Title: Introduction to Organizing in Math
1Introduction to Organizing in Math
2What is Organizing?
- Organizing is a strategy to detect and understand
patterns of relevant information. - Students identify information they have and must
gather to solve a problem.
3Key Elements of Organizing
- Students select a graphic organizer to help them
arrange relevant information. - Examples of graphic organizers include
- Graphs
- Tables
- Charts
- Lists
- Concept maps
4How Does Organizing Help Students?
- Supports them in more easily seeing patterns and
learning mathematical concepts. - Guides their thinking about what they do and
dont know about a problem. - Gives them ideas of ways to approach solving a
problem. - Helps them maintain chunks of information in
memory to use in problem solving.Â
5Discussion Questions 1
- How do you explain organizing to your students?
- How does organizing connect with the CCSS Math
Practices? - How can organizing help a struggling student get
unstuck when working with a problem?
6How Can I Support Students' Use of Organizing?
7Use Evidence-based Instructional Practices
- Provide Clear Explanations
- Use Varied Examples, Materials, and Models
- Provide Ongoing Formative Assessment
8Differentiated Instruction
- Plan instruction that considers students'
readiness, learning needs, and interests. - Use a range of technology tools to
- engage learners at varying levels
- engage learners in multiple ways.
- offer students options for demonstrating
understanding and mastery
9Teacher-Dependent Ways to Differentiate
- By Content
- Different levels of reading or resource
materials, reading buddies, small group
instruction, curriculum compacting, multi-level
computer programs and Web Quests, audio
materials, etc. - By Product
- Activity choice boards, tiered activities,
multi-level learning center tasks, similar
readiness groups, choice in group work, varied
journal prompts, mixed readiness groups with
targeted roles for students, etc. - By Process
- Tiered products, students choose mode of
presentation to demonstrate learning, independent
study, varied rubrics, mentorships,
interest-based investigations
10Student-Dependent Ways to Differentiate
- By Readiness
- Options in content, topic, or theme, options in
the tools needed for production, options in
methods for engagement - By Profile
- Consideration of gender, culture, learning
styles, strengths, and weaknesses - By Interests
- Identification of background knowledge/gaps in
learning, vary amount of direct instruction, and
practice, pace of instruction, complexity of
activities, and exploration of a topic
11Discussion Questions 2
- In what ways do you differentiate instruction
when you introduce organizing information to your
students? - What technology tools have you used to enhance
instruction? - What criteria do you use for selecting organizers
to show your students?
12Provide Clear Explanations Possible Strategies
- Explain how organizing helps us find what we are
looking for or see if something is missing. - Describe the purpose of each kind of organizer
(list, table, graph, concept map, etc.). - Discuss with students the features that make each
kind of organizer helpful. - With each organizer, give students time to think
about how the information is organized.
13Use Varied Examples, Materials, and Models
Possible Strategies
- Share many examples of each kind of organizer
with students. - Model how to use each organizer to solve
problems. - Give students time to practice using a variety of
organizers to solve different types of problems. - Have students who use different organizers share
their strategies and reasons for using them.
14Provide Ongoing Formative Assessment Possible
Strategies
- Make sure students understand how to choose and
use organizers before they start tackling
problems. - Note any problems that students have in entering
information into an organizer provide support. - Look for student misconceptions in the use of
organizers re-teach use of organizers as needed. - Have students create and add to a portfolio of
organizers they successfully use to solve
problems.
15Use Research-Based Strategies and Tools
- To launch the lesson
- During the learning task
- As you bring closure to the lesson
16Discussion Questions 3
- What challenges do your struggling students face
in using organizers? - What strategies do you use to help students
overcome their challenges? - Which formative assessment strategies do you find
most effective?
17Disclaimer
- Awarded through a cooperative agreement from the
U.S. Department of education, Office of Special
Education Programs (OSEP), Grant H327G090004-10,
PowerUp What Works was developed by a team of
experts in education, technology, differentiated
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the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in
collaboration with the Education Development
Center, Inc. (EDC) and the Center for Applied
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