Digital Resource Round-Up: Math Instruction

tags: Center for Innovation and Leadership in Special Education Linking Research to Classrooms: A Blog for Educators

By Lisa Carey
December 22, 2015

Do you want to learn more information about math instruction? Looking to connect to vetted resources, instructional tools, and other math educators? We’ve rounded up a list of free digital resources for busy math educators below.

Instructional Practice Supports:

What Works Clearing House: Evidence-Based Practice Guides for Math Teachers

The Institute of Education Sciences offers information about evidence-based practices for many areas of K-12 education. Interested in knowing which evidence-based practices can support math instruction? Check out the What Works Clearing House’s many offerings, including practice guides, videos, and reports on interventions. 

Social Media - The DIY Professional Development:

Are you struggling with an active math activity? Not sure what options exist for teaching fractions or algebraic thinking? Look to your colleagues! In the digital age, teachers are overcoming barriers of time and space to collaborate with others in their field. Educators are using Twitter (try searching #Mathchat to start), Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media sites to share ideas, resources, and ask questions. TeachThought.com has a great guide on using and searching for hashtags for teachers who want to become part of the conversation. 

Resources for Lessons:

TED-Ed Math

TED-Ed allows teachers to build learning activities using the TED-Ed collection of videos or videos from other sources (this can include teacher and student made videos). Teachers can embed different types of questions within the video experience and collect student responses via email. This allows teachers to integrate even more real-world examples of mathematics and problem solving into the classroom. 

Virtual Manipulatives:

Thinking mathematically requires spatial awareness. Our first acquired math skills derive from the ability to assess groups of physical objects and their quantities. Manipulatives and visuals aid in mathematical understanding. Students and teachers can use virtual manipulates to demonstrate key math concepts and help students form a deeper understanding of the subject. The CITEd Research Center offers a guide to using virtual manipulatives for math instruction and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Virtual Manipulative site is just one of the many examples of free virtual manipulatives offered for free online.

Still Have Questions?

Feel free to contact us through the link featured at the bottom of all of the Linking Research to Classrooms blog posts. Happy teaching!

 

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