2025 MidSchoolMath National Conference

How can we achieve student agency while focusing on a subject’s syllabus and content?

Question Formulation Technique can be a successful tool in achieving student agency and ownership without losing scope of the subject’s syllabus. I'll share examples from my own experience of using this strategy in a diverse school of international learners.

A student’s mathematical identity and how they situate themselves as a mathematical learner are framed by their early experiences and interactions with mathematics. Mathematics anxiety can alter a student’s attitude towards the content, detouring academic pursuits and career choices.

Accelerated learners are not devoid of confidence issues and struggles with mathematical identity. When students are accelerated into high school math courses in middle school, such as Algebra 1, our learners may have gaps in essential knowledge that predicate the content of future math courses. Students who may have a positive self-perception of their mathematical ability may become overwhelmed with the increase in content complexity, causing a shift in how they view themselves as mathematical learners.

As mathematics teachers and leaders, how can we help students reframe the struggle and rebuild their mathematical identity? Together, we'll discuss research and strategies and you'll leave with handouts and more!

Compared to the traditional fill-in-the-blank note taking methods of middle school math, visual note taking can support student engagement and influence mathematical identity. We explored this idea with our students, as members of the MidSchoolMath Certified Teacher program, and want to share our findings how how this approach impacted student engagement and learning outcomes!

You'll actively engage in the visual note-making process, practicing this strategy using a Core Curriculum by MidSchoolMath lesson to gain a deeper understanding of its structure and application. You'll leave equipped with strategies to integrate visual note-making in your teaching practices, enhancing student engagement and comprehension. You'll also receive access to digital resources to adapt this process for your students, with any math lesson from any curriculum!  

Join Kevin Simpson on this gallery walk session, drawing on MidSchoolMath's Big Picture International Film Series. You'll be inspired to think about how you can use big-picture, real-world problems to support your students math comprehension while fostering positive mathematical identities.