Math Methods: Interview

For my interview, I contacted Stephanie Hentze at Stephens Middle School due to the fact that this is the school where I completed my practicum. Her and I spoke via email about the following questions. (She stated that another Willamette student had also contacted her about these questions, so she copied her answers from when she spoke with the other student- Just a heads up!)

How does the CMP curriculum align with the NCTM standards?

 I am not familiar enough with the Common Core standards to address how
 CMP aligns.  The work I/we do are closely tied to the state standards for
 this year.  I know the district and CMP are working to create supplemental
 units and adjust the material to match the new standards more closely.

 I am told that the practices component of the common core standards (the
 justification/ explanation/ exploration/ inquiry part) lines up pretty well
 with NCTM, and that is what the CMP is designed to do - get students
 working with and exploring concepts to discover rules and patterns, and
 then explain what they find and how they know it's correct.

How does one address the needs of students of varying needs on a daily basis so that they can reach grade level and experience success in the inquiry to investigation philosophy of the CMP?

Sometimes I assign different homework to different students based on
 their level of competency of the basics.  Last week, one group did a
 worksheet about coordinate points and the others answered questions from
 the book that had them extend the work with coordinates.  Including a
 review of each topic before beginning the exploration is critical.  Pulling
 small groups to re-teach is a good strategy when the class dynamics allow
 for groups to stay on task without constant supervision.  I have found that
 sometimes students who are low in the basics (division, multiplication,
 etc.) do better than expected when they are placed in a challenging
 curriculum.  It's a different type of work, and it's great when students
 find they can be successful in something difficult (or even just on
 grade-level).

What is the role of homework (and accountability) in the CMP?

 I can't speak for all of CMP, but in my classes, homework is an
 important part of the learning process.  It is viewed as practice - as
 opportunities to try and to struggle and to ask for clarification.  The
 goal, of course, is for the homework to help students understand better.

 Because it's practice, homework is weighted as a small percent of the
 total grade.  There is a movement to have homework worth 0% of the grade
 and have the grade solely reflect their test scores.

What are some classroom management techniques that ensure all students are actively engaged?

 Some management strategies:

 set up roles:  I have a captain, pirate, scout, and wizard.  (Not every
 activity needs to be a group activity!)
 posters: have each member write in a different color
 all students need to share something from their group results
 roll a dice to see who shares - make sure everyone in your group is ready!
 exit quizzes - short questions at the end of class.  answer on a slip of
 paper and turn in as you leave.
 partner quizzes - work in teams of 2 on a quiz, but you only get to ask
 the teacher 1 question.
 talk about and wait for 100% attention before direct instruction
 have students' desks set up in pairs for work at the board, and teach them
 to quickly turn desks into 4s for groupwork.