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I am grappling with planning instruction that allows me to give my students a well thought out and  focused math experience. I realize that I have to use my time in class  to not only foster confidence and meaningful experiences with the concept, but also to deliver instruction  that is so complete that I will be able to " release" them to try it at home though both guided  and independent learning experiences.
I am also thinking about what experiences will be easier to manage at home for both kids and families.

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I am student driven the whole way. This is just how my brain works. I feel that if your student driven approach is well thought out, you can gain a lot of knowledge about where gaps are and how to fill them through shared experiences, differentiation, and learning who your students are as mathematicians.

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Right now, I am thinking that the most important elements will be to learn who my students are as mathematician and giving them experiences that help build their confidence and concepts. I have to make them feel like they can try things at home and feel comfortable to ask questions and discuss their thinking.

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I am also a student driven teacher and believe that when we drive instruction based on student needs, we are able to fill in the gaps. Homogeneous and heterogeneous groups with peers leading and helping one another is one of the best instructions to support each individual student in the classroom. This enriches students who are "getting" the lesson and support students who need that extra "umph" as well as develops a positive learning community where each student feels important .

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I would say getting to know my students as thinkers and doers. I also think establishing routines and expectations would be right up at the top of my priority list. :)

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I would say getting to know my students as thinkers and doers. I also think establishing routines and expectations would be right up at the top of my priority list. :)

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Jenn Hall

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Lots of things! I am thinking a lot about how to optimize the face-to-face time I have with the kids. I have also been trying to have a plan for keeping kids up to speed after their "at-home" days. Families will be in so many different situations and the inequity around the support the kids receive will be significant. There is so much to think about!

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Definitely student driven! :)

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I'm also thinking/worried about what our students will be doing when they are at home.
We have amazing teachers and math coaches, so I know we'll work together to figure out what our students need.

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I also love a student driven environment. It does benefit all. It's an art to facilitate conversations and ask those probing questions. I'm really working to get better at this.

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I agree w/Jenn & Aly. I want to get to know each student, establish routines and build a risk taking environment.

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If we start the year in person, I would be looking forward to trying some of the ideas from the original article, such as the math autobiography or something similar to the skyscraper puzzles. I believe there is so much value in listening to kids as they work and seeing/hearing their thinking. I do have concerns that in person learning will be difficult to make as collaborative due to social distancing/masking protocols and some of these great conversations between students may not be able to reach their maximum potential (but still see great benefit in this practice). If we are virtual at some point, I would definitely want to incorporate these types of practices into my daily math teaching and create a situation where students can still interact and discuss their thinking.

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I feel most comfortable using a student driven approach. That doesn't mean I feel completely confident that I am doing the best job but like Steve said, I am working to get better at it. I think the effectiveness in it is choosing the right tasks and making sure that all students are able to grapple/struggle but not to a point of frustration. It has to be equally accessible to all students, meaning they all need some point of entry. So many of the tasks suggested in the article are great for this.

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Since many students will be coming in off of what may have felt like a 5 month summer vacation, I think establishing some clear routines is paramount, as well as, giving tasks that all children feel they can successfully participate in. I also would want to work on practices that could be transferred to home and make them solid, so that if we have to go back to virtual learning, students will have the confidence to engage in these open-ended/open-middle tasks and continue to grow their mathematical thinking. I think knowing that we can help our students become strong mathematical thinkers this way, as opposed to trying to "fill all the gaps before moving on" takes a lot of pressure off of us as educators and teaches our students to be more independent and curious in their thinking, which is truly a skill needed for success throughout life.

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How to best help parents understand the importance of discussion, creativity, open problems and game playing as valuable supports for math learning.

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Student driven!
Always amazed at what the students notice and explain when I get out of the way!

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Establishing that math is fun, math is talking, math is discovering new ways of thinking! Setting up the routines and procedures of how we talk and share about our math thinking. Designing work that is open, creative, and uses things in their home environment.

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How to make the most out of the face-to-face time we will have with the students and how best to support them when they are at home. So much of what we do in the classroom is learning from others, math conversations and discussions, etc. I am trying to think how we can provide this while students are at home?

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I agree with what others have already shared above. I want to make the most of my time together with students face to face. I want them to feel successful and provide opportunities that are meaningful for home practice.

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I am thinking about how I can make learning, school, and math inviting and fun while taking advantage of the time that we have in the classroom together. I wonder what skills, ideas, and concepts they will come to school with and how I can best support the gaps in their understandings/math thinking. I wonder how the "typical curriculum" will need to change in order to meet students where they are. I also wonder what new materials, games, and daily routines I will need to create in order to meet those varied needs. Lastly, I think a lot about those "at home days". How can I give students practice with mathematical concepts when they have varied resources at home?

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This year more than ever, I feel like a student driven approach is best; however, a balance between the two will help me create materials and practices that work best for my students. Being able to see what they may not have gotten from the year before will allow me to informally assess and gather information in order to better understand next steps. I will need to see the gap document to help my understanding of the prior years math practices. From that document I think the rest of my daily work will be student driven.

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Just like every other September, my number one goal for the beginning of a school year is to make students feel welcome, comfortable and confident in math. I want to establish routines, structures and collaborative practices that allow students to feel like they are an important part of our mathematical learning community. I want my lessons to be hands on and engaging.

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I am most comfortable using a student driven approach.

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It is tough to choose one element that is most important, but I feel it will be important to design engaging home instruction that will align with our face to face lessons.

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I feel the same as everyone here!  How can I best structure our math time so that in-class routines can also be the same routines at home?   I know that collaboration is so important during math and I am thinking of ways to have kids still work together, even at a distance.

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I feel the same as everyone here!  How can I best structure our math time so that in-class routines can also be the same routines at home?   I know that collaboration is so important during math and I am thinking of ways to have kids still work together, even at a distance.

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An important element in launching math will be establishing a positive tone and climate.  I would like my students to look forward to math as a fun, engaging time of the day.  My hope is that this energy and motivation will continue with at home learning as well.

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An important element in launching math will be establishing a positive tone and climate.  I would like my students to look forward to math as a fun, engaging time of the day.  My hope is that this energy and motivation will continue with at home learning as well.

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Similar to many of the above comments, there are so many important elements as we launch math in September. It is essential to build a classroom community in this area and create an atmosphere where taking a risk, agreeing/disagreeing with others and 'revising your thinking' is welcome and encouraged. In addition, I feel it is important to show kids that math is not just a cut and dry (one-way only) process to get an answer. I want my students to be curious and flexible problem solvers not just problem answerers.

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Well I'm glad I'm not alone in my thinking. I'm feeling a time crunch to make every minute count, worried about getting to know my kiddos as learners and thinker, where will they be at, how to fill in the gaps, connecting face-to-face learning with remote learning in an easy yet productive way...Should I go on???

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I am definitely student driven however, I feel this year more than ever, the gaps will be greater.  How can we not think of the gaps as well?

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I think this year it is most important to build that caring community of learners and thinkers.  We are going to have students coming in all over the board academically, socially and emotionally.  First, we must build that community of caring, understanding, and acceptance!

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Finding ways to make sure we know our students' strengths and weaknesses around mathematics, utilizing our time that we have with our students face to face and making sure we have techniques and strategies on how we can best support their math learning at home. Much of the math that is being done at our level is mostly hands on. How are we going to make sure our students have all of the necessary tools, materials and support to continue their learning at home??

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Definitely student driven, but it will be important to know and understand the gaps that our students are coming to us with, which in turn will help build connections between previous concepts and new concepts that are being taught. Based on the gaps and student's needs, these will be the two factors that drive my daily instruction.

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Starting out this school year will be no different for me than years past. Making sure to create an environment for my students that is welcoming, engaging and is a safe place to take risks and make mistakes will be my number one priority. Once these are established, hands on learning activities will help to engage my students and make learning fun and enjoyable for them.

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I am thinking about student driven but this year I feel like I need to really be familiar with the gaps that students will be coming to us with. I think this year more than ever it is important to build a community where the students can take risks and feel successful.

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I agree with my colleagues about making the absolute most of the limited time we have with our mathematicians. Collaboration and discussion is such an essential part of our learning. I keep thinking about all of the interactive math games we play and how they need to be altered as we social distance.  I am also worried for the families trying to support their children at home.

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Student driven has always felt like the right thing to do when we can. I agree with a comment above on knowing the gaps will be greater this fall, so what do we do differently?

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Each beginning of a school year, we try to build a sense of community where children learn routines, are engaged and  feel comfortable/safe.  This year, I just have to realize that children might need more time to adjust.

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Im thinking about the planning aspect of math. We are currently being asked to teach math in several different ways, in person and virtual. Planning lessons that are focused, concise, and enjoyable but also can fit into a in person or a virtual format is very different than anything we have done before.

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As everyone above, I believe in the student driven approach too. I think I am still working on how to ask the appropriate probing questions and recording useful anecdotal data to drive my instruction. I have had some opportunity to watch this in action while working with a coach and this year will be a great test into how well I can manage it on my own.

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Picking one element that is most important seems almost impossible. So much goes into good math instruction and the beginning of the year we usually spend learning about the students and encouraging them to recognize the positive aspects of math. I think we have a great opportunity here to apply their math thinking to the "real world" since they have been home so long. I feel like this may help them bridge the gap btwn home and school, making them less hesitant at the beginning.

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I feel the most comfortable using a student-driven approach.  I think, what's tricky about this, is the flexibility we'll need in planning for and creating instructional activities that are responsive to what the students are showing us which, to me, is the opposite direction we've been going the past number of years.  With Investigations (no knock on it, of course), we've been able to develop teacher-driven pacing guides that help us "putt along" with lessons that are vertically aligned across grade-levels.  This year, we'll need to throw all that out the window so we can tailor a curriculum that is TRULY student-driven.  This is why our planning teams and grade level teams will need to be more cohesive than we've ever been which is incredibly tough in a district that is so large.

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I enjoyed this article and it gave me some time to reflect on how I want to start my year. I love the idea of starting with games and listening in on conversations. Since I am hopeful that I will be working with the same students, I can really spend my time informally assessing where they are currently at because I have relationships with most of them already. I'm thinking a lot about how I can support them in the classroom and have them build on their learning when they are online outside of the classroom.

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I feel most comfortable with a student driven approach. In my classroom, all tasks need to be very individualized to me the varying needs of my students. A student driven model works best for this approach. I enjoy listening to conversations that my students have as well as asking questions to hear more about their thinking.

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The most important element of launching math with my students is building the community and finding ways for students to collaborate to show their mathematical thinking. I will need to reflect on where my students left off in March and be aware of the transition time students will need this September.

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Echoing other people sentiments, I think it's imperative for us to be well organized with our goals, along with the material that we feel is most important and purposeful. If we continue to have students think about their own solutions, how others arrived to the same solutions, and to truly collaborate about our mathematical thinking, our students will be prepared for next year (even if they don't cover all the content). We wan them to problem solve, think through situations, and to analyze the thinking of others. We can do that during our time in class, and have them practice it more while home :)

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I agree with my colleagues regarding making the most of face to face time and also helping to support families who are remote all of the time or some of the time. I think it is important to model sharing thinking, asking questions and facilitating conversations both in person and virtually so that families and learners know that math is more than paper and pencil tasks and just coming up with a solution. I am also thinking about math interactions in the classroom where learners must be socially distanced and how to best facilitate these interactions.

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Absolutely student driven. So much about math is logic and reasoning, and I'm impressed and astounded sometimes how students work through different problems. I trust that if we focus on the thought process, the communication, the community of sharing, we will "fill" many more gaps than trying to systematically do so with a gap approach.

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I think the most important aspect will be that you need to build a sense of community, and also a sense of safety.  Some of your students (probably those who have had difficulty in the past) are going to feel a lot of anxiety and apprehension as they "feel" they are even further behind. I think creating a safe community with all ideas are valued, mistakes are celebrated as growth, and establishing routine will be vital for success throughout the year (in school or at home).

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I am most comfortable with a student driven approach.

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I agree that building your community of learners this year is going to take time, given that children have not been in a classroom setting since mid-March. I am going to work hard to create a safe environment, establish routines and build relationships with my learners and their families to foster sharing what we are noticing and wondering in our learning.

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I too want to use the face to face classroom time as effectively as possible. I'm also hopeful that what students learn in the classroom (strategies used for problem solving, explaining their thinking, practicing new skills through the use of playing games...) will be able to continue at home for the days they will be learning virtually. I'm sensitive to the varying needs of parents, so it's important that students have a clear understanding of what their at home learning should look like. I think we did a really good job of trying to simplify for parents as much as possible in the spring, and it'll will be important for us to continue to do so this fall.

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I find the student driven approach most helpful and effective.

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Establishing routine and creating a safe and positive learning environment will be my focus in September.

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I am thinking about how to make the most of our time together, how to incorporate the social interactions that need to take place with social distancing constraints and how to help parents help their children at home.

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I am most comfortable with a student driven approach. However, I would love to learn more about the different levels of thought for the concepts we teach, such as the levels of geometric thought for the Diagnostic Shape Task.

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Noticing and understanding student thinking.

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My thinking is around how to optimize the face to face time we have together. I am trying to wrap my head around how to use the time in class to its full potential, as well as how best to support each child with his/her math learning at home as an extension of classroom learning. Math is such a community and social experience in the classroom, how do I support math the "other days" at home?

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To continue to engage students in think and explain their mathmatical thinking in face to face sessions and online at home. Getting both students and parents into the mindset that math is not the answer, but the process of how you get there. At home I don't want the parents to just have the students give an answer to be "done". I need to work with the students to build confidence to "talk about their math" so hopefully it can fluidly happen in school and when they are at home doing their assignments.

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I agree with my colleagues in what has already been said. I want to make the most of the time we have together, for students to feel engaged in the learning and discussions, and also worry about how that will transfer to a virtual setting. How can we best support students so that they are still problem solving, engaging in discussions, exploring their thinking and revising their conjectures while at home?

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The Student Driven approach makes sense in any typical year, but especially makes sense now. Administering diagnostic testing or paper and pencil tasks too early in the school year usually produces low results due to the nature that students haven't practiced those types of assignments during summer. Even then, the results are limited, and the climate of your math class can lack motivation and engagement. By using observation, conversations, tasks, etc, we are able to learn more about HOW a child is thinking, and their problem solving skills.

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I want my students to see themselves as mathematicians, to feel confident in learning from mistakes, problem solving in different ways, and willing to share their thinking. I also think that establishing expectations and routines early will be paramount in supporting both in-person and on-line learning.

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Student driven. I think gap driven would stress me, the students and their parents.

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I agree with all of the above. Building a community of learners that trust me and one another will be my number one goal. Routines will be so important after a 5 month hiatus! I will want to learn who my students are as learners and build upon that and what they know.

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So many great comments to think about.  Contemplating on how to reach students both at home and at school so that they receive instruction that fosters appropriate growth.

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So many great comments to think about.  Contemplating on how to reach students both at home and at school so that they receive instruction that fosters appropriate growth.

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Stephanie O'Shell

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Student Driven...

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First building a learning community where students feel comfortable taking risks in the classroom as well as being comfortable learning new ideas and concepts at home.

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I couldn’t agree more that my focus around teaching math this fall has been on making the most of our limited face to face time with students. Many of the learning experiences in the classroom depend on hands on learning and students collaborating with one another. Further, so much of our assessment of students’ mathematical understanding depends on seeing and hearing students’ thinking. My hope is to support students and families in facilitating collaborative conversations around their thinking when they engage in math at home.

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The student driven approach is best for students. Building a community of learners and facilitating authentic conversations between students is more valuable in that it allows students to focus more on their process than the actual outcome. Giving students the tools and language to share their thinking and observing students while doing so allows for a more authentic assessment of their learning.

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The most important element in launching math in September is building relationships with students and creating a community of learners where students feel safe and confident enough to take risks and collaborate with one another. Next to that, establishing new and safe routines around shared learning and collaboration that meet students both in and out of the classroom.

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In regards to teaching math this fall, I think building a classroom community where students feel safe to take risks is key. Our first unit in 3rd grade has always been multiplication, and the concept of multiplication has always been new for third graders anyway. I am excited to have only 11 students or less in front of me at a time and am curious how having a small number of students will enhance my teaching and support student learning. I am concerned with keeping up with students' math work while they are home.

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I feel most comfortable using a student driven approach.

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I think the most important elements of launching math with my students in September are:

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Technology will definitely be a challenge for me... I'm not good at it yet.  Anyway, the most important elements are creating a safe and nurturing learning environment, creating routines, and number talks.  Number talks will allow us to understand student thinking.  It is student driven, will provide insight, and will allow students to learn from each other.

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I am thinking about how I can maximize the time I have students in front of me.  I am thinking about how I will be able to help them with mathematical experiences and routines, that they then can hopefully transfer to the home days.  I am thinking about how math will look for them on their home days, whether it involves games or online work.

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feel most comfortable using a student driven approach.  I think the tricky part is going to be how we can successfully do that for the students in front of us and still stay as was said in our meeting with Jen and Leah "Lock-Step" in our instruction.  I am wondering how we will be able to support our 100% online learners in math..

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I think there are many important elements. I think getting to know students as math learners and establishing their confidence as mathematicians will be important.

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I'm thinking a lot about how to maximize my time with students to build relationships that will sustain their engagement and motivation during their at-home days.

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Student driven is the approach with which I am most comfortable. There is incredible benefit as students establish the community of learning, including students seeing themselves as thoughtful problem-solvers and teachers gain insight into students' thought processes.

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As with everything in coming back in the fall, I am wondering how best to meet my students' needs in a meaningful and concise way, given the limited face to face time we have with them.  This article is telling me to be smart and purposeful with the tasks/games I give my students- making it enjoyable for them while giving me valuable information about them as learners and mathematicians.

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Right off the bat, I was gap-driven. Then I read the article and realized, I can still get the data I need while making it more fun and meaningful for the students in a student-driven approach.

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As with everything, you have the kids who love math and the kids who hate it. SO, my job is to foster both types of kids. Continue to challenge and excite those kids who already love math and build confidence and excitement in those kids who don't. Each type can learn from one another, better than I, as the teacher can.

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Worried about the limited time we have with students and making the best use of time.  Also thinking about how can I bear meet each of their needs and providing them with what they need.  Concerned about how different math workshop might be and how best to help them still engage and learn things from each other /getting the great practice in.

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I know the student driven approach.   It allows everyone to do their best learning.   This approach allows great conversations.   Working my hardest to get better at it.

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Getting to know my students.  How they engage with math, how they feel about math and understanding them as a learner.  I also think it’s important to create that environment where they feel fun and it’s safe to take risks.

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I too am thinking about getting to know my students, where they are at and how to make the most of our time together as well as their time at home.

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I am trying to figure out how to best utilize the minimal amount of face time that I will have with my students in order to support their independent/distance learning time.

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I follow the student driven approach. I prefer to have students work together to make connections and to build upon their knowledge.

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I think it will be important to learn where my students are skill wise in September. It will also be very important to teach them the expectations and routines so that they can carry that knowledge over into their online work.

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I feel most comfortable using the student driven approach!

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Being new to using Investigations to teach the first grade standards, what's on my mind for the Fall is how these lessons look, and how to have kids engage in partner tasks given all of the safety precautions.

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Similar to what many of my colleagues have said, setting up the routines and engaging in conversations around math.

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So much learning takes place when children engage in math games together through partnerships and small groups. I've been trying to imagine how games and learning experiences will look if they are all done independently.

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Observing and recognizing student strengths and needs come naturally through their conversations around concepts. Having them complete some of the suggested activities in the article seem relevant. Great alternative to traditional testing.

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I am most comfortable using a student driven approach. I think providing open problems and time for learners to Notice/Wonder will be essential practices when introducing new learning.

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Establishing routines and having them engaged. Hopefully with each other as well. I am not so worried about "gaps" but more with them being able to interact, play games together and have conversations. I want to make sure their online work cohesively supports their in class learning.

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I believe establishing routines and getting to know my learners as mathematical thinkers (through conversations) will take priority in September.

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Establishing routines and helping them have conversations about their learning. Accountability with thinking/explaining. Starting with easier games and problems when establishing routines. Hold myself back and focus on their language and talk-be an observer.

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Knowing first grade key ideas, especially those usually presented from March through June.

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student driven