According to a recent report* by ICTC (the Information and Technology Information Council) Canadian women represent about 50% of the overall workforce but represent only 25% of the technology industry workforce. Of the 100 major tech companies in Canada only 5 have female CEOs and 1 Co-CEO. 26% of the tech companies have no women in senior leadership at […]
Math
Create Success in Intermediate Math through Play….
“What are you doing in Math today?” the VP inquires of my grade 5,6,7 and 8 students. “We’re playing games.” “You’re playing games?” “Yes, we always play in math.” The assessments gathered from these classes provide me insight of where everyone is in their learning. My experience with assessments are that individual conversations to understand […]
Taking the time to collaborate and learn how to bridge the gap
Once a month, my colleagues and I go to a highschool to look at a math sample from each of our “marker students”. There are a group of about ten of us which is made up of highschool teachers, elementary teachers and math facilitators. We take time to identify what the student knows, what they […]
Robotics and Coding in Action
Reflections and Observations from Robotics/Coding classes… While currently working for several days on coding plus Lego robotics in three math classes: two grade 5/6s and one grade 7/8 class, I had the most interesting experience on a recent Friday. An assumption, as the technology leader and I were planning out the lessons and build, was that many […]
Introducing Coding without Robots
A few years ago when I started hearing about teachers doing coding and robotics in the classroom I dismissed it as a fad. I didn’t understand the value of coding nor could I see how it tied to the curriculum. However, I recognize as a professional learner my initial reaction to something radically new can sometimes […]
Education Acronyms
PLC, IEP, TPA,…. Just a few acronyms in the world of Ontario education. I managed to complete the expectations of those three letter words, this month. WOW! Some may say, “What are you talking about?”, others may say,” HOW?!” As a person who is a futuristic thinker, I am continuously planning, creating lists and maximizing […]
The Fundamentals of Teaching Balanced Math
Balanced math programs are not something new. Balanced math programs have always taught the fundamentals of math. Many years ago, the board I teach for released an excellent poster outlining their approach to balanced math. The poster consisted of the importance of teaching: attitudes to math, approaches to instruction/assessment, teaching through problem solving, purposeful practice, […]