5/4/15 Teaching Matters:
Conditions and Structures to Ensure
All Students are Mathematically
Ready for College and Careers
Urban District Leadership Network (UDLN) Retreat
May 19th-21st, 2015
Urban Mathematics Leadership Network (UMLN) Meeting
Thursday, May 21st, 2015
Cathy Martin, Director of Mathematics, Denver Public Schools
Katey Arrington, Manager, K-12 Services, Dana Center
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Goals
Session Goals:
To provide participants an opportunity to
collaboratively consider evaluation frameworks
as a support for educator growth, and explore
materials available for professional development
with teachers in your district.
Learning Experiences:
Enhance student intellectual engagement and
focus professionalism in teacher groups.
1 5/4/15 Agenda
Participants will…
•  Consider how to enhance student intellectual
engagement through of meaningful
mathematical discourse. Engage in the Half
of a Whole Task.
•  Consider how to deepen a culture of
professionalism, and explore productive and
unproductive beliefs in the area of
professionalism.
•  Plan action steps for moving forward in your
district.
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New Danielson Framework - Clusters
1.  Clarity of Instructional Purpose and Accuracy of
Content
2.  Safe, Respectful, Supportive, and Challenging
Learning Environment
3.  Classroom Management
4.  Student Intellectual Engagement
5.  Successful Learning by All Students
6.  Professionalism
2 5/4/15 Student Intellectual Engagement - Danielson
•  How are students challenged to think and make
connections through both the instructional
activities and the questions explored?
•  How are students asked to explain their
thinking, construct logical arguments citing
evidence, and to question the thinking of
others?
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Research-Informed Mathematics Teaching Practices
•  Establish mathematics goals to focus learning.
•  Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem
solving.
•  Use and connect mathematical representations.
•  Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse.
•  Pose purposeful questions.
•  Build procedural fluency through conceptual
understanding.
•  Support productive struggle in learning mathematics.
•  Elicit and use evidence of student thinking.
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3 5/4/15 Research-Informed Mathematics Teaching Practices
Facilitate Meaningful Mathematical Discourse
Effective teaching of mathematics facilitates
discourse among students to build shared
understanding of mathematical ideas by
analyzing and comparing student approaches
and arguments.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to Actions:
Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. Reston, VA: NCTM.
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The Half of a Whole Task
Identify all of the figures that have one half shaded. Be prepared to
explain how you know that one half of the figure is shaded. Write a
written description giving your reason why a figure is showing halves.
If a figure does not show one half shaded explain why the figure is not
showing halves.
(Adapted from Watanabe, 1996, p. 461) 4 5/4/15 The Half of a Whole Task
•  What do students need to know and be able to
do in order to engage with the task?
•  What mathematical ideas does the task provide
an opportunity for students to learn?
Lets watch Millie Brooks facilitate this task.
Remember: looking for intellectual engagement
and facilitating discourse.
http://www.nctm.org/profdev/half_of_a_whole/
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The Half of a Whole Task
What does Ms. Brooks do to promote meaningful
discourse? (P2A Teaching Practice)
What evidence do you see of student intellectual
engagement? (Danielson Cluster 4)
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10 5 5/4/15 Enacting Intellectual Engagement and Discourse
What support would teachers need to engage their
students in the type of discourse we saw in the
video?
What structures need to be in place to ensure
teachers receive this support?
What action do we need to take as leaders to create
these conditions?
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11 Essential Elements of Excellent Math Programs
Consistent implementation of effective teaching
and learning depend on:
•  a commitment to access and equity;
•  a powerful curriculum;
•  appropriate tools and technology;
•  meaningful and aligned assessment;
•  a culture of professionalism.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to Actions:
Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. Reston, VA: NCTM.
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12 6 5/4/15 New Danielson Framework - Clusters
1.  Clarity of Instructional Purpose and Accuracy of
Content
2.  Safe, Respectful, Supportive, and Challenging
Learning Environment
3.  Classroom Management
4.  Student Intellectual Engagement
5.  Successful Learning by All Students
6.  Professionalism
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13 Professionalism - Danielson
What are the attributes of professionalism that we
want to encourage?
What are the underlying beliefs that are challenges
to creating a culture of professionalism?
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14 7 5/4/15 A Culture of Professionalism
Professional Mathematics Teachers…
… continually seek to enhance their math
knowledge for teaching, and knowledge of math
pedagogy and students as learners of
mathematics.
… have a collective sense of sense of
responsibility and a sense of collective efficacy,
and do not work in isolation.
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15 A Culture of Professionalism
Research indicates that not only more growth in
mathematics achievement in students whose
teachers regularly collaborate than in students
whose teachers work in isolation, but also a
reduction in traditional learning gaps among
disaggregated groups.
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16 8 5/4/15 Taking Action: A Culture Professionalism
Look on page 113 at the Action Steps for Leaders
around professionalism.
1.  Which of these do you already do?
2.  Which of these will be your next steps?
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17 Goals
Session Goals:
To provide participants an opportunity to
collaboratively consider evaluation frameworks
as a support for educator growth, and explore
materials available for professional development
with teachers in your district.
Learning Experiences:
Enhance student intellectual engagement and
focus professionalism in teacher groups.
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18 9 5/4/15 Action Plans
1.  How, when, and with whom will you share these
ideas?
2.  What are your next steps based on today’s
learning?
3.  How might the Dana Center support you in
moving forward?
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