Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore how to increase engagement, lessen anxiety, and create real-world connections by teaching math through a Conceptual Based Instructional Model.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is JoAnna Castellano of New Brunswick, New Jersey.

In this episode we discuss:

·      JoAnna’s path to teaching

·      Her pedagogical perspective: student agency, productive struggle, teacher as facilitator, providing real-world context

·       An example question using the Pythagorean theorem with Benjamin Watson’s tackle saving touchdown

·       How to differentiate in the conceptual model

·      Walking through a lesson from idea to assessment: ratio and proportions using Mayan ruins

·      Her biggest success: lessening math anxiety; her biggest struggle: getting teachers to buy in initially

·      How she has transferred this model online for distance learning

·      Who to check out for math teaching inspiration

·      JoAnna’s ideal curriculum: expanding on her work with NBPS’ Summer Bridge Program

·      The value of movement and interaction (ex. Sara Vanderwerf’s ‘stand and talks’)

Links to check out:

·      Article co-written by JoAnna: “Agency and voice: a push for greater equity and what it looks like in math”

·      Dan Meyer (Twitter: @ddmeyer)

·      Jo Boaler (Twitter: @joboaler)

·       Graham Fletcher (Twitter: @gfletchy)

·      Robert Kaplinsky (Twitter: @robertkaplinsky)

·       Sara Vanderwerf (Twitter: @saravdwerf)

·      Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburg

·      Activities for students with math anxiety (no answer is incorrect if can be justified/explained): Which One Doesn’t Belong?