A few years ago, I signed up to help make pizzas at the Columbus Crew Stadium to help raise money for my son’s soccer team.  After watching the experienced staff member make a few pizzas, I told him I was ready. How hard could it be?  

The game hadn’t started yet and staff members had already made a dozen pizzas to fill the early orders.  I gave myself grace for making a few mistakes on the first set of pizzas.  Then, the pizza conveyor belt seemed to go faster and faster. I couldn’t keep up trying to prepare a pizza, load it on the conveyor to cook, take a cooked pizza from the line, open the box, fill the box, close the box, and put it in the proper heating area.  What looked like a very easy task at the beginning soon turned into my deep appreciation for the experienced staff members juggling a hundred things at once!

This memory crept up last week when I visited one of our elementary classrooms.  My guess is  if I had asked the teacher ahead of time what I would be seeing, I might have heard something about students learning math or grouping numbers to using concepts from the new Bridges Math curriculum.  What I observed was so much more!

When I arrived in the classroom, Mrs. Davis had students gathered around her on the floor.  She began holding up a piece of cardboard with different colored beads strung across it to move various sets for counting. 

She used questioning techniques to elicit feedback from students on how many beads were shown and how they arrived at their answers.  She allowed students to “discover” different ways to group numbers.  

After a few examples, she handed each student their own cardboard set and began asking more questions.  She allowed time for students to use their boards to show their answers.  

She asked students to move the beads to create the number 13.  If students didn’t have the correct answer, she had them check with a classmate rather than just say they were wrong.  I appreciated this technique of helping students self correct after receiving feedback.  One student moved 5 beads on the top and 8 beads on the bottom to one side.  Another student moved 7 beads on the top and 6 on the bottom to also display 13.  Mrs. Davis took the time to allow students to show each other how they displayed their answers differently while still having a correct answer.

After a few practice problems, she asked students to return to their desks and she proceeded to extend the learning, asking students to write the numerical value of beads and adding two sets of numbers together with one set of ten and another set of below ten.

As a former high school math teacher with experience in training teachers in professional learning strategies, I began counting the various Mathematical Practices from the Ohio Standards that should appear in math instruction throughout the year.  While a teacher may select one Math Practice for instruction, Mrs. Davis seemed to effortlessly employ three or four of them!  I saw students solving problems and persevering in solving them, modeling with mathematics, using appropriate tools strategically, and looking for and making use of structure.  

What seemed like the conveyor belt of instruction moving quickly in her classroom, Mrs. Davis explicitly taught different ways to group numbers, making it look effortless.  She demonstrated the learning a few times first and then allowed students to practice.  She was able to see their work and give immediate feedback.  Then, she allowed students to move from physically touching beads to using paper and pencil to write their answers in numeric form.  

What made me even more impressed and excited was Mrs. Davis employing strong classroom management skills in handing out materials, moving students between spaces in the classroom, and handing out and collecting materials.  For the icing on the cake, or maybe extra cheese on the pizza, she demonstrated and created opportunities for students to practice kindness and respect in the classroom through taking turns, saying “please” and “excuse me,”  and raising their hands to allow for other students to have time to think and respond with their own learning.

We just started the month of September, and I am grateful for our teachers and students for their hard work and commitment to learning!  I can’t wait to return to another classroom to see the exciting learning taking place and sharing the process with you!