Common Core Elevator Speech - Day 5

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I have three more days of elevator speeches to share. Now would be a good time to say why I initiated this whole elevator speech series. I was asked by my district to give a 90 second presentation on rigorous mathematics standards. I will be giving this 90 second presentation on Monday at our district's State of the Schools breakfast where many community members, parents, board members, teachers, and administrators will be present. You know, all the stakeholders. In preparing those 90 seconds, I needed to push myself to come up with elevator speeches related to Common Core math standards and rigor. So Day 7 will be my 90 second elevator speech from the State of the Schools.

For Day 5 and Day 6, I'm honored to share two elevator speeches from Steve Leinwand. It was so cool to see an email from Steve in my Inbox, with him saying, "OK - challenge accepted!"

If you've followed my blog, you know I have great admiration for Steve and have been inspired by him numerous times. It won't surprise you that I thoroughly enjoy (and support) his first speech.

"Appealing to an audience that wants more for their children."

It’s only one of eight Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice, but we can change schools and change lives if we truly implement Mathematical Practice 3:  “Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.”  In many ways, these nine words may be the most important words in the entire Common Core effort.  We can’t expect students to construct viable arguments unless we ask them “why?” and “how do you know?” and “can you convince us?”  When we ask such questions we are laying the foundation for the reasoning and justifying that represent the thinking that schools need to develop in all students.  Similarly, we can’t expect students to critique the reasoning of others unless we create classrooms where student thinking is valued and students contribute to their own learning within communities of learners.  Moreover, this isn’t just mathematics, but what needs to happen in English language arts, social studies and science as well. So when one cuts through all of the misrepresentations and politics that surround the Common Core, these powerful nine words transcend our differences and capture what every parent and every citizen should be demanding from their schools and for their children.

~Steve Leinwand 

Thank you Steve for sharing your wisdom and fervor. I look forward to sharing your next elevator speech on Day 6.

Fervor,
819

[UPDATE]: Check out the audio/visual of Steve's elevator speech.

Common Core Elevator Speech - Day 4

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When I started this idea of preparing an elevator speech about the Common Core, I figured I'd get as far as I can on my own. I wanted to stretch myself and avoid tapping into resources or my Jedi masters. It's day 4 and I find myself at that point where I need a pick-me-up. Who better to do that than Steve Leinwand and his super math gang of leaders at NCSM? All 2014 NCSM attendees received the following framework:

It's TIME: Themes and Imperatives for Mathematics Education. 

I figured I would snag a few lines from the section titled Support an Understanding of the Breadth and Depth of Mathematics Content Knowledge (found on pages 20-21). Today's elevator speech is is from the pros (all 15 writers):

The CCSSM promotes teaching few concepts, but teaching them in more depth, with deeper understanding as the goal. However, teachers must have a deep understanding of the content themselves to teach for deeper understanding.

Mathematics involves more than just recalling facts and performing routine procedures. Mathematics needs to be understood as an integrated collection of knowledge and skills, not as a series of discrete procedures. Mathematics must also be understood as connected to other disciplines and to the world in which we live. A technology- and information-based society requires citizens to be able to think, reason, and analyze. Knowing mathematics means being able to adapt and apply mathematical ideas to new situations and to a variety of problems.

You can find this on page 21. The framework is a quick read at 58 pages and appendices full of strategies and resources. Get your own copy, you can't have mine.

It's TIME,
1044

Common Core Elevator Speech - Day 3

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Day 2

I had a break between events this afternoon, so I stopped at In-N-Out for an iced tea and a chance to hang out for a few minutes. If you've been to a recent training or presentation of mine, I briefly share my admiration for the In-N-Out business model. Although Barry Schwartz doesn't talk about In-N-Out in his TED talk, The Paradox of Choice, he tells a parallel story extremely well.

A few notes from this afternoon:

Today's elevator speech isn't one I'd consider using, but something to chew on:

I enjoy In-N-Out Burger because of the experience, convenience, service, affordability, and great taste. When I think of the experience at a deeper level, every detail is important: the ingredients are fresh, the service is friendly and efficient, and the menu is simple yet customizable. Common Core and the 8 Math practices can be a rich experience that encapsulates critical thinking, conceptual understanding, and applied math. When you decompose Common Core, every part is important because both standards and practices demand our teachers and students to explore concepts in depth, obtain procedural fluency, and apply said skills to real-world situations using mathematical modeling.

Animal style,
939