For classroom teachers, time is the most precious resource. Every choice we make is an opportunity cost. If we spend five minutes reviewing homework, then we didn’t spend five minutes teaching new content. This blog will review strategies to help maximize instructional time. Although these ideas could be used across subjects, I’m specifically using math examples.

When planning math instruction, writing activities probably do not come to mind; but, research tells us they should.

There is a common tendency today to link higher math standards for our students with the kind of achievement we see in other countries. A complementary thread is to link high standards in math to the broad trends in our ever-changing, information economy. By implication, we need to ensure all students are proficient in this discipline.

The need has never been greater for well-designed mathematics instruction that promotes confidence in teachers and guides students to success.

In the early days of research as a co-author of Voyager Sopris Learning’s TransMath, I spent a lot of time observing struggling math students in the classroom. I soon discovered these students had much more than a deficit in math content knowledge. They also had lost all confidence in their ability to learn math.

While many parts of the country are experiencing record amounts of snow and cold temperatures, we already are thinking about summer—sunshine, the end of school, and the inevitable summer slide in learning. But is the summer slide inevitable?