Teaching Mathematics for Robust Understanding

What makes a mathematically powerful classroom? This tool introduces the TRU framework as a foundation for thinking about, planning, observing, and reflecting on classroom teaching. It is designed for use by and with the district math team, principals and teachers in professional development or initial training.

Formative Assessment for Learning

How can formative assessment improve teaching and learning? This tool provides professional development leaders with detailed support for a 90-minute session for mathematics teachers, introducing teachers to the principles and practices of formative assessment – including what to do and what to avoid.

Mathematical Practices

This tool provides teachers with a framework for helping students to develop the Mathematical Practices in the classroom. The session provides a framework for assessing students’ proficiency in planning, presenting, analyzing and reflecting as they learn mathematics.

Program Coherence Health Check

This tool helps district leaders to review the alignment of the various parts of their mathematics program. Do our tests, curriculum, instruction, staff professional learning opportunities, policies and practices all support our math program goals? This session guides leaders through an initial check for their district.

World Class Mathematics for Parents

This tool offers detailed support for a meeting to introduce parents, including “concerned parents”, to the mathematics that is taught in high-performing countries, and described in the Common Core and related State Standards. It may also be useful with employers, school boards, and school and district administrators.

Developing Mathematical Proficiency

The range of task-types that students are asked to tackle are the driver, and clearest indicator, of any system's learning goals. This tool provides mathematics teachers and task designers with a framework for selecting and designing a balanced range of tasks and activities for the mathematics classroom.

Designing Professional Development

How can we make PD more effective? This tool provides support for a session, for system leadership and professional development providers in mathematics, that presents a variety of approaches and the evidence on their effectiveness in improving classroom practice.

Lesson Study for Professional Development

How can teachers develop their expertise? The path to becoming an expert mathematics teacher is a long one. This tool provides detailed support for a workshop that introduces professional development providers and mathematics teachers to the lesson study method for ongoing professional learning.

Observing Mathematics Lessons

This tool provide comprehensive support for a session for principals, or others with or without a professional mathematics background, that introduces them to a research-based framework for observing math lessons. It answers the question: What should we focus on, and how?

Tools in development

The goal of the MathNIC team and its partners is to develop further tools, insofar as resources allow. Those currently in development tackle ways of improving program coherence, advancing equity in math classrooms, and changes in the classroom culture that deep learning involves.