Resources for learning about the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practices

  

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I remember sometime in the fall of 2010, I launched into my study of the Common Core. With colleagues at Math Solutions, we decided the place to start was with the Mathematical Practices, listed below.

Standard 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

Standard 2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively

Standard 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

Standard 4: Model with mathematics

Standard 5: Use appropriate tools strategically

Standard 6: Attend to precision

Standard 7: Look for and make use of structure

Standard 8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

These mathematical practices describe the expertise and habits of mind that we should  develop in students over the course of their K-12 study of mathematics.

My first encounter of the practices was with an abbreviated version, similar to those listed here. I remember feeling pretty comfortable that I knew something about these . . . until I began to study the expanded version of each practice. There was much more to each standard than these short versions convey. Elaborations for each of the practices can be found on the Common Core State Standards website (page 6). It was when I began to study the elaborations of each mathematical practice that I knew I’d need to call on colleagues and other resources to help me make sense of it.

I’ve included a few questions that have guided  my study and a few resources I found helpful.

• What does each mathematical practice mean?

I am still working on making meaning but have made progress because of willing colleagues who will share their thinking, experience and resources. Here are a couple of links that have been especially helpful to me.

Core Standards.org: This site has the Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Standards for Mathematical practice. Elaborations of the practice standards can be found here.

MathSolutions.com: I am proud to say colleagues contributed to a collection of videos on our site called “Explain It to Me Videos.” These provide a brief video introduction to the Standards for Mathematical practice and the big ideas behind each of the eight practices. A new feature on our website that started in October is a focus on each Mathematical Practice. Check this link to see the Standard 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

• What is my role as the teacher in supporting students to develop these ways of thinking?

I bumped into an interesting resource as I was preparing for this blog. I don’t know who developed the resource linked below, but I found it a nice place to start in thinking more specifically about what students proficient with a particular practice might be doing along with what I, as the teacher, might be doing to support their development with that practice. There is no authorship identified, but by posting, hopefully we can find out.

As a mathematics teacher, I choose experiences that will help students build their content understanding and proficiency, as well as their mathematical habits of mind. I find examples are helpful to me when I am in the process of learning something new and making sense of it. The Inside Mathematics site has helped me by taking me into the classrooms of other teachers. Via video, I can see how another teacher approaches the content and the mathematical practices. This is a site that is aligning its abundant resources to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

• How do I connect the mathematical practices to the mathematics content standards?

This is work that everyone must do to weave these two aspects of mathematics into a cohesive support for student learning. One resource that could be helpful was developed by the Arizona Department of Education. On that site you will find the mathematics content standards at each grade and the mathematical practice or practices that can be developed at the same time.

I hope you find these resources useful. Let us know of other sites you have found in your journey to understand and implement the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

(Flickr photo by adactio)