Moving Forward: Re-envisioning Mathematics Teaching during COVID-19

Author: Arlene Vinion Dubiel

Just last week, I came across “Moving Forward: Mathematics Learning in the Era of COVID-19.” This 18-page document was published jointly by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) Leadership in Mathematics Education in June of this year. I try to keep pace with what is going on in mathematics education in the popular press, but this particular document was not on my radar. It has not been widely-covered in the news, but “Moving Forward” has some ideas that we need to consider as we move into the new academic year.  

“Between the COVID-19 crisis and our increasing awareness of racial inequities, we need to be ever mindful of how we can promote equitable access to high quality educational opportunities.”

The intended audience for this document is split between teachers and school leaders and is focused on mathematics. However, while the resources focus on mathematics, many of the concepts apply to all subject areas. The purpose of the document is to make the readers consider the current needs of learners and teachers and to make plans for going forward. Between the COVID-19 crisis and our increasing awareness of racial inequities, we need to be ever mindful of how we can promote equitable access to high quality educational opportunities. 

In this blog, I intend to briefly summarize “Moving Forward” and then focus on common themes throughout the document that are pertinent for teachers of mathematics. Above all, this document and blog are a call for action to re-envision how we can support high quality teaching and learning in math for all students in these uncertain and changing times. 

Moving Forward - A summary

“Moving Forward: Mathematics Learning in the Era of COVID-19” is split into three sections each describing a separate area with implications for high-quality teaching and learning. Each section provides considerations or lists of resources as well as lists of questions for stakeholders to think about. The major take-aways are grounded in research and there are recommendations for resources that can help with implementation of the action items. 

The Structures section suggests ideas that are pertinent at the school level. Ideas include a recommendation for grade school teachers to loop up with their students and a call to eliminate ability grouping of students for different teachers. Rather, students with a variety of strengths should be encouraged to work together to complete rich, complex tasks. Teachers should be allowed to participate collaboratively in professional development on a variety of topics that will promote student learning.. Above all, structures need to be in place that support teachers in creating high-quality learning opportunities for all students.

The section on Teaching Practices contains four parts that focus on actions in the classroom that can promote equitable access for high quality teaching and learning. The first part is a call to identify essential learning for students per grade-level or course. Teachers should work together to examine standards and agree on the essential learnings for their grade level and courses. Considering how the standards for the current grade level or course connect to previous or subsequent courses is imperative to identify key topics and understandings. So, collaborating not only within but across grade levels is important to identify essential learning.   

The second and third parts of this section are about determining prior knowledge and introducing new learning. Talking with teachers of prior grade-levels or classes can help identify the topics and skills for which students may need additional support. If a topic was taught during remote learning, some students may be less familiar with it. Determining prior knowledge through instruction and assessment allows for a focus on the most pertinent topics. Be intentional about using formative assessment that supports next instructional steps. 

The final part of the Teaching Practices section is about using the most effective teaching practices advocated by Principles to Actions (2018) by NCTM. These practices reinforce good teaching strategies like establishing goals, using purposeful questions, supporting productive struggle, and eliciting and using evidence of student thinking. If you read only one piece of the original document in full, it is this part of the Teaching Practices section found on pages 9-10. This particular section of the document is full of resources that teachers can use to promote equitable and high-quality instruction for all mathematics learners. 

The third section of the document is on Advocacy. We need to continue to work with multiple stakeholders in education to promote equitable and high-quality teaching and learning for all students. Budgetary changes will need to occur in these uncertain financial times, but we need to minimize any potential negative impact on quality education. We need to revisit our use of large scale assessments that reduce instructional time and consider instead the use of formative assessment tasks for the classroom. We also need to advocate support for teachers with professional learning and with social-emotional needs. 

While the “Moving Forward” joint statement is full of ideas and questions to consider, there are some common themes that thread through the sections of Structures, Teaching Practices, and Advocacy. I want to highlight three of these themes that are applicable for teachers of all levels. 

Collaborate

Throughout the “Moving Forward” joint statement there are references to teachers collaborating. Teaching is a surprisingly lonely profession. You are around people all day long, but constantly in an authority role. It is necessary to take the time to talk with fellow teachers - plan together, get ideas, and simply check in as we could all use some social-emotional support. 

Identifying essential understandings for grade levels and courses is a task that needs to be undertaken collaboratively. Groups of teachers work together to analyze standards and create common goals allows for greater equity among students by keeping expectations the same across teachers. Collaboratively designing instructional experiences and common formative assessments also supports high quality and equitable experiences for students. Teachers need to be allowed to have time, within the school day, to work with other teachers. Stakeholders in education need to advocate to protect and promote collaborative time for teachers.

Indeed, teachers want to collaborate. In a survey for teachers on professional development (PD) preferences, Heather Wolpert-Gawron found that one of the highest-ranking engagement strategies was “let us talk and collaborate.” Ideally, professional development requires the use of professional learning communities (PLC) where groups of teachers work on a common goal. The best PD opportunities are also job-embedded where teachers are required to try out the ideas in their own classrooms followed by reflection on the implementation process. 

Try new ideas

We are teaching in unprecedented times and our previous techniques and strategies will have to change. Whether it is moving to different length class periods or using hybrid or fully remote platforms, things will have to change. We have an opportunity now to embrace that change and make the most of it. 

There is a growing movement to reconsider how math is taught. With the technology and tools that are available at our fingertips, we need to reimagine math as not a skill but as an understanding. Maria Andersen, one of our Almy Education consultants, in a podcast with Teaching in Higher Ed, encourages us to ask the question “In the world we live in today, how deeply does a student need to know this?” Maria’s corresponding blog provides detail on using the ESIL lens through which we can view each of our learning objectives. In short, do students need to know of the Existence of a skill, to perform the skill with Support or Independently, or do they need this skill for Lifetime success? The ESIL lens can be used to help us identify the essential learnings for each grade level and course. 

Transitional math courses are used in many high schools throughout the U.S. to provide a way for seniors to gain college placement and greater college readiness. In Illinois, these courses use task-based curriculum and lessons to engage students, preview career paths, and remediate skills through new techniques. The instructional strategies for transitional math require students to utilize math to solve complex, rich tasks. The teacher is a facilitator of learning and students cannot simply Google the solutions, rather they have to engage in the math to solve the problem.  Like developmental math pathways used for a decade by colleges, transitional courses use a modern approach to curriculum that can be emulated in many other math courses.

The “Moving Forward” document has an underlying theme that math teaching and learning will have to change. In the era of COVID-19 and with our awareness of racial inequalities, we have an opportunity to make the changes we want to see in math instruction. I encourage you to try something new. Then purposefully reflect upon the experience to decipher what worked, what didn’t work, and what to do next. 

Maintain Positivity

Name three positive things that have happened for you since stay-at-home orders went into effect in March. Go ahead, think about it. Can you immediately come up with several or are you struggling? 

Shifting our thoughts to focus on the positive can help reduce stress and benefit our health. But more than that, our attitudes can influence others. We know this anecdotally, but there is evidence that teachers’ attitudes can influence students’ attitudes. A study on teachers’ attitudes towards mathematics revealed that their students’ attitudes and performance were positively correlated. If teachers were positive about math, their students would be too and the students would perform well on mathematical tasks. 

The “Moving Forward” document encourages us to look at the positive. We know that students will likely be further behind than usual this coming fall. But thinking of the discrepancy as an “opportunity for learning rather than a learning gap” can help us maintain a positive attitude. It is not what your students don’t know, but what they have yet to learn. Rather than lamenting that people in the U.S. don’t know history, consider that the musical “Hamilton” has grown into an opportunity for everyone to learn about a lesser-known founding father. 

For tangible support to maintaining positivity, Almy Education blog contributor Wes Wilson encourages educators to engage in self-care. Taking some time to care for yourself and your own social and emotional needs will help with your attitude towards all aspects of your life, including your teaching. Our students will likewise need support to care for their social and emotional needs, particularly if they are engaged in remote learning. Dr. Stacey Gonzales provides some tips for addressing SEL in the remote classroom. Maintaining a positive attitude is not always easy, but the more you practice looking at the positive, the easier it will be to continue looking at the positive.  

Garnering support

What structures and supports do you need to ensure high-quality educational experiences for all of your students? Imagine if you had time scheduled every day and every week to collaborate with your colleagues. Imagine if you had the tools and support to try new ideas in your classroom. Imagine if you and your students came together excited for the day ahead. Keep these ideals in mind when you talk with educational stakeholders from parents to administrators. Encourage them to advocate on your behalf to make these ideals possible. 

“Things will have to change. We have an opportunity now to embrace that change and make the most of it.”

I’ll close with the final lines from the “Moving Forward” statement: “We have the opportunity to be innovative and to think purposefully about addressing traditional/systemic structures, practices, and beliefs that have allowed inequities to persist. Together, we can move forward.”

It is imperative that we take the opportunity afforded by our current challenges to promote high-quality mathematics instruction for all students. Collaborate with others to identify the essential understandings our students need. Try new instructional ideas that target those needs. And through it all, do what you can to maintain a positive attitude. We are all in this together.

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