| Workshop Sessions
This series of workshops is built in pairs. Each topic spans
two workshops — the first is a "Discovery" program where
the Learner Teachers investigate a mathematical concept and
work on a number of problems related to that concept. The
second program in each pair — "In Practice" — features the
Learner Teachers sharing their own classroom experiences,
working with different kinds of scoring guides and going deeper
into each mathematical topic.
Below, there are links to pages describing each of the workshops
in more detail. The support materials for The Missing Link
are available here as PDF files. To read the PDF versions,
you will need a copy of Adobe Reader, available
free for download.
Components of Each Workshop
Workshop 1: Proportionality &
Similar Figures — Discovery
Teachers discover
what makes similar figures similar. They are introduced to the
concept of scale factor and use scale factors to enlarge and
shrink figures. Through continued investigations, teachers determine
how scale factor affects side lengths, angles, perimeters, and
areas when figures are enlarged or shrunk.
View this video==> 
Workshop 2: Proportionality
& Similar Figures — In Practice
In this follow-up to Workshop 1, the teachers discuss
how their students approached the Proportionality & Similar
Figures lessons. Scoring guides for student work are introduced,
and the teachers learn how to sort student work into two categories — meeting standards and not meeting standards. Finally, teachers
create new problems to deepen their students' understanding.
View this video==>
Workshop
3: Patterns & Functions — Discovery
Teachers use real-life problems and experiments to gather and
display experimental data in graphs and tables. They then analyze
the resulting patterns to make predictions and develop algebraic
equations. They gain the knowledge and confidence to teach middle
schoolers concepts that often are not introduced until high
school, such as linear functions, independent and dependent
variables, y-intercept, and slope. Teachers also see how linear
models are useful to solve real-world problems that involve
constant rates of change, whether it's figuring which company
has the best buy for T-shirts or selecting the best pledge plan
for a charity walkathon.
View this video==>
Workshop 4:
Patterns & Functions — In Practice
In this follow-up to Workshop 3, the teachers discuss
the experience of teaching the Patterns & Functions lessons
in their classrooms. They create task-specific scoring guides
to evaluate student work, using a scale of 1 to 4. Then, they
work in small groups to develop high-quality, engaging performance
tasks that will deepen students' understanding of the big
ideas of Patterns & Functions.
View this video==>
Workshop
5: Polygons & Angles — Discovery
Teachers conduct several imaginative explorations to investigate
angle measures and their relationships in triangles, quadrilaterals
and other polygons. Using drawings and tables to organize information,
teachers find ways to generalize a rule for finding the sum
of the interior angles in any polygon.
View this video==>
Workshop 6: Polygons
& Angles — In Practice
In this follow-up to Workshop 5, the teachers discuss
how they taught the Polygons & Angles lessons in their
classrooms. They learn to evaluate different types of scoring
guides and determine how to use them most effectively for
evaluating student work. Finally, small groups of teachers
begin to develop new culminating projects that target specific
mathematical goals and objectives.
View this video==>
Workshop 7: Sampling & Probability — Discovery
Teachers work together to collect data
and determine the probability of an event, and then they use
probability to make predictions about an unknown sample. They
learn how to conduct random samples of data to make predictions
about the larger population, just as pollsters do to help
elect political candidates and companies do to test market
a new product. To make these predictions, teachers use box
plots to organize and analyze the sample data.
View this video==>
Workshop 8: Sampling
& Probability — In Practice
In this follow-up
to Workshop 7, the teachers discuss how their students handled
the Sampling & Probability lessons. They explore the difficult
gray area between student work that rates a "3" (meets standards)
and work that is a "2" (does not meet standards). They learn
how to use "on-ramp" lessons for students who haven't yet
demonstrated a mastery of core math concepts.
View this video==>
Use these lessons with ALL of your students, not just your
accelerated groups. As the Learner Teachers found out firsthand,
these lessons are within reach of every student; indeed, in
many cases, they are the most beneficial for students who traditionally
have been left behind by "skill-and-drill" instruction.
Take advantage of the print materials and this Web site.
They contain all the materials used in the programs — lessons,
practical advice for managing your classroom, student handouts,
teacher overheads, scoring guides, sample student work and templates
for designing your own problems and tasks. This Web site also
includes multiple links to additional helpful teacher
resources.
Share your experiences with your colleagues. Set up formal
or informal discussion groups in your school or district to
talk about your experiences — just as the Learner Teachers
do in the studio. Building in time for reflection is the most
important step teachers can take to strengthen their craft.
What works? What doesn't? Where do you go from here? We have
included starter questions throughout this document to help
launch your local conversations. You can discuss your experiences
with middle school teachers around the country via The Missing
Link discussion forum, Teacher-Talk. For
too long, too many teachers have been shortchanged by the
national school reform movement — blamed for low student
achievement but not given the practical tools to help them
in their classrooms. The Missing Link is an attempt to close
that gap.
This series is a tool designed for middle school teachers.
Use it. Build on it. And share what you know.
- Adam Kernan-Schloss, Project Director
- Jan Robinson, Master Teacher
- Shannon C'de Baca, Workshop Guide
- Susan Gillespie, Publications Manager
- Miriam Lewin, Producer
- Kaye Lavine, Series Producer and Director
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