Young Mathematicians at Work: Constructing Multiplication and Division
January 16 and 17, 2008 (A two-day workshop for Grades 3 - 5)
Day One – Experiencing Math Workshop/Math Congress and Examining the Practice in the Elementary Classroom
In this workshop, teachers will become learners in a mathematics environment where math is the posing and solving of problems, the searching for patterns, and the construction of formulae, models, and strategies. Teachers will experience firsthand an active Math Workshop and a Math Congress. Teachers will learn how to scaffold mathematics instruction and discussion so that it builds connections across solutions and is based on important mathematical ideas. Through interactive CD-Rom materials, teachers will view and analyze an exemplary teacher and her students engaged in constructing the open number line model—the prevalent model used for addition and subtraction. Teachers will analyze students at work, student work, teacher decision-making, and the big ideas of mathematics.
Day Two – Developing Efficient Computation Strategies with Mini-Lessons
Building on the foundation developed on Day 1, teachers will delve deeply into what it means to calculate with number sense—how mathematicians look to the numbers first to decide on a clever strategy. This training will operate on the premise that efficient computation should be the goal of computation work, meaning that children need to develop a deep sense of number, landmarks, and operations resulting in a repertoire of strategies. Teachers will participate in multiple mini-lessons that develop number sense, computation strategies, and demonstrate the mathematical tools we use when working with mathematics.