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NEWSLETTERIssue 10 / January / 2013

Happy New Year from the staff of Investigations!

                  

As 2013 begins and you return to your classroom, you might be interested in checking out some of the new video clips on our website. If you need some new ideas about how to reach the range of learners, Count Me In might be your inspiration. Or, perhaps you are interested in a new professional development opportunity. If so, you might want to consider the new Investigations online course. This edition of the Investigations newsletter describes several new resources designed to support and inspire you in the teaching and learning of mathematics.       

 

Karen Economopoulos and Keith Cochran

Co-Directors of Investigations in Number, Data, and Space

 

Myriam Steinback

Director of Investigations Workshops for Transforming Mathematics  

           

Online Course: Implementing Investigations    

This past fall, we offered our first online course, Implementing Investigations, facilitated by experienced TERC leaders. Implementing Investigations is a six session interactive asynchronous online course. One convenient aspect of such a course is that participants and facilitators are not required to be online on a set day/at a set time. We had a great response to the course, with more interested participants than we could accommodate!

 

 

Participants included K-5 classroom teachers, principals, math leaders and coaches from more than 20 states over four time zones. Some sites even focused their Professional Learning Community (PLC) time around the course. Their feedback included:

 

"The class truly helped me in my understanding of how to develop mathematical thinkers in second grade. It also reaches the common core in so many ways!"

 

 

"It was so helpful to take this course with other teachers from my school. We were all new to Investigations, and I feel like we grew as a team."

 

 

"I think this may be my 8th online course and I have never had one so interactive and well set up. I loved the way I could view and interact with student work. Very cool."

 

 If you are piloting Investigations, new to Investigations, or have some experience with Investigations and want to deepen your knowledge, this is the course for you. If you want to learn more about how Investigations is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and how others are using Investigations as a core curriculum resource to meet the Common Core State Standards, this is the course for you.

Register now for this online course, which starts January 23rd. Register 9, the 10th attends free. Participants can earn 3 graduate credits through Framingham State University, for an additional fee.  

 

For additional information, contact Peter Swanson at [email protected] or call 617-873-9785.

 

We are compiling the feedback from our first online course, and thinking hard about what we learned. We will share our findings in the Spring Newsletter, so stay tuned!

 

The Investigations Common Core Institute

Register today for the Common Core Institute being held in Cambridge, MA on January 25th. Come hear Investigations authors share how Investigations is aligned with the CCSS, and how the materials they developed last year help schools and teachers using Investigations implement the CCSS. Walk away with powerpoints of sessions to use with your own teachers. 

 

Three one-hour follow-up webinars, facilitated by the authors of Investigations, will provide a more in-depth look at content changes in K-2 and 3-5 as well as further consideration of issues of implementation. 

 

Who should come: math leaders, coaches, and others supporting the implementation of Investigations at your school/district.

 

For additional information, contact Peter Swanson at [email protected] or call 617-873-9785.

What does an Investigations classroom look and sound like?

The Investigations website aims to help people learn about the curriculum at many levels-What are the components? How are they meant to be used? How are important math ideas addressed? How can I learn about the math (pacing, units, etc.) at grade 2?

 

As people learn about the curriculum, they often wonder about Investigations in action. What does a classroom that is focused on making sense of mathematical ideas look like? What does it sound like when students reason about and discuss mathematical ideas?   

 

To answer such questions, the website now includes videos at each grade, showing teachers and students at work in a range of classrooms. These pages compile videos used elsewhere on the site, as well as new video at each grade. View videos of Investigations classrooms in:

 

Kindergarten 

First Grade 

 

Second Grade

Third Grade


Fourth Grade


 Fifth Grade

     
Count Me In!

We are excited to announce the publication of Count Me In!, a new resource written by TERC's Judy Storeygard and published by Corwin Press. 

 

Between the pressure to implement the Common Core and Response to Intervention (RTI), and to prepare students for standardized tests, planning mathematics lessons has become more complex than ever. The focus of this book is on building on the strengths of students with disabilities, rather than relying exclusively on deficits and labels. The teachers who have contributed to this book establish a culture of acceptance in their inclusive mathematics classrooms. Each chapter focuses on strategies and extended examples from classroom teachers to support students with particular special needs.  

 

Topics include:

  • Supporting Students in Expressing Mathematical Ideas
  • Helping Students Build the Capacity to Attend to and Focus on Mathematical Ideas
  • Developing Students' Cognitive Flexibility
  • Developing Strategies for Students with Memory Difficulties
  • Building Students' Abilities to Plan, Organize, and Self-Monitor in Mathematics Class

For more information, visit Corwin Press.

 

Investigations Workshops
Interested in hosting a workshop in your school this coming summer?

Want us to come to your school to work with your teachers?

Learn more about hosting and customized professional development. For more information, contact Peter Swanson at [email protected] or call 617-873-9785.
 

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