I am honored to present at The Montessori Event for 2023.
Many moons ago, when I was still teaching in a traditional public school, I became drawn to inquiry-based mathematics lessons. I knew I wanted students to go deep and find the answers for themselves. At Mount Holyoke College’s Master of Arts in Mathematics Teaching program, an outgrowth of the Mathematics Leadership Programs, I learned so many incredible techniques for helping students to think conceptually about math.
Since finding my teaching home in the Montessori world, most of what I learned while training as a traditional educator has become obsolete and been replaced by more progressive pedagogy. However, the techniques I learned from the Mathematics Leadership Programs still feel relevant and applicable to my Montessori classroom. In fact, I would argue that both philosophies are incredibly aligned and have something to offer one another.
This session represents my current synthesis of these practices. Specifically, we will explore the techniques for promoting algebraic reasoning detailed in the book Connecting Arithmetic to Algebra and apply them specifically to a Montessori context. I am so excited to share my current thinking with other Montessorians and to improve our teaching practices together!
Session Materials
Download the session powerpoint.
Download handout 1.
Download handout 2.
The Willow Room 