Best, First Instruction in Mathematics

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• What is Mathematical Proficiency?
• Best, First Instruction in Mathematics
• NCTM's Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices
• Equity-Based Mathematics Teaching Practices
• Lesson Planning for Learning and Reflection
• Research and Practice Guides for Teaching Mathematics
• Supporting Struggling Learners in Mathematics

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Best, First Instruction in Mathematics

Best, First Instruction gives all students the best opportunity to learn standards-based, grade-level content and skills the first time they receive instruction. Best, First Instruction rests on four pillars:

• Building Relationships: BFI should deepen student agency through caring, positive, and authentic connections with peers and adults.​
• Meeting the Needs of All Students: BFI should include accessible, equitable, and flexible instruction to meet the changing needs of diverse student populations.​
• Creating Relevancy: BFI should engage students in authentic, meaningful, real-world, and engaging work.​
• Fostering Disciplinary Literacy: BFI should position students to work, think, talk, and plan as experts in the content would.​

STEM Education

STEM education is:

“An interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics in context that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise, enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy.”
- Tsupros, Kohler, & Hallinen, 2009

View Colorado's STEM Education Roadmap

• Colorado Department of Education STEM
  This site provides a hub of STEM information and resources to support the academic achievement of all students in Colorado.
• Colorado Education Initiative STEM
  Education Foundation committed to STEM education.
• Colorado Experiential STEM Learning Network
  Their mission is to collaborate with schools, policy makers, and businesses in order to create extraordinary STEM experiences for students and teachers. Thus, increasing science literacy and promoting science identity construction. The network is designed to create an online and offline community of practice such that interactions lead to an action, whether it be schools reaching out to businesses for hands-on activities, or community involvement in student projects and intiatives.
• Destination Imagination
  Encourages teams of learners to have fun, take risks, focus and frame challenges while incorporating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the arts and service learning. Participants learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem-solving process. Teams may showcase their solutions at a tournament.
• National Math and Science Initiative
  NMSI was formed to address one of this nation’s greatest economic and intellectual threats – the declining number of students who are prepared to take rigorous college courses in math and science and are equipped for careers in those fields. To flourish in the 21st Century, the United States must continue to generate intellectual capital that can drive the economic engine of our future prosperity. This crucial project was initiated as a public-private partnership, led by private donors such as Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.
• Next Generation Science Standards
  Through a collaborative, state-led process managed by Achieve, new K–12 science standards have been developed that are rich in content and practice and arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally-benchmarked science education. The NGSS are based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council.
• Research + Practice Collaboratory
  Research and Practice collaboratory engages researchers and practitioners around the country in an effort to address the long-standing gap between educational research and practice in STEM education.
• STEM Education Coalition
  Works to support STEM programs for teachers and students at the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies that offer STEM-related programs.
• STEMworks Database
  The STEMworks! Change the Equation (CTEq) hosts a database of programs that deepen young people's learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The database aims to be a critical resource for funders, program developers and STEM advocates alike.
• The 10 best STEM Resources from NEA
  The National Education Association (NEA) has compiled ten resources for curriculum and professional development.

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