Webinars

Supporting Students Struggling in Math Webinar Series

Presented by Sara Delano Moore, Ph.D., Vice President, Content and Research, ORIGO Education

Students struggle in math for a variety of reasons including a lack of mastery of basic concepts early on and learning through memorization and repetition to name a few.

As educators, we must understand that support for struggling learners through practice worksheets and digital-only tutoring or practice resources is ineffective.

Instead, educators can identify resources which support active engagement, deliberate teacher-led instruction, and a wide variety of useful thinking strategies. This series of webinars provides strategies and resources to support teachers in this transition. Participants will be able to download relevant resources at the end of each session.

Register for Session 1: Sept 17th, 4pm ET

Memorization vs Knowing from Memory

In the first session, we will talk about the importance of knowing from memory rather than using memorization as an instructional strategy.

For students who struggle with basic facts or other relatively straightforward procedures, memorization, even through engaging gamified practice, does not build deep understanding and thoughtful mastery.

Join this session to learn how to support your students in mastering a collection of thinking strategies as tools for procedural learning. With this approach, memorization becomes a tool for consolidation, not learning. This is much more effective for learning.

Register for Session 2: Oct 15th, 4pm ET

The Power of Multiple Models

In the second session, we will focus on the importance of representing mathematics in multiple ways.

While abstract symbols make sense to many of us who teach mathematics (or we’re very good at memorization), many students need concrete, visual, or contextual representations. By using a variety of representations, we provide opportunities for every student to make sense of mathematics and connect abstract representations to other concepts that might make more sense.

Join this session to learn about the five representations of mathematics and strategies to connect these representations. Learn about using visual models to support student thinking and deep understanding.

Register for Session 3: Nov 12th, 4pm ET

The Importance of Context for Problem Solving

In the third session, we will learn about the importance of context as a problem-solving tool.

Everything students do in math class should make sense. When there is too much practice with “naked numbers,” students cannot take advantage of the power of context to help make the arithmetic make sense. As we ask students to extend their thinking from whole numbers into fractions, contexts can help students see the similarities and use what they already know more effectively.

Join this session to learn strategies for using context to everyone’s advantage. Build mathematical language; develop students’ ability to apply the math they are learning, and share thinking strategies for connecting whole number operations to work with fractions, decimals, and even integers.