools did not have to deal with a lot of damage.

We are in such an exciting time in mathematics education. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for math have been adopted by...

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May 29, 2011

Develop a Collegial Friendship:
I continue my work with elementary schools to improve instruction of mathematics, thereby improving student learning of math. I find that teachers at almost any age suffer from a college preparation not too dissimilar from mine. Our somewhat poor college preparation for elementary teachers in mathematics is hard to overcome. We learned how to create lesson plans based mostly on what was in a particular textbook for a particular day. We seldom explored a variety of problem solving strategies, alternative methods (algorithms) for computation and why they work, and fractions and decimals were only a minor part of our learning. I recall that in my methods class we just shared with a partner how to do problem solving, long division, how to divide a fraction by a fraction, and so on. We were not instructed in more constructive ways of how to better teach some of these difficult topics. So we taught each other exactly how we had learned. When I look back, this was a sad experience.

My point here is not to bash college teaching, but rather to point out why so many of our elementary teachers have an aversion to teaching math - whatever their grade level. We, after all, teach in ways similar to how we learned to teach from a role model who had not caught up to some of the more national progressive trends.

Nowadays there are many rays of hope! Some of our younger cohorts come with a background of experiential, hands-on teaching; letting students explore strategies for solving problems; asking more questions rather than just giving students the answer; or, scaffolding lessons to provide an entry point for every student. These are the role models, whether veteran teachers or novice teachers, whom we need to encourage to share their teaching with their colleagues.

Developing collegial relationships (or teaching friends) with other teachers in one's building is just one way to begin to learn from each other. Visit another teacher's classroom to observe questioning techniques, classroom management with students working in partnerships or small groups, promoting rich classroom discussions, or engaging in formative assessment during every step of teaching. These visits are not intended to be critical of the teacher, but rather to help each other in bolstering those areas in which we are weakest. Together you can also share and discuss student work. Bring back samples of student work from your colleague's class to your class for discussion on what makes a good paper or how to improve a paper to make it better.

As teachers we need to model our love for life-long learning. Only then can we truly instill in our students the joy of being learners. I recently had the opportunity to meet with a former teaching colleague. We reminisced about our teaching experience. I leaned on her for her expertise in the reading, language arts area while I assisted her with standards-based ways for teaching math and science. Through our collaboration, we both became better teachers and our students were the beneficiaries. They (and their parents) loved being in our classrooms. So here is one thing you can change without cost - develop a collegial friend. Please try it! You'll find it rewarding - so will your students.

In the late '80s I became the Math Instructional Consultant in my district. There was a small network of fellow elementary math leaders in my area at that time who met informally once in a while to share ideas and resources. One day my new math friend, Pat Banning, encouraged me to join and attend the NCSM conference in Orlando. We shared a room and attended sessions together and separately. Then we'd share additional new ideas we each gathered. I was impressed by the wealth of information I gathered in a mere couple of days. I was hooked! And have stayed hooked all of these years! Today's conferences, other professional opportunities, and website resources have moved miles ahead. Even after all these years, and in retirement, I still see NCSM as my go-to organization for leadership information.