Co-founder of LearnZillion, former teacher and principal, husband, father of 3
Washington, D.C.
Joined January 2011
- Tweets140
- Following431
- Followers998
- Likes30
chuffed.org/project/kindred-… I am a proud board member of Kindred. Check us out. We'd love your support as we promote racial equity and dialogue in schools.
Eric Westendorf retweeted
Shout out to everyone who showed up, stood up & spoke up for American values and institutions these past four years. You made the difference. 🙏👏👊
Eric Westendorf retweeted
Van, thank you for expressing the sorrow and relief that we all feel. My hope is that those who hoped for a different outcome will take a moment to empathize with the pain so many of us have felt over the past four years.
I’m attending Texas Democratic Party - Organizing’s event, “TEXT OUT THE VOTE IN TEXAS WITH TEAM JOE” – sign up now to join me! mobilize.us/tdporganizing/ev…
I’m attending Florida Democratic Party’s event, “Text Florida Democrats Their Personalized Voting Guides” – sign up now to join me! mobilize.us/mobilize/event/3…
Check out @EBFreitag on the future of public school education. 3 big threats: (1) declines in enrollment, (2) huge financial constraints, and (3) polarization about curriculum (1619 Project vs. 1776 Commission). Yet Freitag also sees reason for hope.
chalkbeat.org/2020/10/30/215…
Eric Westendorf retweeted
Stinging indictment of public education: Black parents surveyed "appreciated the way virtual learning allowed them to shield their children from anti-Black bias and protect them from the school-to-prison pipeline." Change. Is. Required. nytimes.com/2020/10/28/opini…
Eric Westendorf retweeted
EdReports gave our edition of Illustrative Mathematics the highest rating for a middle school math curriculum! Check out the details: hubs.ly/H0dCgpJ0
Eric Westendorf retweeted
A4. Some ways I support student math discussions are having number talks as the warm-up and providing various opportunities for think-pair-share activities. The IM lessons that have data cards with information gaps are great to scaffold and promote student discussion! #IMLZChat
A5. #IMLZChat I've seen teachers use small white boards effectively. It's easy for students to hold up their white boards and immediately use them as visuals for explaining their thinking. I've also seen students pass their whiteboards around a circle (quick museum walk).
A4. #IMLZChat To clarify....hopefully your curriculum is like IMs in that it does support tasks and discussion.
A4. #IMLZChat Once you've got the basics down (visuals, handouts, etc), I think the fun part is anticipating. What's your hypothesis for learning? What will the task spark? What will you do when it does? It's an act of imagination (hopefully a curriculum like IMs supports that).
#IMLZChat Yes, the anticipation is challenging. You can either learn what to anticipate from experience, or you can get some guidance from curriculum writers who have seen the patterns in student thinking. I'm a big fan of standing on the shoulders of others. xitter.cf/MissCutkomp/status/998…
#IMLZChat Yes, I agree with this. Sometimes it is difficult to anticipate what students might say when they are explaining their thinking. I think this would be a helpful support for teachers to elicit meaningful discussions in the classroom.
A3. #IMLZChat In addition to using tasks that promote student discussion, a curriculum can also provide teachers with some guidance. For example, what are some anticipated responses? What are some follow up prompts or ways to encourage students to connect different approaches?
A3. #IMLZChat I think the curriculum plays a big role. Often, our hope is that PD on a great book like "the 5 Practices" will change practices. But the curriculum sets the defaults. If your curriculum is focused on tasks, then teachers are much more likely to promote student talk
A2. Teachers need support in leading a discussion; otherwise, they have to reinvent the wheel and/or consistently supplement their curriculum with outside resources #IMLZChat
A2. One barrier or challenge is when teachers lack a curriculum that provides a framework for leading student discussions #IMLZChat
A1. Of course, the key is creating a safe environment which takes vigilance from the teacher. It's so easy for the focus to accidentally be on answer-getting; but when teachers are deliberate about focusing on thinking, then students start to enjoy comparing approaches #IMLZChat