What better way to help students return from interrupted learning in mathematics than to re-engage them in rigorous mathematics?
Catalyzing Change (NCTM, 2020) says: “…elementary schools should build a strong foundation of deep mathematical understanding, emphasize reasoning and sense making, and ensure the highest-quality mathematics education for each and every child.”
These professional learning resources are designed to jump-start your process of re-engaging learners with rigorous mathematics as you return for the 2021 – 2022 academic year. These resources are a mix of classroom-ready supplemental materials bundled with professional learning designed to jump-start teachers using them in the classroom. By focusing on basic facts, problem solving, and mathematical language & discourse, teachers are ready for the wide range of learners they will see when the new school year begins.
Both onsite and virtual coaching are optional add-ons for these professional learning bundles. In addition, we are planning to offer a group coaching experience focused on returning to rigorous mathematics. Read on to learn more and contact us to talk with a resource advisor.
I want to learn more about ORIGO's Professional Learning and Coaching Services
ORIGO Bundled Professional Learning
Grades 1 – 4 | onsite or virtual | half-day session
Basic facts are most effectively learned through strategy-based instruction, not memorization. This half-day session teaches core strategies for basic facts through a five-step cycle: prepare, introduce, reinforce, practice, and extend. Participants learn to use the Book and Box of Fact Strategies resources included in the purchase price.
Materials for 20 participants are included in the purchase price. Up to 10 additional participants can be included by purchasing corresponding additional product. Coaches, paraprofessionals, and building specialists are welcome to join the session without a materials purchase.
Each participant receives the Teacher Set with Classroom Box:
- 1 print Book of Fact Strategies Teacher Book
- 1 print Classroom Box of Fact Strategies
- 1 3-year subscription to the digital Book and Box of Fact Strategies Teacher Book
Student practice books are an optional additional purchase.
Grades 1 – 6 | onsite or virtual | half-day session
Problem-Solving and Mathematical Reasoning are critical life skills students must develop. These skills apply across the content domains and require regular practice for strong development. In this professional learning session, participants learn about the problem-solving process and several options for integrating problem-solving into classroom instruction.
Materials for 20 participants are included in the purchase price. Up to 10 additional participants can be included by purchasing corresponding additional product. Coaches, paraprofessionals, and building specialists are welcome to join the session without a materials purchase.
Each participant receives a Think Tank collection of 240 problems within a single domain. Domains include Computation & Number Sense, Geometry & Measurement, Reasoning with Fractions, and Problem Solving & Reasoning. Domain-specific content ideas will be incorporated into the workshop as appropriate.
Grades K-2 | onsite or virtual | half-day session
Language is a critical tool for representing mathematical ideas; integrating language development and contexts for mathematics with key mathematical concepts is a powerful teaching & learning approach. In this professional learning session, participants learn about the developmental progression for mathematical language and strategies for integrating these principles into classroom instruction for every learner.
Materials for 20 participants are included in the purchase price. Up to 10 additional participants can be included by purchasing corresponding additional product. Coaches, paraprofessionals, and building specialists are welcome to join the session without a materials purchase.
Each participant receives a collection of 12 grade-level-specific Big Books for Mathematics (in English or Spanish) as well as a 1-year subscription to Animated Big Books resources.
Grades PreK – K | onsite or virtual | half-day session
Ideas of counting are foundational to all of elementary mathematics. Students must know not only the counting words sequence but other principles of counting to understand “how many?” and to use counting as the foundation for addition. In this professional learning session, participants will learn about the principles of counting and strategies for developing these skills in young learners and strategies for integrating this learning into the classroom.
Materials for 20 participants are included in the purchase price. Up to 10 additional participants can be included by purchasing corresponding additional product. Coaches, paraprofessionals, and building specialists are welcome to join the session without a materials purchase.
Each participant receives two sets of dominoes (Five & Ten Frame and Word, Symbol, & Dot) and a Dominoes Activity Book.
ORIGO Content Professional Learning
Grades Pre-K – 5 | onsite or virtual | half or full-day session | up to 40 participants
How do educators provide a pathway for young learners to develop mathematical ideas and numeracy concepts? Many mathematical concepts and skills begin with the cluster of activities often referred to as mathematical processes. In this session, participants will explore five beginning processes that are at the core of early childhood mathematics. They will participate in activities to engage young children of many different developmental levels as well as investigate children’s symbolic and language development. This session is most appropriate for preschool and primary grade teachers.
Guiding Questions:
What role do student experiences in mathematics in the early years play in their future success?
How do young students develop concepts and skills in mathematics?
What role do Beginning Processes play in students’ understanding and application of mathematics concepts and skills?
What are the Beginning Processes and what is the best way for teachers to implement the processes with early learners?
Grades K – 5 | onsite or virtual | half or full-day session | up to 40 participants
What are essential skills for teachers to develop mathematical language, especially in students who are also learning English? In this session, participants will explore a developmental sequence of language stages which helps every learner move from everyday language to more formal mathematical language. The session discusses developing classroom culture focused on agency & identity as well as a variety of practical strategies for classroom instruction. This session is appropriate for all elementary educators.
Guiding Questions:
How might student understanding of different levels of language affect their conceptual understanding and success in mathematics?
How might educators best utilize language stages to support student understanding and success in mathematics?
How might language skills and mathematical identity and agency intersect?
How might educators foster an environment that supports mathematical identity and agency?
Grades 3-5 | onsite or virtual | half-day session | up to 40 participants
How might we extend the strategies useful for mastering basic facts into broader classes of number? What happens when we use this approach with greater whole numbers? With common fractions? With decimals? In this session, participants will briefly review key strategies for mastering addition & subtraction basic facts before extending them to other number classes. The session includes practical examples with a variety of mathematical representations. This session is most appropriate for educators who work with students in grades 3 - 5.
Guiding Questions:
- How do we help students understand that the operations do not change, even as students learn about new categories of numbers (e.g., fractions)?
- How are strategies for addition and subtraction with larger whole numbers, fractions, and decimals related to strategies for basic facts?
- How do we support students in applying the strategies they already know to numbers beyond the basic facts range?
- How does deep understanding of these strategies prepare students for success in more advanced mathematics, including algebra?
Grades 4 – 6 | onsite or virtual | half-day session | up to 40 participants
How might we extend the strategies useful for mastering basic facts into broader classes of number? What happens when we use this approach with greater whole numbers? With common fractions? With decimals? In this session, participants will briefly review key strategies for mastering multiplication & division basic facts before extending them to other number classes. The session includes practical examples with a variety of mathematical representations. This session is most appropriate for educators who work with students in grades 4 - 6.
Guiding Questions:
- How do we help students understand that the operations do not change, even as students learn about new categories of numbers (e.g., fractions)?
- How are strategies for multiplication and division with larger whole numbers, fractions, and decimals related to strategies for basic facts?
- How do we support students in applying the strategies they already know to numbers beyond the basic facts range?
- How does deep understanding of these strategies prepare students for success in more advanced mathematics, including algebra?
Grades K – 3 | onsite or virtual | half-day session | up to 40 participants
How do young children reason about fractions as they explore fair-sharing with friends or family? While we often think of fractions as a challenge for upper elementary students, important foundational ideas are established in the primary grades. In this session, participants will learn about key concepts for early fraction understanding, including a variety of contexts and representations. This session is most appropriate for educators who work with students in Grade K-3.
Guiding Questions:
Why teach fractions in the early grades?
How do teachers best connect fractions to early learners’ real-world experiences?
What representations of fractions support early learners’ conceptual understanding of fractions?
What do early learners need to know and understand about fractions?
Grades K – 3 | onsite or virtual | half-day session | up to 40 participants
Is a fraction really one number or is it two? A common misconception is that ½ is really two numbers, not a single number. For students to succeed with fractions, they must understand them as an extension of the familiar whole number system. In this session, participants learn about strategies and representations to extend number sense to include fractions. Revisiting counting, comparing, and ordering establishes fractions as numbers and creates a firm foundation for fraction operations. This session is most appropriate for teachers in Grades K-3.
Guiding Questions:
How might educators help students avoid forming misconceptions about fractions?
What is the relationship between whole numbers and fractions?
What representations support students in counting, comparing, and ordering fractions?
What strategies do students utilize in comparing and ordering fractions?
Grades 4 – 6 | onsite or virtual | half-day session | up to 40 participants
Just as fractions are an extension of the number system, operations with fractions have the same meanings they have with whole numbers even though some procedures are different. In this session, participants explore similarities and differences between whole number and fraction addition & subtraction, recognizing new contexts possible with fractional values and establishing a conceptual foundation for the procedures required to add & subtract. This content is most appropriate for educators in grades 4-6.
Guiding Questions:
What might educators do to help students avoid misconceptions about addition and subtraction with fractions?
What representations support students in adding and subtracting with fractions?
What strategies do students utilize in adding and subtracting with fractions?
How might students apply their understanding of adding and subtracting with whole numbers to adding and subtracting with fractions?
Grades 4 – 6 | onsite or virtual | half-day session | up to 40 participants
Just as fractions are an extension of the number system, operations with fractions have the same meanings they have with whole numbers even though some procedures are different. In this session, participants explore similarities and differences between whole number and fraction multiplication & division, recognizing new contexts possible with fractional values and establishing a conceptual foundation for the procedures required to multiply & divide. This content is most appropriate for educators in grades 4-6.
Guiding Questions:
What might educators do to help students avoid misconceptions about multiplication and division with fractions?
What representations support students in multiplication and division with fractions?
What strategies do students utilize in multiplication and division with fractions?
How might students apply their understanding of multiplication and division with whole numbers to adding and subtracting with fractions?
ORIGO Coaching Services
ORIGO coaching services are designed to strengthen mathematics instruction in the school or district by developing teacher content knowledge and instructional skills. These coaching services can support any core mathematics program and are customized to the goals of the district or building. Onsite coaching services are purchased in increments of two-days onsite and can be used for the following activities:
- Classroom walk-throughs with school or district leadership team;
- Classroom demonstration lessons;
- Classroom observations and teacher feedback;
- Parent/Family Night support;
- Grade-level planning meetings; and/or
- Short mathematics content sessions based on walk-through and observation data.
ORIGO coaching services are designed to strengthen mathematics instruction in the school or district by developing teacher content knowledge and instructional skills. These coaching services can support any core mathematics program and are customized to the goals of the district or building. Virtual coaching services emphasize support for individual teachers through video coaching cycles.
In this process:
- the teacher and coach identify a focus area,
- the teacher records a lesson and shares it with the coach, and
- the coach and teacher jointly review the video and set goals for strengthening instruction. The six coaching sessions in this package may be used to support six teachers with single sessions or fewer teachers with multiple sessions, depending on the goals of the building or district.
Prepare teachers to differentiate instruction for the variety of learners in their classes this year by learning the WHAT and HOW to meet student needs.
- First, understand WHAT resources you have and WHAT the available data says about your students’ needs.
- Then, determine HOW to differentiate instruction and accelerate learning for all students.
Virtual Coaching Models
(Attendance: Up to 50 people in each module, distributed across grade-level team sessions)
- A Strong Start Takes Planning
Thoughtful planning is the foundation for teaching success. The pandemic likely caused changes to your classroom routines and disrupted your grade-level team planning routines. This coaching module focuses on team planning at the instructional module level. Teams will review instructional module-level resources in Stepping Stones and participate in a best-practice planning session with an ORIGO Stepping Stones expert. - Make Sense of Data
Both good teaching and routine assessment sequences (e.g., benchmark testing) generate large amounts of data. This module focuses on understanding available data sources, both within and beyond Stepping Stones, and developing a protocol for analyzing and using those data. How do we know what next steps to take with which students? - Accelerate Learning for All Students
Once teachers are planning well and using the data available to them, the full range of student learning needs will be apparent. It is not possible to go back and reteach full chunks of content from previous grade levels. Still, some students have not learned everything they need to know to be successful in grade level content. Accelerated learning means just-in-time teaching of ideas from previous grades to support grade-level learning. This module of grade-level coaching sessions shares strategies for accelerating learning by helping teachers identify the right content to reach back for and helping teachers know when is the right time to bring content forward. Strategies for creating and working with small groups of learners will also be addressed.