I Wish I'd Learned Math This Way

My grandson loves math. "I'm a mathematician," he told me on his recent trip back home. "Give me a hard problem." This is a kid who asked me to give him math problems whether we're riding in the car or waiting for our food at a restaurant. His younger brother also loves a good math challenge. After reading Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler, I asked my son to work on a collaborative math activity with my grandsons called "Four 4's." The instructions (from Mathematical Mindsets) states, "Can you find every number between 1 and 20 using only four 4's and any operation?" In the meantime, I was also working on this activity.

A few hours later, my son called. They were done! How could that be? I was still struggling with some of the numbers. My son shared that he taught my older grandson about square roots and factorials, and that helped them to complete the challenge. I hadn't thought about square roots and I had forgotten what factorials were. (Goes to show how much math I've forgotten!) When I asked my son to send me their work so I could check the ones I was missing, my son refused. "Not until you're done," he told me. Well, for the next week, the problem consumed me! I found myself thinking of possibilities while I was driving and rushing home, only to find out I already had that number.  I finally Googled it so I could say I was done :-)

I enjoyed teaching math even if it was just to elementary aged students.  I found it challenging but so rewarding when students "got" what I was trying to teach. When I went to a workshop about using a problem-solving model that encouraged students to collaborate and share strategies, it was an "aha: moment for me. The kids liked it, too, much better than drill and kill worksheets. After reading Mathematical Mindsets, though, I realized that we hadn't gone far enough. Instead of a problem-solving model, we need to teach with a project-based model where students have opportunities to solve open-ended problems like "Four Fours." As a school, we're learning more about project-based learning, and it's important that we find ways to integrate or embed real-world mathematics into our projects.

Today, our second graders held another Garden Sale. They have been practicing lots of math skills as they plant, grow, harvest, and sell their veggies. As they reflect and expand on this project, I see so much potential for them to learn and apply math throughout this project!

Next year, one of our school's focuses will be on improving the teaching and learning of mathematics. We need to emphasize a mathematical mindset that values persevering through struggles and learning from our failures. It won't be easy, but I look forward to the challenge!

It has been quite some time since I actually solved math problems. I texted these photos to my grandsons so they could see that grandma is practicing math, too!
I'm contemplating taking Jo Boaler's on-line class but I'm a little gun-shy because its been so long since I actually took a math class. Wait a minute! Where's my mathematical mindset?

Our second graders are so excited about their garden! Today, they harvested cleaned, packaged, and sold carrots, kale, mustard cabbage, and choy sum. 

Students took orders from customers and figured out how much they owed.
Different students will have the opportunity to apply their math skills to real-life situations.

These students collected the money and gave customers change. Students are learning new skills and getting better with making change. 

PBL Learning Walks - An Awesome PD Experience!

When I first got the email that we would be doing learning walks for the Hawaii Innovative Leaders Network, I put it on the back burner because it meant traveling to the Big Island just before Spring Break during a very busy week. Thankfully, I made the decision that this was an important part of the HILN journey, and at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, I was at the airport, ready to take off for the Big Island with Kapono Ciotti. Our destinations? Innovations Public Charter School and Honaunau Elementary School. 

Innovations PCS services students in grades K-8 in multi-age classrooms, and their curriculum is student-centered, inquiry-based, and project-based. We had an opportunity to visit different grade levels, and clearly, students are engaged in their own learning. We saw 7th and 8th graders leading a discussion with their peers that embedded the theme of immigration in a study about poetry. Another group of students shared how they are creating freeze-dried snacks for the Hokulea crew to take along on their voyages. Some students were experimenting with recipes, and others were re-designing a solar-dehydrator. I was struck by the confidence of the students as they worked on these real-world projects.

Students were chopping up dried fruits and are working on a recipe to make granola snack bars for the Hokulea crew.

These students were fixing the solar dehydrator to make it work more efficiently. I was surprised at how comfortable students are with using different tools for their projects. Students were working independently with the teacher circulating amongst the different groups who were involved in different projects.

In every classroom, students were engaged in their work and were helping each other to understand and complete the assignments. In one fifth and sixth grade classroom, students were working on a video to explain a math concept to their parents as part of their upcoming student-led conference. The teacher shared that when she checked student projects the previous day, she realized that her instructions and expectations were not clear to the students so she spent some class time reviewing the rubric and asking questions to ensure students understood the descriptors. She also showed the students an exemplary project that one of their classmates had completed. After that, students realized what they needed to do, and off they went to work with their partners. The video the teacher shared is by a sixth grader named Cameron, and it is amazing, and his real-life application is quite creative :-)

Honaunau Elementary is a different kind of school from Innovations. They are a very rural community with a high percentage of disadvantaged and English Learner students. We didn't get to visit classrooms (there were subs because teachers were at a PD), but we talked with staff and the principal shared their journey. Even if she stated that they're just beginning their PBL journey, I beg to differ. The students are very involved in their school garden, and students give up their recesses to "work" in the garden. They even have a partnership with Ace Hardware in their community; students grow starter plants which are sold at the store. Their latest project is harvesting seeds from plants. Students are learning through hands-on projects and becoming more effective communicators as they share what they're learning with their school community. 

 Students problem-solved to build these water catchments because when it rained, the water fell off the roof and soaked the ground. They now collect the rainwater and use it for their plants.

These are some of the starter plants the students are raising and selling at Ace Hardware. Students who work during recess get paid, and the school has worked with parents to set up a savings account at a nearby credit union, and students are depositing their earnings in their account. What a powerful lesson these students are learning about saving!

Much as I loved visiting the classrooms, the real meat of our learning walk came at the end of each school visit. Our BIE leader, Cris Waldfogel is a master at getting the most out of the discussion and reflection. I've been on the receiving end of learning walks in the past, and I realize that what separated those from this one was Cris' expertise in leading the discussion. The questions, the affirmations, the wonderings, the reflections . . .  I felt that it was such a trusting, positive environment where the school leaders could share their questions and "insecurities" and be validated for their efforts. School leaders Jennifer Hiro (Innovations PCS) and Noreen Kunitomo (Honaunau Elementary) are inspirational yet very humble. So much learning is going on in their schools, and at the heart of student learning are projects that are rigorous and relevant and build relationships amongst students, teachers, and the school community. 

Next month, my HILN "Grey Team" will be visiting our school and Waialae PCS. I am still a bit nervous about the learning walk, but I know that the team will be supportive and provide our school team with honest feedback and help us to reflect on how we want to proceed with PBL.  This learning walk protocol is powerful; sometimes it takes an outsider's perspective to help us to celebrate what we've accomplished and to reflect on how we will continue on our PBL journey.