Interweaving Equitable Participation and Deep Mathematics by Russell, Susan Jo; Schifter, Deborah;

Short description:

Creating mathematical community in elementary classrooms to support equitable engagement in deep mathematical content

What does a mathematical community look like in an elementary classroom? How do teachers engage young mathematicians in deep and challenging mathematical content? How do we ensure that every student contributes their voice to this community?

Interweaving Equitable Participation and Deep Mathematics: Building Community in the Elementary Classroom focuses on a dual commitment: to teaching deep and challenging mathematics and to equitable participation for all students in the classroom community. With practical strategies and real-life examples, Susan Jo Russell and Deborah Schifter offer a design for building community organized around four key aspects: every voice matters; collaboration supports student agency; student-created representations offer anchors, openings, and depth; and students become initiators and advocates for their own learning. Each chapter examines how teachers implement these ideas through video examples from six public elementary-school classrooms.

A powerful resource for any educator interested in a mathematics education that fosters a true sense of community, this book

• Provides a window into a learning community of educators applying their understanding of mathematics to develop a teaching practice that fosters students’ curiosity, meaning-making, and mathematical agency


• Presents vivid examples of teachers and students in diverse classrooms engaged in rich mathematical tasks and deep collaborative conversations, inviting readers to reflect on their practices and students' learning


• Engages readers in math investigations to help them understand student thinking, provides reflection questions about the classroom video, and offers suggestions for taking next steps in one's own practice


• Includes commentaries on the videos by a group of “critical friends”—educators with deep experience in mathematics and equity—and by the teachers of the classrooms in the videos


• Offers free online tools for professional development and book study groups, including a Facilitator’s Guide and a Notes Organizer, and suggests resources for continued learning.

This book is a must-read for anyone passionate about creating positive change in the mathematics education system and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to thrive in their mathematical journey.



Interweaving Equitable Participation and Deep Mathematics includes commentaries by:



Collaborating Teachers:

Quayisha Clarke, Emmanuel Fairley-Pittman, Natasha Gordon, Jeff Parks, Isabel Schooler, and Michelle Sirois



Critical Friends:

Cindy Ballenger, Virginia Bastable, Yi Law Chan, Marta Garcia, Lynne Godfrey, Hetal Patel, and Darlene Ratliff

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Long description:

Creating mathematical community in elementary classrooms to support equitable engagement in deep mathematical content

What does a mathematical community look like in an elementary classroom? How do teachers engage young mathematicians in deep and challenging mathematical content? How do we ensure that every student contributes their voice to this community?

Interweaving Equitable Participation and Deep Mathematics: Building Community in the Elementary Classroom focuses on a dual commitment: to teaching deep and challenging mathematics and to equitable participation for all students in the classroom community. With practical strategies and real-life examples, Susan Jo Russell and Deborah Schifter offer a design for building community organized around four key aspects: every voice matters; collaboration supports student agency; student-created representations offer anchors, openings, and depth; and students become initiators and advocates for their own learning. Each chapter examines how teachers implement these ideas through video examples from six public elementary-school classrooms.

A powerful resource for any educator interested in a mathematics education that fosters a true sense of community, this book

• Provides a window into a learning community of educators applying their understanding of mathematics to develop a teaching practice that fosters students’ curiosity, meaning-making, and mathematical agency


• Presents vivid examples of teachers and students in diverse classrooms engaged in rich mathematical tasks and deep collaborative conversations, inviting readers to reflect on their practices and students' learning


• Engages readers in math investigations to help them understand student thinking, provides reflection questions about the classroom video, and offers suggestions for taking next steps in one's own practice


• Includes commentaries on the videos by a group of “critical friends”—educators with deep experience in mathematics and equity—and by the teachers of the classrooms in the videos


• Offers free online tools for professional development and book study groups, including a Facilitator’s Guide and a Notes Organizer, and suggests resources for continued learning.

This book is a must-read for anyone passionate about creating positive change in the mathematics education system and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to thrive in their mathematical journey.

While reading this book and watching the videos, I found myself wishing that I had read it when I was a classroom teacher. The authors give readers a window into a learning community of educators as they apply their new sense-making about mathematics to their teaching. While the academic content is mathematics, we are guided through the creation of a community where each learner’s sense of self and agency is strengthened around their own learning.

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Table of Contents:

Preface
Introduction: What Is Mathematical Community?
Part One: Every Voice Matters
Chapter 1: Creating Multiple Openings into Engaging Mathematics
Chapter 2: Establishing Expectations and Structures for a Participatory Mathematics Community
Chapter 3: Making Space and Time for Every Student
Chapter 4: Encouraging Persistence
Part Two: Collaboration Supports Student Agency
Chapter 5: Noticing Patterns as a Gateway to Building Mathematical Ideas Together
Chapter 6: Collaboratively Building Towards a Conjecture
Chapter 7: Centering Students’ Ideas to Formulate a Class Conjecture
Part Three: Student-Created Representations Offer Anchors, Openings, and Depth
Chapter 8: Raising Student Voices through Student-Created Representations
Chapter 9: Looking Across Representations
Chapter 10: Facilitating Critique and Revision of Student-Created Representations
Part Four: Students Become Initiators and Advocates for Their Own Learning
Chapter 11: Supporting Students to Take Charge of Their Own Learning
Chapter 12: Normalizing Confusion
Conclusion: What To Do Next
Appendix A: Mathematical Generalizations Explored in This Book
Appendix B: Resources for Continued Learning

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