Math in the Information Age

Welcome Parents Who We Are: Math Specialist, Katy McGraw Grades K and 4 – 8 Math Specialist, Laura Koplow Grades 1 – 3

Changes in Education Our relationship to math and learning in general has changed More knowledge at our fingertips Students will enter jobs not yet created or defined How can we help students be ready for a life in the information age?

What Do Students Need? Skills that cannot be automated: Critical and creative thinking Problem solving Decision making Collaboration Communication

Difficulty in Math Shifts Conrad Wolfram: Math is Posing the right questions Real world  math formulation Computation Math formulation  real world, verification “Math is not equal to calculating, math is greater than calculating”

Habits of Mind

Standards for Mathematical Practice

New Way of Asking Questions MCAS 2016 and MCAS PARCC questions 4 “Task 1”questions skills/concepts worth 2 points Can be asked to select more than one right answer 1 “Task 2” questions math reasoning worth 4 points 1 “Task 3” questions modeling and application worth 3 points

Task 1 Questions

Task 2 Questions

What Does This Feel Like?

Parent Practice

Now, Try This The answer is 125, what could the question be? Using QFT, work with a group of parents to generate ideas. Rules for Producing Questions Ask as many questions as you can Do not stop to discuss, judge or answer any question Write down every question EXACTLY as it is stated Change any statement into a question

How About This? I am creating my Hanukkah budget. I have __ dollars to spend. I want to spend the same amount of money for each of the __ nights on presents. How much should I spend for each night?

A Look at More Open-Ended Questions Taylor is planning a party at an arcade. There are two different party packages he can choose from. Both packages include a cake, one pizza, juice boxes, and use of a party room. Package 1: $20 for each guest and then $1.50 for each game played. Package 2: $40 for each guest with unlimited games played. How can Taylor decide which package is a better choice for his party? What questions foes he need to ask? What information does he need to gather? How will that information change his decision?

Standard of Mathematical Practice Student Friendly Language Associated Habits of Mind Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them Understand what is being asked Find ways to model the situation Identify strategies for solving Check if the answer makes sense Find a different strategy when needed Persisting Managing impulsivity Thinking Flexibly Applying past knowledge to new situations Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others Communicate mathematical reasoning and ideas using words, numbers, and/or pictures. Understand and give feedback on other students’ ideas Listening with understanding and empathy Thinking flexibly Metacognition Questioning and problem posing Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision Practice Standards Compared with Habits of Mind

Ways to Help Your Child: The way that we can encourage students to practice patient problem solving is to Use multimedia or real world contexts Encourage student intuition Ask the shortest question Let students build the problem Be less helpful Help students evaluate the solution in relation to the context --with thanks to Dan Meyer

Help Your Child to Interpret Information Use estimation and mental math aloud Ask – What is this problem about? What are we trying to figure out? How can we do this? Notice out loud when math is used: measuring for recipes, sewing, and woodworking estimating amounts of paint or wallpaper or to hang pictures using the clock to be on time or plan ahead reading schedules for television, bus or movie times shopping

Help Your Child to Evaluate Information Make connections between math and real life situations Help your child to plan and reflect: What is the problem asking? What do I know? How does this help me make a plan? Use this information to make a plan and stick with it Evaluate the plan – Do I need to try something else? Is there a more effective or efficient way to get to the answer? Is my answer reasonable? Do I need a new plan? Model your own math thinking and problem solving

Help Your Child to Collaborate with Others Encourage perseverance and problem solving Play games and solve puzzles Disagree amiably, and explain why their thinking is different Build on your child’s thinking and model how to connect to someone else’s thinking

Help Your Child to Communicate Their Thinking Ask good questions and help students communicate mathematically Move beyond questions that elicit simple yes/no or one word answers Ask probing questions that promote problem-solving, reasoning, making connections, and reflection Encourage your child to explain his/her thinking and problem solving

Resources Conrad Wolfram Ted Talk h_with_computers h_with_computers Dan Meyer Ted Talk 3 Act Math gwOVsWkTQEsfqouLWNNC6Z4/edit#gid=0 gwOVsWkTQEsfqouLWNNC6Z4/edit#gid=0

Resources, Continued: Websites: (from Jo Boaler and Stanford University) ** Information on brain science, articles on teaching math, a library of rich math tasks, the Week of Inspirational Math, mindset videos, and links to Boaler’s MOOC on learning math (from Stanford University) Free short online courses and resources for teachers of math, general educators, and parents ** Rich tasks for a wide range of grade levels and mathematical content areas

Thank You “The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.” – Albert Einstein