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  • Authentic Learning and CCSS

        SBAC and PARC problems used to test CCSS are challenging and often draw upon context unfamiliar to students. This means students must navigate the content, problem solving and deciphering context. Below is an SBAC problem dealing with photo albums…PHOTO ALBUMS. Do kids today understand this? In the subsequent pictures you will see the…

  • Scaffolding Multi-step Math Problems

    This is the figure from Mrs. Olsen’s Sidewalk Problem from the CT CAPT test 2010 (released to public). The problem has four major steps: divide the figure into common shapes, use Pythagorean Theorem to find height of the resulting triangles, find area of these shapes and compute total cost for  pouring the asphalt for the…

  • Supporting Students with Severe Disabilities

      I only investigated the page on making predictions and was very impressed. I wrote previously that special education is about problem-solving. Well that’s evident on this site. It appears that this is the work of a Laura Lewis. If so kudos to her.

  • Special Ed = Problem-Solving

    Received a Tweet from a parent asking about a particular disability. While I do not have experience with the disability in question, I feel I have the tools to address any disability. This is largely due to my professional training. For my master’s in special ed I took an assistive technology (AT) course at the…

  • Shaping Critical Thinking and Self-help Skills

    Below is an example of a puzzle I use to train students to make an effort and to think about problems. I have found that many students not only have a learned helplessness when it comes to math but they have been trained to follow steps mindlessly. Following a task analysis approach the first step…

  • Sudoku Scaffolded

    I wrote in another post about a 7th grader with asperger’s who tested in math at a 1st grade or kindergarten level. I used scaffolding to show him how to do Sudoku puzzles. On the left is a simple version with one digit missing from the box. In the middle is a little more complicated…