Implementing Daily Writing into a CPM Classroom

April Bain, Los Angeles, CA, april.bain@gmail.com

I have been teaching high school students with the CPM curriculum since 2010. Through quite a bit of trial and error, I have established a few strategies that work for my inner-city, Los Angeles-based classroom. However, there are still a few areas where I continue to struggle: student learning from the homework, regularly conducting a closure activity, effectively using the Learning Logs, and supporting my students with capturing, synthesizing, and referencing their learnings from the classwork. I would like to share an easy-to-implement strategy I have been trying this year to tackle the above-mentioned obstacles.

This summer I had the privilege of being invited to work as a researcher with the CPM Teaching Research Corps (I highly recommend it to any teacher looking to collaborate with other innovative teachers.) My team decided to investigate how providing opportunities for making revisions in class would improve student learning and promote a growth mindset. While each of us implemented a slightly different strategy around revision, my particular strategy focused on students writing about mathematics for the purpose of communicating and capturing their own ideas and discoveries.

I chose a focus on writing because over the years I have noticed that my student population wrestles with creating written explanations of their mathematical thinking. This was evident during presentations, group posters, and on test day but it was most evident in my AP Statistics class, which relies heavily on written explanations of inference. These students were mostly seniors and I was alarmed that we were sending them off to college and careers without having mastered the ability to communicate their ideas through writing.

This is how my strategy looked in practice: students individually spent the final ten minutes of each lesson one of three ways: writing a response to a Learning Log, writing a response to a prompt I have selected, and/or revising a previously written response. My only requirement was that they were writing for the entire time. My incentive was that students were allowed one submission per Learning Log to be graded on an Effective Communication Writing Rubric and then be allowed to use it on any future assessment. The four-point rubric categories were as follows: addresses the topic, organization, supporting details, mechanics, and communication. To create time for this strategy, I essentially replaced my homework check/review time at the beginning of a lesson with this writing time at the end. My rationale was that students can check their homework answers online and if they are stuck on a particular problem, they can seek out tutoring or assistance outside of class time. Furthermore, I have not experienced high student engagement with any homework check strategy I have tried.

I believed that four critical outcomes would occur when students were given the opportunity to re-read and revise their writing. First, if they have a difficult time making sense of their own writing, they would learn the importance of proofreading any type of writing before submission. Second, by reading what they knew of a previously learned concept (for example: solving a system of equations) on the first lesson, versus their knowledge after a few chapters of practice, they would realize how much learning growth they have experienced. Third, it would give them an opportunity to rely on their own notes and thoughts for studying, rather than the book – which is much more reflective of the realities of college and careers. And finally, I believed their overall ability to write in real-time for effective communication would improve, and their performance on all types of writing assessments would improve.

I am still collecting data on the outcomes, but there are a few anecdotal pieces of evidence I would like to share. At the very beginning, the students were resistant to writing in math class, especially the freshman. However, the upperclassman that had taken a CPM math class before immediately appreciated the reflection time at the end of each lesson. I had someone from our administration team come up to me and ask about what I was doing because the students kept saying that they were finally able to put some ideas together at the end of each math lesson – which was one of the previous “negatives” to our task-based, discovery lessons where I always ran out of time for appropriate closure. Secondly, I was able to informally provide feedback on students’ writing as I circulated the room during the writing time and through the rubric. Students had a much better sense of my expectations for their writing when assessments came along and I witnessed an improvement in test scores. Additionally, an unexpected benefit was the chance to “reset” my classroom to prepare for the next class. While the students were writing, I would circulate the room and collect group folders, finish grading classwork or homework, or just set up the materials for the next group. The students were writing and it created a more stable and conducive learning environment to end each lesson.

In short, the daily writing time gave my students a chance to re-read and revise their own written reflections of learning. In a student-centered classroom, it is all about giving students the opportunity to experience the learning themselves. I am looking forward to reviewing the data on how their written communication of mathematical ideas will improve as the school year progresses. If you would like to hear more about this strategy, my lessons learned, and the big impact it is having on student learning, come see my presentation at the CPM Teacher Conference in San Francisco.

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Algebra Tiles Blue Icon

Algebra Tiles Session

  • Used throughout CPM middle and high school courses
  • Concrete, geometric representation of algebraic concepts.
  • Two-hour virtual session,
  •  Learn how students build their conceptual understanding of simplifying algebraic expressions
  • Solving equations using these tools.  
  • Determining perimeter,
  • Combining like terms,
  • Comparing expressions,
  • Solving equations
  • Use an area model to multiply polynomials,
  • Factor quadratics and other polynomials, and
  • Complete the square.
  • Support the transition from a concrete (manipulative) representation to an abstract model of mathematics..

Foundations for Implementation

This professional learning is designed for teachers as they begin their implementation of CPM. This series contains multiple components and is grounded in multiple active experiences delivered over the first year. This learning experience will encourage teachers to adjust their instructional practices, expand their content knowledge, and challenge their beliefs about teaching and learning. Teachers and leaders will gain first-hand experience with CPM with emphasis on what they will be teaching. Throughout this series educators will experience the mathematics, consider instructional practices, and learn about the classroom environment necessary for a successful implementation of CPM curriculum resources.

Page 2 of the Professional Learning Progression (PDF) describes all of the components of this learning event and the additional support available. Teachers new to a course, but have previously attended Foundations for Implementation, can choose to engage in the course Content Modules in the Professional Learning Portal rather than attending the entire series of learning events again.

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Building on Instructional Practice Series

The Building on Instructional Practice Series consists of three different events – Building on Discourse, Building on Assessment, Building on Equity – that are designed for teachers with a minimum of one year of experience teaching with CPM instructional materials and who have completed the Foundations for Implementation Series.

Building on Equity

In Building on Equity, participants will learn how to include equitable practices in their classroom and support traditionally underserved students in becoming leaders of their own learning. Essential questions include: How do I shift dependent learners into independent learners? How does my own math identity and cultural background impact my classroom? The focus of day one is equitable classroom culture. Participants will reflect on how their math identity and mindsets impact student learning. They will begin working on a plan for Chapter 1 that creates an equitable classroom culture. The focus of day two and three is implementing equitable tasks. Participants will develop their use of the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Meaningful Mathematical Discussions and curate strategies for supporting all students in becoming leaders of their own learning. Participants will use an equity lens to reflect on and revise their Chapter 1 lesson plans.

Building on Assessment

In Building on Assessment, participants will apply assessment research and develop methods to provide feedback to students and inform equitable assessment decisions. On day one, participants will align assessment practices with learning progressions and the principle of mastery over time as well as write assessment items. During day two, participants will develop rubrics, explore alternate types of assessment, and plan for implementation that supports student ownership. On the third day, participants will develop strategies to monitor progress and provide evidence of proficiency with identified mathematics content and practices. Participants will develop assessment action plans that will encourage continued collaboration within their learning community.

Building on Discourse

In Building on Discourse, participants will improve their ability to facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse. This learning experience will encourage participants to adjust their instructional practices in the areas of sharing math authority, developing independent learners, and the creation of equitable classroom environments. Participants will plan for student learning by using teaching practices such as posing purposeful questioning, supporting productive struggle, and facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse. In doing so, participants learn to support students collaboratively engaged with rich tasks with all elements of the Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices incorporated through intentional and reflective planning.