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Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6-8 - Book Cover

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Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6-8

First Edition
By: John Taylor Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Joseph Michael Assof, Sara Delano Moore, John Hattie, Nancy Frey

Leverage the most effective teaching practices at the most effective time to meet the surface, deep, and transfer learning needs of every middle school mathematics student.

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Product Details

Grade Level: 6-8
ISBN: 9781544333182
Published By: Corwin
Series: Corwin Mathematics Series
Year: 2018
Page Count: 264
Publication date: November 08, 2018

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Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

Description

Select the right task, at the right time, for the right phase of learning

It could happen in the morning during homework review. Or perhaps it happens when listening to students as they struggle through a challenging problem. Or maybe even after class, when planning a lesson. At some point, the question arises: How do I influence students' learning—what’s going to generate that light bulb “aha” moment of understanding?

In this sequel to the megawatt best seller Visible Learning for Mathematics, John Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Hattie, and Kateri Thunder help you answer that question by showing how Visible Learning strategies look in action in the mathematics classroom. Walk in the shoes of middle school teachers as they engage in the 200 micro-decisions-per-minute needed to balance the strategies, tasks, and assessments seminal to high-impact mathematics instruction.

Using grade-leveled examples and a decision-making matrix, you’ll learn to

Articulate clear learning intentions and success criteria at surface, deep, and transfer levels
Employ evidence to guide students along the path of becoming metacognitive and self-directed mathematics achievers
Use formative assessments to track what students understand, what they don’t, and why
Select the right task for the conceptual, procedural, or application emphasis you want, ensuring the task is for the right phase of learning
Adjust the difficulty and complexity of any task to meet the needs of all learners

It’s not only what works, but when. Exemplary lessons, video clips, and online resources help you leverage the most effective teaching practices at the most effective time to meet the surface, deep, and transfer learning needs of every student.

Key features

Like being a fly on the wall of real 6-8 classrooms!

Includes:

Grade- and content-specific vignettes of three teachers across nine complete lessons showing surface, deep, transfer learning across a unit
65 minutes of real 6-8 classroom video
Grade-specific descriptions, teaching takeaways, vocabulary, and tools for high-effect instructional strategies
Lesson plans include standards, learning intentions and success criteria, tasks, tools, checklists, and facilitation notes—all downloadable from companion website
Interactive reflection and activity sections

Author(s)

John Taylor Almarode

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career, John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. As an author, John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics, and he has co-created a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarode's work has been presented to the US Congress, the Virginia Senate, and the US Department of Education. One of his recent projects includes developing the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning, How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.

Douglas Fisher

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed teacher and leader in California. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as Welcome to Teaching, PLC+, Teaching Students to Drive their Learning, and Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning.

Joseph Michael Assof

Joseph Michael Assof is a high school and community college mathematics teacher and the math department chair at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, CA. He is also an educational consultant and presents internationally on a wide array of topics including teacher clarity, mathematics teaching and learning, visible learning, and more. Joseph coauthored Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, High School, Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6–8, and The Teacher Clarity Playbook, and his classroom is featured in a number of Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K–12 videos. Joseph holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics and a doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Mathematics Teacher Leadership. Mathematics and mathematics education are Joseph’s second passion—his first being his two beautiful boys, Joseph Fred and Jamie Beau.

Sara Delano Moore

Sara Delano Moore is an independent mathematics education consultant at SDM Learning. A fourth-generation educator, her work focuses on helping teachers and students understand mathematics as a coherent and connected discipline through the power of deep understanding and multiple representations for learning. Sara has worked as a classroom teacher of mathematics and science in the elementary and middle grades, a mathematics teacher educator, Director of the Center for Middle School Academic Achievement for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and Director of Mathematics & Science at ETA hand2mind. Her journal articles appear in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, Teaching Children Mathematics, Science & Children, and Science Scope.

John Hattie

John Hattie, PhD, is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly thirty years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly thirty years synthesizing more than 2,100 meta-analyses comprising more than one hundred thousand studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over three hundred international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn; Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12; and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.

Nancy Frey

Nancy Frey is professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Nancy was a teacher, academic coach, and central office resource coordinator in Florida. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. She has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as The Artificial Intelligences Playbook, How Scaffolding Works, How Teams Work, and The Vocabulary Playbook.

Table of Contents

List of Videos

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

What Works Best

What Works Best When

The Path to Assessment-Capable Visible Learners in Mathematics

How This Book Works

Chapter 1. Teaching With Clarity in Mathematics

Components of Effective Mathematics Learning

Surface, Deep, and Transfer Learning

Moving Learners Through the Phases of Learning

Differentiating Tasks for Complexity and Difficulty

Checks for Understanding

Profiles of Three Teachers

Reflection

Chapter 2. Teaching for the Application of Concepts and Thinking Skills

Ms. Halstrom and Circles and Cylinders

Ms. Fernandez and Systems of Linear Equations

Mr. Singh and Integers

Reflection

Chapter 3. Teaching for Conceptual Understanding

Ms. Halstrom and Circles and Cylinders

Ms. Fernandez and Systems of Linear Equations

Mr. Singh and Integers

Reflection

Chapter 4. Teaching for Procedural Knowledge and Fluency

Ms. Halstrom and Circles and Cylinders

Ms. Fernandez and Systems of Linear Equations

Mr. Singh and Integers

Reflection

Chapter 5. Knowing Your Impact: Evaluating for Mastery

What Is Mastery Learning?

Ensuring Tasks Evaluate Mastery

Ensuring Tests Evaluate Mastery

Feedback for Mastery

Conclusion

Final Reflection

Appendices

A. Effect Sizes

B. Teaching for Clarity Planning Guide

C. Learning Intentions and Success Criteria Template

D. A Selection of International Mathematical Practice or Process Standards

References

Index

Other Titles in: Mathematics | Middle School Teaching Methods | Visible Learning

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Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom

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