#NotABookStudy - A 21st Century Professional Learning Opportunity

What a time to be an educator. Seriously, I mean that.

I feel so privileged to live in a time where we can conduct meaningful collaborative professional development from the comfort of our own couch, hundreds of kilometres away from some of our colleagues, learning at our own pace, on our own schedules, through whichever medium we prefer. Sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it?

As a part of this Northeastern Ontario Mathematics Leadership Network's (MLN) learning opportunity, we're embarking on a virtual learning journey, better known as #NotABookStudy, as we take a deeper dive into Cathy Fosnot's book, Young Mathematicians at Work: Constructing Multiplication and Division. 

While we have only packed our bags and begun this trek, so to speak, we've already had the opportunity to learn and share alongside some of Ontario's brilliant math leaders, not to mention, Cathy Fosnot herself, who shares her wisdom and experiences with us in a weekly live radio broadcast through VoicEd, as we unpack a new chapter each week. 

This style of PD is certainly something new for me, as the differentiated learning opportunities are only limited by your own imagination. Want to go deeper into a particular idea? Toss out a comment on Facebook and see who bites. Have a burning question related to a particular idea from the latest chapter? Tweet it out with the hashtag #notabookstudy and wait for the flood of reponses. Even if Twitter and Facebook aren't your thing, you've still got options, as there's always an avenue for you to enrich your experience. The weekly podcast alone, is enough to whet anyone's appetite for more, and if you can't catch it live, it's archived for listening at your own convenience (which may have been the case for me during Week 1, as I couldn't pass up my tickets to the Blue Jays home opener!)

Thus far, we've explored the first few chapters, which has only scratched the surface of the landscape of mathematical ideas, the role of context, and developing mathematical communities. At this point, that landscape still seems a bit fuzzy, and maybe even daunting, as it appears to be a long journey towards the horizon. But like all great adventures, with the right tools, resources, and companions, it will be an exhilarating ride to be sure.

As a mathematics leader in our system, I'm wondering about how we can create more opportunities such as this, as I know there would be a great deal of interest in this innovative style of professional learning. In the meantime, bring on chapter 3!

My First Three-Act Math Task

In recent months, our math team has been exploring rich math tasks, not only as an engaging way to teach math to students, but also as a tool to help educators understand the variety of strategies that students use to solve a problem. We can then place these strategies along a progression of inefficient to efficient. 

Lately, we have taken an interest in three-act math tasks, and in particular, tasks created by Graham Fletcher (a.k.a. GFletchy). If you aren't sure what a three-act math task is, you should check out this post from Dan Meyer, the inventor of the three-act task, among many other awesome things. I've been thinking about creating a task for a while now, and I finally got around to doing it. So, here's my first attempt. Enjoy!

DVD Dilemma

Ontario Curriculum: Grade 4

4m29–multiply to 9 x 9 and divide to 81 ÷ 9, using a variety of mental strategies 4m31–multiply whole numbers by 10, 100, and 1000, and divide whole numbers by 10 and 100, using mental strategies

4m34–use estimation when solving problems involving the addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers, to help judge the reasonableness of a solution

4m35–describe relationships that involve simple whole–number multiplication 4m36–determine and explain, through investigation, the relationship between fractions and decimals to tenths, using a variety of tools and strategies

4m37–demonstrate an understanding of simple multiplicative relationships involving unit rates, through investigation using concrete materials and drawings

Act 1:

1. How many DVDs will fit on the shelf?
2. What is your estimate?

Here is a link to GFletchy's three-act task recording sheet.

Act 2:

The width of one section of the shelf       The width of two DVDs

Act 3:

Click here to go to the Google Drive folder with all of the files.