Math Studio, 3 years later

I have written a lot about math studio.  Nothing has stirred up so much anguish and learning in my life than math studio.  Math sends my brain into a downward spiral that usually results in flee or flight.  It has been one of the most difficult things I have ever done.  I have had battles and struggles of gigantic proportions to just keep myself fairly calm.

The first day of math studio 3 years ago found me hiding in the bathroom crying.  Since then I've cried in many a bathroom, under a pine tree, in class, and all over the pages of this blog.  Math does not make me feel warm and fuzzy.  It sends my heart to my throat, panic to my brain, and anger and frustration to the table as I try and work math problems.

With this clouded perception it seems that everyone around me got it, except for me.  I never seemed to have enough think time to figure out a problem.  A lot of the time I never even knew where to start to figure out a problem.  I was choked with envy at the ease at which some people could whip out the answer.  I was aghast at how much some of them could care so much about what I thought was a stupid math problem.  I mean really- passion over math?  "Mathorgasims"?  EW!

When it actually came to the teaching of Math Studio I was lost a lot.  Math Habits of Mind?  Math Habits of Interaction?  Slowly, though as I started implementing some of the concepts it began to make sense.  ( I think they must know that and hence the 3 year grant to teach it.)

Now these concept permeates every aspect of my teaching.  Each year more and more has made sense to me.  Let the children talk.  Questioning strategies.  Select and sequence. Perseverance and stuck points.  Explain your thinking.  Private Reasoning Time. Granting Status.  Public Records.  Connections.   Multiple Pathways.

Along the way I started noticing things happening to my students.  Six and Seven year olds able to explain their reasoning, critique and debate each other, re-voice, and make conjectures and generalizations and defend them.  They went from rolling around on the floor like puppy dogs to actively being engaged and responsible for their learning.  One of the best moments was them using a math poster to explaining something in reading. I am a much better teacher because of Math Studio.

I changed myself.  At first I knew I would never really be comfortable calling myself a mathematician.  I wasn't going to be any good at it.  I knew Math Studio was not going away at my school either.  I had a choice,

 "Get the hell out of Dodge."

 or submit myself in all my vulnerability to learning how to teach math the Math Studio way.

So submit I did.  I opened myself up to all the coaching I could get as painful as it was for me.  It helped that I had an awesome math coach and some really good math instructors.  I may have cried in the bathroom a lot and written bloody poems in numbers, but I did learn.  It started showing up in my teaching.

I'm probably never going to be a whiz bang at math.  I probably will never have a "mathorgasim" over a math problem.  I can appreciate numbers and their puzzles, and I see it reflected in all of nature.  My students love math time, and I can truly say from my class there will not be a child that will hate math.

I've come from sniveling in the bathroom to asking questions with a confidence and aplomb.  It shows in my teaching and in my students.  So much so that I was asked if the elementary principals could come in and take data snaps in my room today.  I said yes.  It may have not been "perfect" but 

"I've come a long way, baby!"


I got some great poems out of all that math too!


http://basicallybarb.blogspot.com/2012/06/intersect.html


http://basicallybarb.blogspot.com/2012/06/math-studio-musings-or-here-we-go-again.html

http://basicallybarb.blogspot.com/2012/03/fractions.html

http://basicallybarb.blogspot.com/2011/10/mapping-love.html

http://basicallybarb.blogspot.com/2011/07/disequilibrium-in-math.html

Math Studio Homework

Reflections and Connections

What are implications for the culture and character of math talk in your classroom/ school/ district?

Classroom:  I am so excited about the math talk and about developing culture in my room.  I love teaching the children how to use their brains and how to think about thinking! (metacognition)  From my many years of teaching KG I know how much they are capable of and I like seeing it in their eyes, posture, voices, and reactions to each other.  I think too often the KG students are coddled too much.  They are capable of high expectations.

Since I started teaching first grade last year I am even more aware of it.  The first month or so of First grade is teaching that independent thinking and how to have not only mathematical discourse but also social discourse.  It helps distinguish the difference between “I am the teacher and not your mommy.”  Therefore you need too not only learn how to tie your shoes but use your “I” statements to talk to your peers about what is going on socially, and explain why you think the way you do about something and why.  (Justify)

These are such valuable life skills and we do a disservice to our students if we don’t set those high expectations and explain to parents about how their children are capable of it even though they are just 6 years old.

I am thrilled when it all comes together in the classroom.  When everybody is participating and really talking to each other (math reasoning as the authority) you can see the brain grow!  It becomes the normal routine to critique and debate statements made in plenary, small group or pair discussions.  I especially love the feeling of safety in the room because everyone is participating.  I can’t wait to work on status and assign competence to low status students.

I thick implementing more structure through how students pair up and employing the “huddle” will exponentially increase the discourse.  Students pay more attention to the math when they are given opportunities to talk about the math.

The layers of schema now established from my 2 years in math studio has me making more connections to habits of mind and habits of interaction.  I am also thrilled about having 1 year of first grade curriculum under my belt.  It should be easier!  I also keep in mind that it will take 4-5 years to really establish a strong math culture in my room.

I anticipate meeting with my grades level team to lesson plan with Bridges and find multiple entries into math.  I just hope that everything required of us by the district does not cut into what I need to do to grow in teaching mathematics.  I hate being forced to do a quick down and dirty lesson because there is not enough time in the day to do what is required of me.  I hope we have time to plan and plan together.  This will help us in our math talk with each other and the culture between fellow teachers.

School/District

My biggest concern is the teachers that do the “Lone Ranger” scene.  The ones with a fixed mindset and feel their way of teaching is better than what the district has mandated for math curriculum and the culture of math studio.  Students coming in from a classroom in the school or district that have not used Bridges or math studio put a huge burden on the other teachers.  We have to spend so much time teaching a vocabulary and the Habits of Mind and Habits of Instruction.  They don’t know how to participate and it slows the other students down when we have to wait for the other students to catch up with us.  Usually because they don’t know or understand what we are doing in our math talks it leads to boredom and management problems.  It is frustrating to ALL involved!

All that would be solved if teachers would put on the growth mindset hat and do what the research says works- not what they think works.