A Culture of Agency

Teachers are wonderful, dedicated, and hard working public servants. They have a hand in raising and preparing the next generation for the challenges of the future. They are irreplaceable, but also greatly outnumbered. What if we evened the playing field?

Mathematical Mindsets                          Home        Learn More        Standards        Inspiration        About the Author

Agency is Power!

The Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (2005) recommend 50-60 minutes of math per day for students, not including homework. This is roughly 300 minutes per week. The average secondary math class size in California is 30.4 according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. This poses a problem. With 300 minutes a week and 30 students per classroom, a student only gets about 10 minutes per week of one on one time with the teacher! Therefore, in order to be successful, it is essential that students are active in their learning!
Picture
The US barely scratches the top 10 for middle school math performance in 2015 (http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2015/international-results/)
So why not use direct instruction? Schools in the U.S. have been using direct instruction for decades and it seems like a simple solution to the time issue. However, research shows that direct instruction is not the ideal practice in a math classroom!

One solution suggested in this site is a culture of agency!



Picture
Click here to read about my 1st and 2nd rounds of action research!
Watch the video above to hear more about how a growth mindset can be a solution to the time crunch!

A "culture of agency" occurs when students are encouraged to develop a growth mindset and to take charge of their own learning via diverse digital resources and instructional practices like Inquiry Learning. If a student can only expect 10 minutes of one on one time per week, then they need to become active in their learning!

This site exists to assist educators in developing a culture of agency in their classrooms by providing research, activities, and other resources.