Making Sense of Mathematics

In this episode of Room to Grow, our hosts discuss ways to support student sense-making in teaching and learning mathematics. Building out on the ideas shared in Episode 3 of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie dive more deeply into what it means for students to “make sense of mathematics.”

They discuss what it looks and sounds like when students are making sense, as opposed to just repeating back learned ideas, and consider which classroom structures and teacher moves might best support students’ sense-making.

They acknowledge that sense-making is not more or less important than learning mathematical skills and fluency, but that it is a part of deep learning and of a student’s ability to generalize their understanding. 

As Peter Liljedahl says in Building Thinking Classrooms, “The goal of building thinking classrooms is not to find engaging tasks for students to think about. The goal of thinking classrooms is to build engaged students that are willing to think about any task.” 

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• The Standards for Mathematical Practice, now referenced in most states’ math standards and originally published by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Governor’s Association;
• Jo Boaler’s Math-ish book and website;
• Peter Liljedahl’s book and website Building Thinking Classrooms, and Robert Kaplinsky’s blog post about why you should read it. 

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing [e-mail]. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.