Past projects 2
Building Thinking Classrooms for Middle School Math
Funded Aug 15, 2024Thank you for your contribution towards Building Thinking Classrooms for Middle School Math. We received our project materials near the end of September, and students could not stop asking when they would get to use the whiteboards. It has been truly inspiring and encouraging watching students engage with math through the use of the standing whiteboards.
Students are building community and engaging in social learning by creating visual math displays. In a recent lesson, students were able to co-construct multiple representations of the same proportional relationship and teach each other how to compare these representations. Through this special moment, students really enjoyed becoming teachers for the moment and presenting their ideas to their peers. Overall, students feel comfortable taking more risks because their work can easily be edited in this temporary format. Plus, they love writing and drawing with the whiteboard markers!
Our students will continue to utilize the whiteboards for vertical thinking to build a classroom culture of cooperation, collaboration, and risk-taking. Students will use their whiteboards weekly to engage in problem solving tasks and push themselves beyond the textbook lessons. Their whiteboards will come in handy as they solve multi-step equations, analyze data, and construct geometric visualizations.
I am excited for what's to come as we dive deeper into our math curriculum and continue to use the whiteboards to support student learning. Thank you for your donation and support in making our math classrooms more engaging and fun.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Mayorga
This classroom project was brought to life by United Airlines and 13 other donors.Flexible Seating for Flexible Learning
Funded Aug 15, 2019The classroom environment has transformed so much since implementing the new flexible seating options. Students wait in the hallway, excited to come into the classroom and learn because they know learning looks different in our classroom. For many of the students, using flexible seating was a completely new and even surprising concept. When I gave an overview of all the options, one of their first questions was, "Will we get a chance to try them all?" And indeed, many students have tried all the options!
The yoga balls, balance boards, and floor chairs have been a big hit in the classroom. Many of these options provide students with a way to release energy rather than suppress it. By being able to release energy, students are able to focus more on their learning. They have also expressed that our classroom doesn't feel like other classrooms, that they appreciate the flexibility. Students often share that they feel like they get a lot more done when they're using a flexible seating option.
It has truly been a highlight of my year seeing how excited and receptive my students have been towards this new structure in the classroom. I am very thankful for all the support I received in making this possible. I hope to continue adding to the variety of options that we have for all my current and future students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Mayorga
This classroom project was brought to life by Kathleen and Chip Rosenbloom and 8 other donors.