Mathematics
Mathematics
SREB’s Powerful Mathematics Practices empower students to view math as an essential tool for solving real-world problems.
With professional development and coaching support from SREB, math teachers in grades three through 12 build a deep conceptual understanding of math content and learn how to create assignments and assessments that advance students’ procedural fluency, math reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Powerful Mathematics Practices
SREB’s Powerful Mathematics
Practices help teachers take a balanced approach to math
instruction in which they use formative assessment lessons to
check students’ understanding of math concepts and correct any
misunderstandings.
Teachers using these practices challenge students with complex assignments that engage students in a productive struggle.
What Do the Practices Look Like?
Our Powerful Mathematics Practices Rubric offers examples of teacher and student behaviors and learning artifacts found in classrooms that embrace these six practices:
- Planning for and ensuring a balanced approach to mathematics
- Engaging students in assignments that matter
- Utilizing questioning and feedback for deeper understanding
- Using formative assessment data
- Fostering a classroom environment that supports student ownership of learning
- Reflecting on teaching practice
Customizable Design and Delivery
We offer professional learning support that is never one-size-fits-all.
SREB’s leadership and instructional coaches partner with district- and school-based leaders to conduct an initial curriculum and instruction review or consultation to inform the scope and sequence of a customized professional learning plan.
In a typical implementation, districts or schools undertake a cycle of professional learning and face-to-face and virtual coaching. After each cycle, SREB’s coaches work with school leaders to review and revise the professional learning plan based on classroom observations, teacher and principal conversations, and other data.
Our approach builds capacity and sustainability by developing local expertise to spread the practices to new and existing teachers.
Powerful Mathematics Practices
Build students' procedural and reasoning skills and deepen their understanding of math concepts
Teachers who take a balanced approach to mathematics instruction use formative assessment lessons to check students’ understanding of math concepts and correct misunderstandings. Teachers challenge students with complex, real-world assignments that engage students in a productive struggle and require problem solving, reasoning and mathematical modeling skills.
Making Math Matter
High-Quality Assignments That Help Students Solve Problems and Own Their Learning
This report presents results of teacher and student surveys on how powerful Mathematics Design Collaborative practices are shifting how teachers teach. It also summarizes student achievement data from schools using the strategies in four states. In vignettes and testimonials, teachers who completed SREB professional development on MDC share how they have grown as teachers and how their students’ understanding of math concepts has improved.
Engaging Students in Deeper Learning Through Powerful Literacy and Mathematics Assignments
Too many students graduate high school without the foundational literacy and math skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and careers. This can change if students are exposed to literacy and math practices that expose them to the types of grade-level assignments that will advance their achievement and prepare them for college and careers.
SREB offers professional development to teachers in powerful literacy and math practices that produce positive results. Read about survey results of more than 37,000 students.
FAQ
Literacy and Mathematics Strategies
Everything a teacher needs to know before attending our literacy or mathematics training.
Students Step Up When Teachers and Leaders Transform Classrooms
Literacy Design Collaborative and Mathematics Design Collaborative
This publication describes how schools and teachers are using literacy and math strategies to engage students and prepare them for college and careers. Teachers and school leaders give first-hand accounts of their classroom experiences and share data on student achievement.
Changing How Students Learn and Teachers Teach
Teachers share success stories and describe changes in student motivation and engagement as a result of using the Literacy Design Collaborative and Mathematics Design Collaborative teaching frameworks.