Cecilia Vanderhye and Cynthia Zmijewski Demers
How teachers can use students' conversations to assess
their mathematical understanding. Examples from third, fourth, and fifth grade
classrooms highlight how mathematical conversations were used in different
lessons to assess student understanding and differentiate instruction. Teachers
will gain a clear understanding of questioning and communication techniques to
better assess student learning.
Ronald Zambo, Debby Zambo
The authors of this article merge information about the learning cycle with NCTM's constructivist view to help teachers of mathematics understand their students. By learning about how the brain works and how the learning cycle happens in the brains of children, teachers will better understand how to approach teaching and learning in the mathematics classroom.
Jill Mizell Drake and Angela Barlow
The potential of problem writing as a technique for assessing the depths of students' mathematical understandings. Discussions include sample student-generated word problems and connections between problem writing and the Process Standards. Teachers will understand how to use problem writing as assessment in the mathematics classroom.
Douglas Fisher and Donna Kopenski
The significant
gains in student achievement in an urban elementary school when teachers worked
together to develop, administer, and review assessment items. In grade-level
teams, teachers completed item analyses and engaged in instructional
conversations about students’ needed instruction. Readers of this article will
learn how to plan for, write, and assess student assessments to guide teaching
and student learning.
Christine Browning, Gina Garza-Kling, and Elizabeth Hill Sundling
How several key activities can be
used to help elementary students develop a more complete understanding of the
concept of angle. Includes student examples from a sixth grade class. Teachers
will learn how to develop strong lessons to teach or re-teach this concept in
the mathematics classroom.
Becky Holden
A first grade teacher incorporates
Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) into her lessons and cultivates the
learning environment necessary to support CGI. Readers of this article will
learn how to assess student learning and differentiate in the classroom for
more effective mathematics instruction using CGI.
Sally Roberts
Student misconceptions about quadrilateral properties make a case for the importance of teachers not only knowing where their students have been and where they are in terms of their learning, but also where their current learning will lead them. Suggested classroom activities are included for teachers to gain a clearer understanding of how to teach students about quadrilaterals.
Francis Fennell
This article from NCTM president Skip Fennell introduces a four-part series exploring the use of
Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence
(NCTM 2006). Readers will gain information on how the Focal Points will help with math education in the classroom.