Calculatin'

     Each year I teach a math intervention course.  This course runs for about 25 minutes, so I don't get very much time to work with my students.  I have to make every minute matter, so each day is very carefully structured.  But this can be very hard to do!  What skills should I cover? Do I have time to get out the manipulatives?  Are number talks worth the time it takes to do them?     I have found a few things do help to make the intervention time successful.  First of all, keep the number of students relatively small.  Less than 20 students is ideal, but under 16 is even better.  When the class is too big, it is very difficult for every student to have a voice.  I need to make sure that I have an opportunity to interact with every student, so keeping the numbers small is important.      Secondly, ditch the worksheets!  The drill and kill approach to reviewing material is ineffective.  S...

   I had the opportunity to participate in a year-long study at Saginaw Valley State University in a Mathematics Specialist program sponsored by the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance.  During my year of studies, I had spent a lot of time learning how to look at student work.  We teachers learned to ask ourselves, "What does this student know and understand?"  This is good advice.  In order to guide instruction, it is important for teachers to understand their students' thinking.  Spending time conducting student interviews and looking at student work can be an effective way to better understand the thoughts of a middle schooler (or any student).      Although answers can sometimes seem very random and unrelated, students often have some sort of reason for offering a particular solution.  Teachers can ask clarifying questions to help them understand the thought process of their students.  I saw this in action this year when I w...