Explicit teaching must take place in the consolidation part of the shared math lesson when working with EQAO type thinking questions. To be most effective, teachers need to know the learning goal. As Dr Marian Small says the learning goal should be connected to understanding and less about doing. When … More Explicit Teaching – Timing is Everything! »
Recently in a Gr 5-6 classroom the teacher gave this question (see photo) to his students to solve in pairs. Some students had different numbers to work with. This is an example of a thinking type question found yearly on EQAO. These questions are the most difficult for … More EQAO Thinking Questions »
Observing people of all ages enthusiastically engaging in mathematical tasks is what fuels my passion for the work I do. I had such an experience recently at a K-8 elementary school on a PA Day. Last year I had been involved in a Ministry of Education Spatial Reasoning Inquiry and … More A Spatial Reasoning Task Using Pentominoes »
With the best of intentions we implement something e.g., a model or graphic organizer and think that this will be the solution to difficulties we are experiencing in the math classroom. In an earlier post I wrote that a challenge with writing is that something “three-dimensional” can often appear … More Be a Problem Solving Detective! »
As a result of my numerous opportunities to be in junior classrooms I have noticed that many students are able to create, identify and extend patterns. The challenge that I have observed over and over again is the difficulty these students have making future predictions based on the identified pattern. … More Solving for “x” but “y”? »
