Thinking 101 is an organization dedicated to transforming teaching, learning and leading to achieve mathematical literacy for ALL
In the 21st century teachers must become
effective learners, collaborators, communicators and creators:
Learning to balance on the edge of chaos.
Nothing short of transformation will do.
We focus first on experiences intended to create shifts in your thinking….AHA’s
;People who begin to think differently will almost certainly begin to act differently, and they will then almost certainly affect someone else who will begin to behave differently.- Stacey, R. Complexity and Creativity in Organizations, 1996
Expecting teachers or students to use a Concept before they have experienced it is ineffective teaching that seriously stunts the growth of reasoning and problem solving skills
If you make a change and it feels comfortable, you haven’t made a change.
B.E.R.C.S. is a model for planning classroom teaching and learning experiences that engage all students in the mathematics they need to master, appropriate to their grade level and personal levels of ability and understanding. Through BERCS, students learn how to think as they do mathematics.
The Alberta Curriculum, 2007 compels us to include students in their own evaluations: “To experience success, students must be taught to set achievable goals and assessthemselves as they work toward these goals.”
Workshop Schedule for 2010 available September
C.O.P.E.S. is the Assessment and Evaluation model that compliments BERCS planning. Through COPES, teachers learn how to assess number sense, mental mathematics, mathematical thinking, reasoning and problem solving as they turn the responsibility for learning over to their students.
The Alberta Curriculum, 2007 compels us to triangulate our assessments
Oral communication and practical applications andexperiences are important to student learning and understanding. By understanding and responding to nonverbal cues, teachers canoptimize student learning and mathematical understanding.
Critical Conversations 2010
In 2003, 75 teachers participated in the first, Thinking 101, Early Numeracy Institute at University of Alberta. Eight years, five cities, and several hundred teachers later, the Institute has turned into Critical Conversations. Networked through summer conferences, and on line working spaces, Critical Conversations keeps teachers linked in an on-going conversation focused on gathering, evaluating and reporting on evidence of student understanding in mathematics. How do the Big Ideas of Number, Space and Shape intersect across strands and grades? How do the activities and approaches we choose enhance or inhibit student reasoning? This year we will be infusing video clips and conversation guides that include student work samples into the package. These materials provide participants Starting Points for developing and sustaining conversations with colleagues, administrators and parents.. We are changing the world, one mind at a time..
in Camrose and Banff. Stay tuned!!!
| "I am amazed at the strategies students have for approaching problems. It is exciting to hear their understandings. When I talk about it in the staffroom, my colleagues shut me down. This group are as excited as I am to study student learning" | "After 29 years of teaching I thought I had seen it all. If I can continue to participate in workshops like this, I plan to teach for another 29. This is the most exhilarating learning I have ever experienced" |
I had to go home early at the first Institute. My brain sweating, it was so full of new ideas. I didn’t feel like I could learn one more thig. I had to get started my planning my new approach to teaching mathematics.
What's the Problem?
........that's a Problem!
| 7.23 is my answer….What’s my problem?? | I have cages that fit 2, 3 and 4 rabbits. I need to move 21 rabbits. (They hate to travel alone. What’s my problem? |
A two day immersion in building problems for teaching and learning, specific to grade levels, supported by an 80+ page manual with strategies, tips, exemplars, problems and a powerpoint for teaching teachers and their students how to confidently build and assess their own mathematical problems . Learn powerful Strategies for posing problems in ways that provide every student access to rich, connected learning in mathematics.
(While we recommend you participate in the workshops to gain experience and confidence with the approaches, the materials package can be purchased separately)
Replacement Units
What’s with all the Dots: Grade 1
Building the Foundation for Number that provide students the TRUE BASICS for learning their number facts. Subitize, partition, unitize…. What’s it all mean?
Make it So Number One: grades 2 to 5
One is the Loneliest Number: It holds our number system in place Making meaning of place value as one component of the most important skill you can focus on Grades 2 to 5: Decomposing Numbers. Students can develop powerful strategies for manipulating numbers as well as fluency with number facts. This unit immerses you in the activities that will make it so, number one. Building the Foundation for Number that provide students the TRUE BASICS for learning their number facts. Subitize, partition, unitize…. What’s it all mean?
Multiplication with Meaning :Grade 4
You can teach multiplication so that students build personal strategies that focus on understanding and fluency . MULTIPLICATION IS NOT JUST REPEATED ADDITION!! Find out why it must be taught as more.
Remainder Rangers : Leave no Man Behind: Grade 5
Understanding the field of multiplication with depth and meaning means understanding the connections between multiplication, division, fraction and decimals. Once they understand, students must then build meaning ways to solve calculations that include all three. Long Division doesn’t have to be that long. If you can multiply, you can divide… Possibly the numbr one concern for students moving to middle school and Junior High.. they just can’t multiply… WE CAN CHANGE THAT!!
t;/div>All replacement units are built with BERCS and COPES:
- They include: strategies for differentiating learning an d assessment
- Using manipulatives in meaningful ways
- Tying the process skills together in teaching and assessingThey include: strategies for differentiating learning an d assessment
- Integrating to reduce your workload and incrase your students understandingThey include: strategies for differentiating learning an d assessment
Thinking 101 is the exclusive Canadian distributor for Grayson Wheatley’s materials:
Coming to Know Number:
A Mathematics Activity Resource for Elementary School Teachers
Developing Mathematical Fluency:
Activities for Grade 5 to 9
Quickdraw
Developing Spatial Sense in Mathematics
Quickdraw 2 and Quickdraw 3
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Email glorway@thinking101.ca