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The Math Learning Center Blog

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In Part 1 of our series on Digital Work Places, we considered how students might use these tools in an asynchronous environment or when partner work isn’t possible. When social distancing ceases to be a focus of concern, students will be able to pair up and work on a single device to play a game, much as they would with a real game board, spinner, or card deck. Until that day arrives, teachers are...
Work Places play a critical role for students, providing skills practice with engaging, developmentally appropriate games, independent activities, or more open-ended partner work. Cognizant of the key role they play, and responding to requests from Bridges teachers, MLC has created Digital Work Places, versions of the Digital Display Materials that students can use on their own computers or...
Needless to say, we have received many questions related to instruction for the 2020–21 school year: Should I adjust the Bridges Scope and Sequence to address my students’ needs? If so, how? What Bridges resources should I use to address these needs? What changes can I make regarding hygiene and social distancing? To address these concerns, The Math Learning Center created a series of grade-level...
As each new school year begins, teachers consider how to help students build confidence with the tools and manipulatives they will use throughout the year. In Work Places, for example, we allow students to explore materials like Unifix cubes, pattern blocks, and dominoes before they use them in actual gameplay. In this relaxed setting, students generate interest and excitement in classroom...
To minimize the sharing of physical items in the classroom, and to facilitate hands-on learning opportunities at home, we have created two options for providing students in Bridges schools and districts with their own materials kit: Student Kits: Each boxed kit provides the key manipulatives and other components needed by one student. Completer Kits: Additional quantities of selected items that...
With the end of the school year approaching, districts are making plans for a highly uncertain future. To assist schools and districts with their planning, The Math Learning Center is preparing a collection of resources that can be used whether schools re-open or if remote learning continues. These resources will include: Updated guidance documents to advise on how to prioritize content within...
Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. – Dr. Martin Luther King The facts have been piling up for many years… we have plenty of knowledge that Black Americans and people of color have suffered unjustly. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are tragic reminders of things we already knew. And yet, we haven’t found the...
2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Due to the impacts of COVID-19, NCTM decided to cancel its Centennial Annual Meeting and Exposition, which was to be held April 1–4 in Chicago. Instead, NCTM is celebrating the centennial year and supporting the math community by presenting virtual learning activities. Dubbed 100 Days of Professional...
UPDATE (4/1/20): We have created Math at Home resources by grade level (PK-5) to help educators, students, and families with this sudden shift to home learning. *********** In recent days, we’ve had a number of conversations with Bridges educators who are preparing for the possibility of school closures due to the COVID-19 virus. These closures would obviously present a major disruption for...
“The essence of mathematics lies in its freedom.” — Georg Cantor In September, The Math Learning Center co-hosted Portland’s first Public Math Day with Two Rivers Bookstore in St. Johns neighborhood. The mission of Public Math Day strongly aligns with MLC’s mission, with the goal to bring opportunities to diverse children and families by engaging and interacting with math in their daily lives...