Math in Practice Coaching Resource: Ideas for Supporting Teachers

As a Math Coach/Specialist, you support the teaching and learning of math within your building. Undeniably, your responsibilities are varied and challenging. You may be asked to conduct professional development workshops, facilitate data meetings, lead book study groups, facilitate collaborative planning meetings, provide demonstration lessons, or organize schoolwide math events. You may be asked to support new teachers who are just beginning their career or to help teachers who are teaching math at a new grade level. You may be asked to increase teachers’ understanding of math content, knowledge of math standards, or expertise with instructional strategies. You may be asked to work with teachers who lack confidence in their math abilities or those who may be resistant to trying new strategies. It is vital that you have ready resources at your fingertips to accomplish the many and varied responsibilities of a K-5 Math Coach.

How can Math in Practice support you in this role?

Math in Practice was designed to transform K-5 math teaching and enhance math learning. It is an 8-book set that contains a Guide for Teachers, Guide for Administrators, and grade-level books for grades K-5. Each book in this series has features that support the role of the Math Coach, and together they provide a wealth of resources to meet your varied needs.

Math in Practice: Guide for Teachers

The Introduction of the Guide for Teachers explores the changes in teaching mathematics from when we were the students to today. It promotes reflection on where we are in our journey to becoming the math teacher we truly hope to be! The remaining chapters discuss important instructional approaches that highlight the changes in teaching math and offer practical tips and suggestions for implementing each one.

Following are some features of the Guide for Teachers that support your role as math coach:

Guide for Administrators

The Guide for Administrators was written for district math leaders, school administrators, and math coaches. This book provides tips and strategies for leading K-5 teaching and learning. It is filled with strategies and tips for enhancing your role as math coach and includes a wealth of online resources to make your job easier.

Math in Practice Grade-by-Grade Guides

The Math in Practice grade-level books offer a wealth of resources for teachers, but also have many features that support your role as math coach. These books, along with providing a wealth of grade-level specific lessons, formative assessments, and practice tasks, are perfect tools for guiding collaborative planning.

Math in Practice as a Tool for Change

As a math coach, do you find yourself being pulled in different directions due to the varied needs of the K-5 math teachers with whom you work? While some need greater content knowledge, others would benefit from an understanding of progressions, while still others need support with changes to their teaching practice?

Do you find that you just don’t have enough time to do the many tasks you are charged to do? Math in Practice is filled with resources to make your job easier, from the About the Math sections of the grade-level books to the teaching tips found throughout the Guide for Teachers to the protocols and planning sheets in the Guide for Administrators. Both in the books and in the many online resources, you will find a wealth of tools to support you as you work to enhance your elementary math program.

Download the features and outlines seen above.

Teaching and learning math can be hard. Math in Practice is like a math coach for every teacher. This grade-by-grade resource is filled with strategies and support for teaching math more confidently and effectively.

Looking for an opportunity to grow your PLC network? Visit the Math in Practice Facebook group to connect with other elementary teachers and many of the Math in Practice authors.