Chapters International

Overview:

What is mathematical understanding and how does it develop? What types of thinking moves help students both retain what they learn and transfer it to new and unfamiliar mathematical contexts? When students make their thinking visible routinely, what insights can educators glean in order to plan further instructional moves and create ongoing mathematics learning opportunities. While the ideas of Making Thinking Visible have had a lot of resonance with teachers across a variety of grade levels and subject areas, this workshop series is designed specifically to reflect upon the power of making thinking visible from a mathematics teaching and learning perspective. Though not a “how to teach mathematics” workshop, participants will consider examples from a wide range of K-12 mathematics teaching and learning contexts that give ideas as to how other teachers of mathematics have come to grow legs to visible thinking ideas. Mark Church, co-author of Making Thinking Visible and The Power of Making Thinking Visible, will illustrate various visible thinking practices within a mathematics setting - including thinking routines, questioning, listening, and documentation. Participants will consider what difference paying attention to student thinking makes for mathematics learning and how mathematics teachers can plan for plan to use these practices to maximum effect. When used powerfully, thinking routines not only provide teachers with a set of practices to engage students, but help advance a broader goal to create mathematics classrooms where students’ thinking is visible, valued, and actively promoted.

TIME INVOLVED:

3 x 2 hour interactive sessions with Mark Church. Please also allow time for reading, reflecting, and trying ideas out between sessions.

PLATFORM, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES:

Participants will connect through the ZOOM meetings platform. Participants will need a laptop or tablet. In addition, participants may want to have headphones / earbuds and a quiet space to view and interact. All participants will be issued with a link to the course that will not be shareable with others. Participants will agree to use the video and sound function to enable full participation. The workshop will not be recorded.

Participant are required to purchase a copy of The Power of Making Thinking Visible (Jossey-Bass, 2020) as a text for the course. The book is available via e-book or paperback through Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon SG, ACEL, Fishpond, or Wiley.

POTENTIAL AUDIENCE:

This workshop is designed for educators keenly interested in the ideas of Making Thinking Visible within the context of teaching mathematics and working with learners of all ages from pre-K through secondary school. Mathematics instructional coaches, and school leaders interested in the teaching and learning of mathematics and Making Thinking Visible could also greatly benefit from this workshop.

AGENDA:

SESSION 1

Exploring the Power of MTV Practices to Promote Deep Learning in a Mathematics Context

SESSION 2

Making Thinking Visible as a Practice and Goal: When Thinking Becomes Routine in a Mathematics Context

SESSION 3

Looking at and Learning from Student Thinking and Our Teaching Moves: The Power to Enhance our Formative Assessment Practice

Mark Church

Mark Church works with schools throughout the world wishing to create cultures of thinking in their classrooms. He believes in the difference teachers can make for students when they strive to make thinking visible, valued, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of their learners. Mark encourages teachers to become students of their students, and more broadly, students of themselves and the choices they make to leverage the power of making thinking visible. He is currently a consultant with Harvard Project Zero's Making Thinking Visible and Cultures of Thinking initiatives, drawing upon his own classroom teaching experience and from the perspectives he has gained working with educators throughout the world. Together with Ron Ritchhart, Mark is co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2011) and The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2020).