Number Concept, Number Sense & Numeracy

In my last blog post, I posted a video of Dave Willard explaining that taking the time to focus on mastery of number sense made grade level concepts more accessible. However, it occurs to me that it might not be clear what "number sense" is. We have various terms that we may throw around: number concept, number sense, numeracy. But what do these terms really mean? And how do they relate to mastering grade level concepts? Let's unpack these terms a bit...

Coverage vs. Mastery: Slowing Down with Dave Willard

A couple of weeks back, we had the opportunity to come together around math instruction at East Montpelier Elementary School for clinical rounds with Mahesh Sharma.  Mahesh worked with a group of fourth grade students who are taught math by Anne Carter and Dave Willard.  After working with the students, Mahesh remarked how well they did.  As I watched the class, I was seated next to a fifth grade teacher who was also favorably impressed.  Dave and Anne spent a little time with us afterwards reflecting on the changes that they made to their math instruction this year.  These changes were inspired by the training they received together last summer at "Lab School" - a week long course focusing on math instruction that was taught by Mahesh. 

Dave was adventurous enough to agree to let me capture some of his thoughts and ideas on the video embedded above (if you can't see the video, here is a link).  He's very articulate (even under duress), so be sure to watch Dave discuss how he changed from a "coverage" mindset to a "mastery" mindset this year.  And he feels that this change has made his students stronger math learners.