This training series is divided into nine individual workshops.  Part 1 is an overview  and introduction to building powerful numeracy.  The remaining eight workshops are content specific.  

“Training for Trainers” sessions are held in the summer in Austin, TX. Subscribe to the weekly newsletters to be notified of the next offerings.

• Developing Mathematical Reasoning
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplicative Thinking
• Division
• Proportional Reasoning
• Fraction: Addition and Subtraction
• Fraction: Multiplication and Division
• Percents

Building Powerful Numeracy: Developing Mathematical Reasoning

Too many students struggle with basic numeracy! This is the overview Building Powerful Numeracy workshop, intended as a first look into the idea of building powerful numeracy and as a precursor to attending other workshops in this series.  Based on Pam’s Building Powerful Numeracy and Lessons & Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy, this workshop engages teachers in an overview of powerful ways to help student develop efficient and sophisticated numeracy strategies. Participants will experience Problem Strings and will receive handouts to help students construct powerful numerical relationships and connections that lead to success in higher math.

If you have never attended a Pam Harris numeracy workshop or just want a refresher, this one is for you.

This workshop is appropriate for teachers grades 3-12.

Building Powerful Numeracy: Addition

Early in the mathematical journey, students develop counting strategies, such as synchrony, one-to-one tagging, counting all and counting on. Many times students never move on to additive thinking.  They produce work that suggests they can add, but they are really counting.  We want students to develop the ability to think in larger chunks than one, and to be fluent in multiple relationships between numbers.

Take 57 + 5.  You can use the standard addition algorithm and line them up vertically, although that doesn’t give additional help in this situation.  You can count 57 objects, then count five objects, and then count all the objects.  It works, but it takes so much time.  We celebrate when students start to add on: 58, 59, 60, 61, 62.  Those are both counting strategies, but we need students to move to additive thinking as early as first grade.  When you can think about the 5 as 3 + 2, then you can think 57 + 3 is 60, and then 2 more is 62.

Students need to have additive thinking before they can develop multiplicative thinking and then proportional reasoning.  You may already reason additively; come learn how to foster it in your students!  Or, you may be like Pam for whom it didn’t come naturally; come develop your own additive thinking and learn how to foster this in your students.

This workshop is appropriate for teachers grades 2-12.

Building Powerful Numeracy: Subtraction

Building Powerful Numeracy: Proportional Reasoning

 How do you solve problems without “cross multiply and divide?” Why would you want to? How can students reason proportionally to solve problems, including some non-proportional problems? Based on Building Powerful Numeracy and Lessons & Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy, this workshop engages teachers in powerful ways to help students develop efficient and sophisticated proportional reasoning and strategies for solving problems. Participants will experience Problem Strings and receive handouts to help students construct powerful proportional relationships and connections that lead to success in higher math.

This workshop is appropriate for teachers grades 5-12.

Building Powerful Numeracy: Fraction Addition & Subtraction

This workshop focuses on building addition and subtraction of fractions. Based on Building Powerful Numeracy and Lessons & Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy, this workshop continues from the overview day, focusing on building fraction sense. Students need more than a part-whole understanding of fractions and we’ll build it using money, clock, double number line, and ratio table models to reason about equivalence and the operations of addition and subtraction.

This workshop is appropriate for teachers grades 4-12.

Building Powerful Numeracy: Fraction Multiplication & Division

This workshop focuses on building multiplication and division of fractions. Catchy phrases like “Ours is not to reason why, just invert and multiply” can hinder student sense making with fractions. Ours is to reason why, how, and when to employ different multiplication and division strategies that build from the mathematical properties of ratios and fractions. Based on Building Powerful Numeracy and Lessons & Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy, this workshop continues from the overview day, building multiplicative fraction sense and we’ll build it using area and ratio table models.

This workshop is appropriate for teachers grades 5-12.

Building Powerful Numeracy: Percents

This workshop focuses on building facility with percents. Students are exposed to percents earlier and earlier in their lives, yet assessments show mixed results and confusion. Based on Building Powerful Numeracy and Lessons & Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy, this workshop helps participants to build powerful strategies for solving problems involving percents. Participants will experience Problem Strings and receive handouts to help students construct powerful percentage relationships and develop reasoning skills that lead to success in higher math.

This workshop is appropriate for teachers grades 5-12.