Model Positive Connections to Math
Overview
Teachers sharing math-to-self, math-to-math, and math-to-world connections model math schema building. As learners learn how to draw connections while working with numbers and problems, they activate additional cognitive processes which support encoding, while they engage more deeply in the math content. When teachers carefully consider and incorporate positive examples that reflect the diversity of their students' background, this strategy can foster students' Sense of Belonging.
Example: Use This Strategy In in the Classroom
Design It into Your Product
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Teacher Modeling & Support Strategies
Teachers support language development by using and providing vocabulary and syntax that is appropriately leveled (e.g., using simple sentences when introducing complex concepts).
Content that is provided in clear, short chunks can support students' Working Memory.
Building positive and trusting relationships with learners allows them to feel safe, a Sense of Belonging, and that their academic, cognitive, and social and emotional needs are supported.
Actively and authentically encouraging all students to seek support, ask questions, and advocate for what they believe in creates a safe space for risk-taking and skill development and supports a Sense of Belonging.
Teachers can help students understand that learning involves effort, mistakes, and reflection by teaching them about their malleable brain and modeling their own learning process.
Providing feedback that focuses on the process of developing skills conveys the importance of effort and motivates students to persist when learning.
By talking through their thinking at each step of a process, teachers can model what learning looks like.
Maintaining consistent classroom routines and schedules ensures that students are able to trust and predict what will happen next.
Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.
Wait time, or think time, of three or more seconds after posing a question increases how many students volunteer and the length and accuracy of their responses.
