1. Amanda Tame
Education 526
December 11, 2009

2. The evolving math classroom
 EMPIRICISM – The traditional classroom
 PRAGMATISM – Recognizing the ever-
changing world we live in
 PROGRESSIVISM – Teach to the whole child
 CONSTRUCTIVISM – Students involved in
their learning

3. EMPIRICISM – teacher role
 Teacher transmits
knowledge to student
 Learning is a one-way
experience from teacher
to student
 Teacher holds
authoritarian role
 Teacher does the
majority of the talking
 Lecture format
 Textbook based

4. EMPIRICISM – student role
 Child born as blank slate
 Learning happens to the
student – mind is
imprinted with new
knowledge
 Learning is based on
correct answers
 Students take notes
 Don’t ask questions
 Information is
memorized

5. EMPIRICISM – My experience
 This was the way my math
classes were carried out
 Lecture style
 Little teacher – student
interaction
 Notes then individual
class work
 No group work or projects
 This was the way I ran my
math classes!
 We do what we know…

6. EMPIRICISM – Why not?
 A skill base is achieved
through practice and
repetition
 Students may know how to
do something without
knowing why it works or why
it is important
 Passive acquisition of
knowledge does not lead to
being able to know when or
how to apply the knowledge
 Problem solving and
reasoning skills are not
developed

7. PRAGMATISM – change happens
 We live in an ever-
changing world and so our
approaches should evolve
and change as well
 Goal of education is
student growth
 Education is not merely a
technical venture
 Education should be
humanized
 Students should learn why
in addition to how
Biesta & Burbules (2003)

8. PRAGMATISM – change happens
 Offered a new way to think
about how students
acquire knowledge
 students are not passive
 This is a philosophy of
action and interaction
 the student is inherently
involved with their
environment
 Students learn by
interacting with what they
are learning and with each
other
Biesta & Burbules (2003)

9. PRAGMATISM – My experience
 This year has been a year of
significant change and
growth for me:
 New high school building
 New curriculum
 New math delivery
program
 Complex Instruction
 New math department
chairs
 I have had to embrace the
change and learn how to
meet the needs of my
students in a new way

10. PRAGMATISM – My experience
 I needed to move out of my comfort zone and embrace a new way of
teaching
 Move beyond the traditional methods I had adopted from my teachers
 Our math department realized and accepted that what we were doing
was not working and that we were not being the most effective teachers
we could be
 We wanted to find a new teaching method that was:
 Interactive
 Pushed students to learn math deeply
 Had students work together in groups
 Encourage creative thinking and problem solving
 Embraced all ways of thinking
 We discovered Complex Instruction!
 We applied and received a grant to support this endeavor
 All teachers did a week long training last summer
 We have coaches that observe us monthly
 Each content area meets weekly to plan tasks and share experiences

11. COMPLEX INSTRUCTION
 The 7 practices of
Complex Instruction:
 Multidimensionality
 Roles
 Assigning Competence
 Teaching Responsibility
 High Expectations
 Effort over Ability
 Learning Practices
Boaler (2006)

12. PROGRESSIVISM - child focused
 Student’s understanding is the
most important thing
 Students must be able to assess
their own learning as well as that
of their peers
 Encourage
 Responsibility for self and
others
 Problem solving
 Critical thinking
 Learning should have value for
the student
 Students should be able to
interact with their environment
Olson (2003)

13. PROGRESSIVISM – in the classroom
 Cross-curricular integration
 Teacher is facilitator
 Many types of materials are employed
 Including manipulatives
 Individual as well as group work
 Students can move around the room and interact with
other students
 Time is more flexible – pacing is determined by
student understanding
 Assessment is done more at the individual level rather
than group comparisons
Labaree (2004)

14. PROGRESSIVISM – My experience
THINGS I HAVE EMBRACED THINGS I STRUGGLE WITH
 Student’s understanding is very
important
 Move beyond rote learning
 Teacher as facilitator
 I am not the only expert in the
room!
 Encourage responsibility for self
and others
 Don’t encourage dependence
 Individual as well as group work
 I feel like I’m finding the balance
 Assessment at group and individual
levels
 Time is more flexible
 We have already paused and
revisited concepts not fully
understood
 Cross-curricular integration
 Collaborate with other depts.
 Students assess their own
learning
 How to do this?
 Use many types of materials
(including manipulatives)
 Lack of resources, creativity?
 Student can move around the
room and interact with
others
 Chaos??

15. CONSTRUCTIVISM –
student involvement
 Learning happens when the
student interacts with their
environment
 Wrong answers are a vehicle
to deeper understanding
because they trigger deeper
reflection
 Students need to be
intentional about their
learning
 When students challenge each
other in groups more learning
happens
 Complex reasoning is an
indicator of successful
learning

16. CONSTRUCTIVISM –
students’ experiences
 Interdisciplinary exploration
 Collaboration amongst
students
 Reflection
 Self-examination
 Experiential learning
Abdal-Haqq (1998)
 Presented with:
 Materials that captures one’s
interest
 Conceptual clusters – Big
ideas
 Questions are posed
 Complex situations or
problems are tackled
 Activities are student
centered:
 Ask their own questions
 Follow through on their own
experiments
 Make their own conclusions
Hanley (1994)

17. CONSTRUCTIVISM –
the role of the teacher
 Teacher as a resource
 Everyone in the room can
contribute
 Teacher is not the only expert
 Challenge students
 Question previously held
beliefs
 Let students’ needs help drive
the lesson
 Allow think time
 Student understanding
should help guide pacing
 Encourage questioning
 Ask open-ended questions
 Support student autonomy
 Relinquish classroom control
 Use many forms of materials
 Manipulatives
 Games
 Activities
 Honor the discover y process
 Many vehicles to get to
understanding
 Ask for clear communication
 If students can explain their
thinking well they have
deeply learned
Hanley (1994)

18. CONSTRUCTIVISM – My experience
THINGS I HAVE EMBRACED THINGS I STRUGGLE WITH
 Complex situations and problems
are presented to students
 Group work
 CI tasks
 Teacher as a resource
 I am not the one with all of the
answers
 Asking open-ended questions
 Scaffold learning
 Let students’ needs drive the
pacing
 Re-teach when necessary
 Honor the discovery process
 Allow for messiness while
learning
 Interdisciplinary exploration
 Integrate different content
areas
 Student reflection
 How do I do this??
 Challenge students by
questioning their previously
held beliefs
 Ask the right questions
 Relinquish classroom control
 Still working on this
 Many forms of materials
 Time, money, creativity

19. I’M NOT THERE…YET!

20. References
Abdal-Haqq, I. (1998). Constructivism in Teacher Education: Considerations for Those Who Would
Link Practice to Theory. ERIC Digest. ERIC Identifier: ED426986. Retrieved on December 11,
2009 from http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-3/theory.htm
Biesta, G. J. J. & Burbules, N. C. (2003). Pragmatism and Educational Research. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. Retrieved on December 8, 2009 from
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=U5d637yZX9YC&oi=fnd&pg=PP9&dq=pragmatis
m+education&ots=DbtrpGe7dA&sig=JSQEyP3GFqYt3bIZUK7weM16iVE#v=onepage&q=pragmati
sm%20education&f=false
Boaler, J. (2006) “Opening our ideas”: how a detracked mathematics approach promoted respect,
responsibility, and high achievement, Theory into Practice, 45(1), 1-11.
Hanley, S. (1994). On Constructivism. Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation . Retrieved
on December 11, 2009 from http://www.inform.umd.edu/UMS+State/UMD-
Projects/MCTP/Essays/Constructivism.txt
Labaree, D. F. (2004). The Trouble with Ed Schools. USA: Yale University Press. Retrieved on
December 8, 2009 from
http://books.google.com/books?id=aDUDPnKXrqsC&pg=PA129&dq=progressivism+education&lr
=&ei=lcsiS5rqKZqIlQSL9cDNCw&cd=1#v=onepage&q=progressivism%20education&f=false
Olson, D. R. (2003). Psychological theory and educational reform: how school remakes mind and
society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved on December 8, 2009 from
http://books.google.com/books?id=3LZIq2tpmtEC&pg=PP1&dq=).+++Psychological+theory+and
+educational+reform:+how+school+remakes+mind+and+society.&lr=&ei=5s4iS5DRFZv-
lATX5o3JCw&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false