Page 75 - EdViewptsSpring2019-web

In Principles to Actions: Ensuring High School Mathematics Lab as a sheltered English Language Learn-
Mathematical Success for All (2014), dynamic learning space. On a monthly ing (ELL) program shared, “I went to
The National Council of Teachers of basis, mathematics and science de- A123 with my three ELL classes and
Mathematics describes the goal of an partment meetings as well as Profes- it was absolutely amazing! I was able
interactive mathematics classroom as sional Development meetings with our to differentiate using Desmos and
one where students engage in chal- School Improvement Panel (ScIP) are small group instruction and had them
lenging, authentic tasks. One of the held in the CNHS Mathematics Lab. up and moving around as I monitored
guiding teaching practices states, “For These meetings provide teachers the their progress with problems on all
meaningful learning of mathematics, opportunity to work in course-team the whiteboards.” Another teacher
tools and technology must be indis- PLCs for lesson planning, data review, described how her classes request to
pensable features of the classroom” and assessment design. We make go to the Mathematics Lab all the time,
(p. 78). It is with these guiding prin- sure that our meetings and profes- “It is an extraordinary place designed
ciples in mind that we set out to design sional development conducted in the to inspire and enable students to col-
and build an interactive Mathematics lab make use of the space and tools in laborate by putting powerful tools and
Lab that would stimulate our teachers the room, modeling the type of interac- materials in the hands of teachers and
and motivate our students. tive environment that we would like to students.”
We chose the furniture, layout, and see our teachers implement. Classrooms such as these are expen-
technology to support the conditions We wanted the stu- sive; they require significant invest-
emphasized by math education re- ment in a time when school budgets
search for a collaborative “Mathemat- dents to be able share are stretched thin. Strategic budgeting,
ics Laboratory” of authentic problem- their mathematical leveraging community resources and
solving and personalized instructional repurposing equipment are just some
support. Multiple whiteboards, not representations and of the strategies we used to build our
only on the desks themselves, but reasoning in as many Mathematics Lab. During each budget
also on three of the four walls promote ways as possible: from cycle, we dedicate approximately five
brainstorming and problem-solving. percent of our school budget to imple-
We wanted the students to be able the multiple marker menting dynamic learning spaces. Our
share their mathematical representa- board surfaces to the yearly budget also includes technology
tions and reasoning in as many ways upgrades, furniture replacement, and
as possible: from the multiple marker various TVs for projec- the replacement of other learning tools
board surfaces to the various TVs for tion and interaction. such as whiteboards. First, we looked
projection and interaction. We pur- at what we could reuse in other places,
chased desks with locking casters for On a given day in our Mathematics so we stripped the current classroom
easy rearranging into various pos- Lab, one might see any of our math and reused the furniture, technol-
sible groupings (pairs, triads, quads, department classes taking advan- ogy, and whiteboards in other rooms.
etc.) and marker board tops, which tage of the various technologies and That reduced the number of items
allow students to share their ideas furniture for personalized learning. For we needed to replace in other areas,
and representations. We provided instance, you might see students from freeing up some funding. We were
multiple technological tools: one-to- a geometry class sketching out proof able to purchase replacement items
one Chromebooks, a large 70” Pro- ideas on their markerboard desks and that matched our vision for the learn-
methean ActivPanel board, and two then engaged in Desmos Transforma- ing space. While these replacement
long bullet-shaped, high-topped tables tion Golf on the one-to-one Chrome- items are often more expensive than
with 40” LED TVs. All three TVs in the books with real-time feedback on the the typical whiteboard or desk, we were
room are equipped with AIRTAMEs Promethean Board screen. Then, able to pull from our furniture replace-
for seamless wireless projection from later that same day, you can watch a ment budget and our dynamic learning
student and teacher devices. Multiple calculus teacher have all her students space budget. Additionally, we sought
rounds of student and teacher surveys compare differentiation strategies on local grant opportunities to purchase
were conducted to review and support whiteboards around the room as she technology designed to enhance the
the success of implementation. gives them real time individual sup- students learning experience. Creating
One thing we realized early in the port. Teachers use the flexible seat- a dynamic learning space such as our
process is that the room would sit ing to create conferencing spaces Mathematics Lab took some creativity
empty if we did not develop a strategy and differentiated areas for learning on our part, and in the end, the effort
to get the teachers to use the new - having one group join the teacher at was worth it, as the room has become
instructional space. Dedicated time the high-top tables for a brief lesson a place for students to explore math-
for ongoing teacher collaboration and review, while others complete targeted ematics in ways they could not in a
professional development have been online practice in a different area. One traditional classroom.
vital to the success of the Colts Neck of our mathematics teachers of the

Educational Viewpoints -73- Spring 2019