Launching Math Tasks Using Practical Measure Surveys to Support Decision Making
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In this portfolio, I reflect on my efforts to provide professional development targeted to support teachers during the launch phase of their mathematics teaching, to elicit and respond to student ideas and experiences. I grounded my study in research on ambitious teaching practices for launching complex mathematical tasks using problem-based learning. I incorporated the practical measures launch of a task surveys to capture student experiences, ideas, and reflections and then used this student feedback to help teachers shape their decisions in the math classroom. My artifacts provide a glimpse of my journey to achieve this goal. I analyzed launches in the Illustrative Mathematics curriculum, surveyed students about their role in math class and grounded my work in research to develop strategies to accomplish this goal. To address the problem, I designed a professional learning series to implement during Skyline PLCs to help teachers bring the student voice into the classroom during the task launch. I followed up with coaching interventions focused on evidence-based practices (EBPs) for launching rich math tasks and practical measures student surveys to get students to engage in sense-making, thinking, and problem-solving. Professional learning was well attended, and teachers actively participated. I used an Innovation Configuration (IC), an observation tool to collect descriptions of teaching, to identify the differences between teacher and student-centered classrooms. Teachers reported seeing more diverse ways of thinking and an increase in participation. I recommend using the practical measures surveys at the School Success Center as a coaching tool, realizing we need more time to align surveys to the goals of our coaching partnership. In addition, I want to rethink our coaching model, namely our time within the classroom. We need to be more proactive and an integral part of the lesson.