Academic Rigor | Bridges to Learning

Relational Thinking in Mathematics Classrooms: Numeric and Algebraic Reasoning

Sep 13, 2022 | Fall 2022, Mathematics Teaching and Learning

People of all ages and in all spaces use relational thinking on a regular basis. Relational thinking, generally speaking, involves using existing understanding to reason about and make sense of novel information or situations to deepen and/or construct new understanding. In recent years, the IFL math team has been exploring ideas related to relational thinking and its role in teaching and learning mathematics for understanding.

Celebrating Success in the Dallas ISD/IFL Network for School Improvement

Jun 7, 2022 | English Language Arts Teaching and Learning, Instructional Leadership, Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Spring 2022

Four years ago, the IFL along with the LRDC and CUE partnered with the Dallas Independent School District to improve literacy instruction at fourteen of the district’s highest needs schools. As the network enters its fifth year, we look back on teachers’ successes.

Are You “Wishing” Math Content Knowledge Into Your Students? 6 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find Out

Jan 4, 2022 | Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Winter 2021

What does it mean to “wish mathematical knowledge” into your students? If reading the title of this article makes you pause, you might be doing it. Take the quiz to find out!

Increasing Representation by Globalizing School-Based Multicultural Libraries

Nov 30, 2021 | English Language Arts Teaching and Learning, Fall 2021, Instructional Leadership, Mathematics Teaching and Learning

Students are more engaged when they see themselves in the books they read. IFL partner, Syracuse City Schools, has worked to better represent all their students by expanding their multicultural libraries on a global scale.

IFL Partner in Australia: Is there a better way to teach mathematics?

Oct 19, 2021 | Fall 2021, Instructional Leadership, Mathematics Teaching and Learning

Working with numbers and mathematical representations! Read about the success that one of our partners is seeing in the land down under.

Planning for High-Level Comprehension

Oct 5, 2021 | English Language Arts Teaching and Learning, Fall 2021

Comprehension work is critical work when we engage students with a text. Understanding and enacting the steps for planning a high-level comprehension task will help teachers provide students instructional opportunities that set every student up for success.

Making Space for Creativity Using A Mathematics Lesson Routine

May 11, 2021 | English Language Arts Teaching and Learning, Instructional Leadership, Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Spring 2021

Creativity in mathematics abounds at the intersection of belief and practice! When the belief that all learners are doers of mathematics and enter the classroom with valuable lived math experiences intersects with the use of a lesson routine that offers space for students to do the thinking, learners become the creators and authors of the material from which they learn.

4 Effective Communication Strategies in Multilingual Math Classrooms

Apr 27, 2021 | Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Spring 2021

“If you cannot read the word problem, you cannot do the math.” This statement is false on many levels! Students who are receiving math instruction in a language other than their native language are doers of mathematics! And as teachers, it is our job to utilize specific strategies that allow every student in each of our classrooms to engage in thinking deeply about the mathematics. In this article we share four strategies for math teachers to use when working with multilingual students who are working on their English skills while also learning math.

Questioning the Author: A Powerful Approach to Promote Student Understanding of Complex Texts

Mar 16, 2021 | English Language Arts Teaching and Learning, Spring 2021

Questioning the Author is a discussion-based approach that supports students in studying and understanding complex texts. Comprehension work is an essential piece of any text-based task. If students don’t get the gist of the text or grasp an author’s ideas, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to do deeper analytic and interpretive work. It is especially important for emerging readers and emergent multi-lingual (EML) students to be able to access the big ideas of a text while building their comprehension muscles.

Accountable Talk® Discussions: Solidifying Knowledge and Engaging in Rigorous Thinking Alongside Others in a Collaborative Community

Feb 16, 2021 | Spring 2021

Accountable Talk discussions require teachers and their students to support one another and mutually create a classroom community committed to using and building accurate knowledge and engaging in rigorous thinking. Everyone involved understands and is accountable for respecting each other and the learning community, as a whole. This begins with recognizing and honoring each person’s different lived experiences because every person brings vital knowledge and valuable assets to the learning community. This article provides a general understanding of Accountable Talk discussions and serves as a basis to begin exploring this high-leverage practice.

Six Strategies That Can Lead to More Equitable Online Mathematics Instruction

Jan 5, 2021 | Spring 2021

As the need for virtual instruction continues, educators continue to look for ways to make mathematics instruction more equitable and honor students’ abilities and backgrounds. In this article, we examine three teaching practices that work in virtual spaces and offer six strategies for keeping every student invested and advancing in their conceptual understanding.

Remote Coaching for Rigorous and Engaging Online Classroom Discussions: Layering New Forums with Fresh Insights

Nov 3, 2020 | Winter 2020

Coaches have a critical role in assisting teachers in continuing, rather than abandoning, important pedagogies while teaching online. Read about what is being learned through ongoing research at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center on how coaches can support teachers remotely to engage students in rigorous and interactive online discussions.

Amplifying the Academic Rigor in Math Classrooms: Butler Area School District’s Journey

Jun 3, 2020 | Spring 2020

Getting students to think deeper about the content takes intentional choices and instructional moves on the part of teachers and administrators. One of our partners, Butler Area School District in western Pennsylvania, has worked this year to increase the academic rigor in their mathematics classrooms.

Every Student Needs High Cognitive Demand Instruction

Jun 1, 2020 | Spring 2020

Disrupting inequitable practices, examining biases, creating inclusive and sustainable school environments for students, and finding and cultivating the assets and interest that every student brings to school are part of what is needed for all students to develop to their full potential in and out of school.

Empowering Teachers to Analyze the Demand of Instructional Tasks

Feb 25, 2019 | Spring 2019

We’ve recently begun helping districts use improvement science to work on problems of practice. To develop a more rounded view of the problems, teachers have been working in their schools to gather the stories of diverse students and other teachers about their experiences with teaching and learning.

Working Toward Rigor: Implementing High-Level Math Tasks

Feb 24, 2019 | Spring 2019

Designing for academic rigor in a thinking classroom starts with the choice of task with which students will engage. Likewise when striving to improve student achievement, we ask our school partners to begin by analyzing the tasks students experience. If we want students to truly understand mathematics, as opposed to a series of tricks, sayings, and acronyms, then we have to ensure they have a regular diet of high-level tasks that require thinking and reasoning about mathematics.

Increasing Cognitive Demand and Focusing on What Students CAN Do

Feb 17, 2019 | Spring 2019

As the supervisor of humanities (at the time) for New Brunswick School District, I have had the opportunity to work with the Institute for Learning (IFL) for the past 3 years, and one of the areas on which we focused during that time was increasing the cognitive demand in the classroom.

Cognitively Challenging English Language Arts Instruction

Feb 9, 2019 | Spring 2019

We have known about harmful effects of high-stakes state testing on students, teachers, and the curriculum for decades, yet we continue to perpetuate the belief that they test what students know and can do. Daniel Koretz (2017) demonstrates that they have become ends in themselves and take valuable time away from instruction designed to grow students’ intelligence rather than their test-taking abilities.

New Brunswick Realizes Increases in ELA, Math Metrics Through IFL Work

Dec 24, 2018 | Winter 2018

New Brunswick Public Schools (NJ) is a continuing partner with the Institute for Learning (IFL). Over the last 4 academic years, the district has seen definite growth across grades 3 – 10 in both English language arts and mathematics, as measured on the NJ state assessment tests.