Building a Culture of Math at Fraser 

The Importance and Impact of Thinking Math Classrooms

At Fraser, we seek to engage and challenge our students for success by fostering a culture where every student believes they are a "math person." This shift from "I'm just not good at math" to "I can do this; I just need to think about it" is foundational for student success. Thinking Math Classrooms play a pivotal role in this transformation by promoting high-level, sustained thinking tasks that lead to long-term learning. Students are engaged in meaningful, authentic math experiences that provide real time data in each lesson so teachers can redirect any errors in thinking as well as push students to deepen their understanding.

Teachers at Fraser understand that while they play a critical role, student voice is equally important as they discover the skills by engaging with math. A thriving math culture capitalizes on mistakes as opportunities for learning and reteaching. Math skills are gamified using technology to provide engagement, fun, and instant feedback to promote growth. This reinforces the classroom experience for students. As one of our Grade 7 students, David, shares, “Being paired up in groups really helps you get a more accurate answer. You are able to hear from your peers about their answers and have a higher chance of being correct.”

The Building Thinking Classroom framework, combined with low floor and high ceiling tasks, fosters collaboration, creative and critical thinking, and communication among students of varying skill levels. By focusing on student-centred educational practices, such as the flipped classroom, offering choice, facilitating risk, and implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we further enhance our math culture. These practices ensure that all students can access and engage with math in ways that are meaningful to them.

Another key aspect of building a culture of math is our Math Club. This initiative supports students who excel in upper-level math and need extra resources. The math club offers sessions to practice logical thinking and analyze information numerically, statistically, and algebraically.

Building students' confidence in math is essential. Providing multiple chances for students to demonstrate their understanding in various ways and encouraging them to ask for help fosters a supportive learning environment. Integrating math into other subjects, like science, and connecting it to real-life scenarios helps students see its importance. Teachers are encouraged to take risks in their math instruction and incorporate Thinking Classroom challenges into their lessons.

Fraser's math culture thrives thanks to the excitement and engagement of our three Math Enthusiasts: Cory Beisiegel, Kelly Heibert, and Kyle Leinweber. They work closely with Tawnie Hildebrant to implement these math opportunities in their classes and throughout the school.

IAN LEVINGS, PRINCIPAL
W.A. Fraser Middle School