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Hey Friends, I'm Mona

If you are looking to create a classroom where students love math and solving complex problems, you're in the right place.

Can I be honest with you? For MOST of my life I didn’t love math. I spent my high school and college years taking the bare minimum in the math department to pass. Like so many teachers, I thought of myself as “not a math person”. It wasn’t until my 5th year in the classroom, teaching 3rd grade math that I figured out I actually DO LIKE math. Mainly because I relearned a lot of things I never knew and discovered math “ah ha” moments right alongside my 8 year olds. 

It was also in that my 5th year of teaching that I made a shift in my instruction to student centered math practices. First, I actively worked to develop a strong MATH culture in classroom community. Then, I designed opportunities for students to DISCOVER math through using a constructivist approach. I found ways to use number sense routines, math warm ups, problem of the day (rooted in Cognitively Guided Instruction) and student led discourse. These instructional practices changed how students FELT ABOUT MATH and deepened their conceptual understanding. 

I can confidently say "I love math"
and
I can help my students love & understand math, too.

But it hasn't always been this way...

Four weeks into my first year teaching 3rd grade and I was trudging through our schools’ assigned math curriculum. I wasn’t even sure what the kids were suppose to learn from the assignment and honestly I didn’t understand the math. I copied that worksheets, used the teachers guide to deliver the script. I wasn’t inspired. I wasn’t “a math person.” And… neither were the kids.

I spent most of the weekend before planning a week of integrated lesson plans for a study of the Chicago Fire include reading, writing, and social studies. I was on FIRE about this unit (bahaha, sorry- bad joke). I didn’t have time to plan for math. I figured we had a curriculum so I could just put “lesson 5”, “lesson 6”, etc. into my lesson plans and figure out what I needed to do on my prep before the afternoon lesson. I wasn’t inspired. “I wasn’t a math person.”  And… neither were the kids. 

Then one day a colleague introduced me to a new way of engaging students in math class through giving them challenging tasks and teaching them the skills for how to grapple and preserver. (Rooted in Cognitively Guided Instruction) I was skeptical, but I gave it a shot.

Next thing you know, after a lot of work and growing my brain in tons of new ways, kids more excited for math than for reading. And the funny thing is, SO WAS I. This person, me, who never thought of herself as a math person… I was spending my free time reading books about conceptual understanding and student-led discourse. I was honing my craft of listening and asking  the right question. I even signed up to lead a district wide study group on teaching math from a constructivist approach.

When I started to see how empowered my students I was HOOKED. The funny thing was this was completely different that what was taught of as “teaching”. I gave students a challenging problem and let them struggle. I told them I knew without a shadow of a doubt they could solve the problem although it would be hard. I supported them without ever telling them if they were right or wrong.

This is the kind of teaching that I was made to do. Not the sage on the stage, but the guide on the side.

Teaching math is intimidating.

That’s why I want to show you how you can be the “math person” you never thought you could be.

Because when we were in school there weren’t multiple ways of solving problems. We learned the one way and if you weren’t good at memorization and computation you never went “around the world”. So, you ended up believing the lie that you couldn’t do math, you weren’t a problem solver, and you didn’t belong in STEM. 

I am here to help you create a classroom where every single student knows they are a brilliant problem solver. 

I will walk with you step-by-step in developing a classroom that throws out old ways of teaching math. We will work together to implement student centered math practices and develop a strong math culture that will leave your students empowered and engaged in math. 

 

I can help you turn math haters into lovers, &
develop lessons that will drive students
to a deep conceptual understanding of math.

Free eBook "5 Steps to a Student- Centered Math Class"

Download your copy of the ebook to get started empowering your students to love & understand math!

If you're anything like me, you want...

  • Students to believe they are a “math person” 
  • Students to learn the standards and be confident in their understanding.
  • To know the math yourself so you can be a strong leader on your students’ math journey.

That’s why I created Top 10 Ways to Transform your Math Culture. To help you start developing a classroom community that lays the foundation for engaging and rigorous student- led math instruction

problem-of-the-day-for-math

YOU are a math person.

It is time to change the way YOU & your students think about math.  Then use your passion to plan lessons that engage them in challenging math that excites them! 

Most people don’t know is kids aren’t engaged in math because the teacher hasn’t spent time on developing the math culture.

But you can change all that, because you’re here looking to make a change in your math mindset! So, I’ve created a 10 step plan to help you transform your math classroom culture to help you make the change. 

So let's take this first step into making your classroom a place where problem solvers are sparked and math people are born.

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