by Tom | Jan 25, 2018 | math topics
A grade 4 team was recently considering the following task for a lesson in which they hoped to have students make a connection between fractions and decimals: What would you say about this? I wrote them two emails about it. First email: What would be the purpose of...
by Tom | Mar 21, 2017 | Resources
In response to multiple requests, I have finally written up this guide for facilitating a post-lesson discussion, which you can also find on our resources page. I will say that cultivating a good post-lesson discussion tends to be easiest if the planning team has a...
by Tom | Feb 14, 2017 | Resources
We offer this guide for facilitating a post-lesson discussion. Please take a look, and if you use it, please give us your feedback!
by Tom | May 9, 2016 | lesson design
A surprisingly difficult but critically important part of designing a lesson is establishing the learning goals. Many teachers write learning goals in the form of behavioral outcomes: “Students will be able to…” Frequently this is what their administrators want, and...
by Tom | Jan 8, 2016 | classroom practice
What?? you might be thinking. What else could the teacher’s job be but to teach? The teacher’s job is to ensure that students learn – all of them, we hope, though we know we will usually fall short. In Japan, most (elementary) math lessons are designed as...
