Why It's Ok To Pause And Refuel Over the Holiday Break

The winter solstice this year will occur on December 21. In the northern hemisphere, it is the day in the year that the Sun will rise from its southernmost point in the morning sky.   The word solstice means “Sun stands still”.  And this is a time for us to stand still too before we begin our journey toward spring.  Like the candles that are symbols of light at this time of year, your flame will continue to burn as long as you have fuel.  Without it, you will flicker and go out.  It is so easy to keep adding items to your “I’ll do it over winter break” list. I will write that unit over break, read that book, clean that storeroom, grade the essays, plan the labs, catch up on my evaluations, start working out again, see my friends… the list grows exponentially.  How many of you have that list running in the back of your mind? The list itself can expend your energy and make your flame flicker.  For new teachers and administrators, that list may be even longer as they have worked to find balance between managing the ins and outs of their classrooms or buildings and meeting the needs of their students. Their candles may be very close to burning out.  Reach out to them...or if you ARE one of them, reach out to your colleagues who can give you support or a different perspective on the list of items that may be weighing you down. It is ok to turn off your teacher brain for a while over the winter break.

Students need that same opportunity to stand still.  Their student brains need some space to stretch beyond the borders of classrooms too. 

So as the winter solstice approaches, pick one thing off your list that you want to prioritize accomplishing over the break. Make an actionable plan to accomplish the other items after break or make the decision that it is ok to remove an item all together. Be open to new experiences during your time away from your classroom.  Do the things that bring you joy. Be with people who lift you up. Celebrate your successes from the first half of the year. And, find some space to do nothing. Fuel your flame. 

I am taking my own advice and will be “standing still” over the next few weeks, making sure I have enough fuel to keep my flame burning too.  In case you haven’t heard this from someone lately, you are valued.  The  work you do is important. Your student’s lives are better because you are their teacher, their principal, their counselor, their coach. Your work as a district administrator or education leader makes a greater impact on those you serve than you may ever know. Your work as a paraprofessional, administrative assistant, security team member, maintenance/custodial team member, food service team member or bus driver is essential to the success of the students in your district. Thank you for what you continue to do for our children. Have a safe, healthy holiday season.  I am looking forward to coming back to Talk-OH-Tuesday in January 2023 with a fresh mind and renewed curiosity. 

How Do You Feel About Math? Neuroscience and Research That Supports All Students Can Do Math

It doesn’t matter what you teach or lead.  We can all respond to these questions: How do you feel about math? Which quote resonates with you?

Math is the science of patterns… W.W. Sawyer

Math is a way to make the invisible visible …Keith Devlin

Wherever there is number, there is beauty…  Proclus

Mathematics is the music of reason…James Joseph Sylvester

It’s Ok, I wasn’t good at math either… Soooooo many people

 From the moment you get up in the morning, your brain is doing math, starting with figuring out just how many minutes  you can lay in that bed and still make it to work on time.  As I am writing this tonight, the news is showing a bar graph of gas prices and talking about increases and decreases.  A commercial just focused on price breaks and sale percentages. The weather map shows increasing and decreasing temperatures.  Math is all around us.  Everyone is a math person. So, when does the disconnect happen? When do we begin to believe that we can’t do math? Why?  These are  important questions.  Research shows, as educators, how we identify as “ a math person” or “a non-math person” can impact the way our students see themselves.  It is important that we actively work to overcome the “it’s ok to not be good in math” cultural messaging.  One strategy is to surround students with numbers and patterns, at the same time we are surrounding them with words so they see themselves as math people and as readers.  Ask them to talk about the math they see in their world. Create math walls where they can share their own math thinking or examples that they find. Spend time on number talks in class.  Math weaves through literature, science, social studies, the arts, physical education, health, family consumer science, business, languages, and technology. Just like we are all responsible for teaching students to read and write in any context, we are equally responsible for helping them to see the authentic connections to math in any context. 

 It is important to study the most recent neuroscience research that helps us to understand exactly how different parts of the brain work on math, how students' brains develop mathematical conceptual understanding beginning with number sense in preschool, and the most effective approaches to growing that math thinking. There is also a strong connection between language and math success.  It is interesting that number words in Japanese and Chinese are shorter, and more closely aligned to base 10 counting than their English counterparts.  So if you were saying 25 in Chinese or Japanese, you would be saying two ten five instead of twenty five.  You can see how this would be an advantage for children who are modeling with base 10 blocks or learning to count.  And, why a child might count twenty nine, twenty ten in English if they are trying to find patterns. Learning the vocabulary of math by hearing it and using it in context is important too.  If we want students to communicate mathematically, they need to build their working vocabulary in math.  And maybe this is where the disconnect happens. For many students, the language of math becomes a barrier, so does their inability to follow sequential directions or visualize pictures in their head. Maybe it’s their math anxiety or they need more opportunities to learn in a classroom culture based on sense making. Maybe they need more opportunities to engage in real world application of their new math thinking.  Maybe they have incomplete learning.  This goes all the way back to the cardinal principle - the ability to recognize that the last number counted represents the total number of objects in a group.  If a child does not have this, they will struggle with addition and subtraction. David Sousa’s book “How the Brain Learns Mathematics” compiles many research studies, focusing on effective strategies for addressing incomplete learning, and the neuroscience behind the development of math thinking from birth through high school.  I have included below additional resources to spark your own inquiry into the neuroscience of math and reflect on your own belief about your ability to do math. 

And, remember, research has shown that we are ALL math people and ALL students can do math.  

Resources To Spark Your Thinking

• Ohio Dept. of Education Math Team Resource Page https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/Mathematics/Resources-for-Mathematics 

• Rich Math Tasks https://mathforlove.com/lessons/rich-tasks/ 

• Research on how the brain makes sense of math - you can try it out yourself https://ece.umd.edu/news/story/the-brain-makes-sense-of-math-and-language-in-different-ways 

• Your brain is calculating all the time https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160829094017.htm

• Using symmetry to help students make math connections https://news.stanford.edu/pr/2015/pr-symmetry-math-schwartz-070615.html

• How manipulatives can enhance the perception action cycle https://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/perception-action-cycle

• Yes, everyone can learn math

• https://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2017-Positive-Norms-Description-Paper-1.pdf

• Two awesome math educators host a podcast about…math.

• https://podcastunfinisheds.apple.com/us/podcast/room-to-grow-a-math-podcast/id1566002698

• Addressing Unfinished Learning In Math https://achievethecore.org/page/3368/how-to-support-students-unfinished-learning-in-math

• How To Identify Where Unfinished Learning May Be For A Student https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/mathdiffs.html 

• Use the coherence map to follow a continuum of math learning. https://achievethecore.org/coherence-map 

• Math Affirmation Cards https://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Affirmation-Cards-V2.pdf 

• Make Your Own I Am A Mathematician Poster - this is not just for students https://www.youcubed.org/resources/and-im-a-mathematician-k-12/ 

Join A Math Community

• OCTM https://www.ohioctm.org/
• Local OCTM Affiliates https://ohioctm.org/Local-Affiliates 
• Crooked River Math Circle https://www.escneo.org/crookedrivermtc_home.aspx