Unlock the secrets to making math an exhilarating experience for students with the wisdom of Liz Peyser, National Director of Content and Implementation at Curriculum Associates. Discover how multisensory learning can revolutionize the way children understand and enjoy mathematics. In our conversation, we explore easy-to-implement classroom strategies such as the 'turn and talk' method, the undeniable power of manipulatives, and the tactile experiences that bring subjects like algebra to life. Whether you're a seasoned educator or new to the classroom, Liz's passion and practical advice promise to ignite a newfound love for teaching math that resonates with students long after they leave your classroom.
Feel the warmth of appreciation as we celebrate the extraordinary impact of educators like you, who dedicate their lives to enlightening young minds. Liz's infectious enthusiasm shines through as we discuss the joy that comes from sharing knowledge and the lasting impression that teachers leave on their students' futures. Embrace the insights from our guest by checking out her blog in the show notes, and don't hesitate to join the conversation on social media or email us for a chance to feature on our show. Your role in shaping the next generation is pivotal—subscribe, leave a review, and share our podcast to be part of a supportive network that champions the spirit of incredible educators everywhere.
Curriculum Associates presents the Extraordinary Educators podcast with host Danielle Sullivan and Sari Laveris. Hear tips, best practices and successes to improve your teaching and leadership and drive student growth and learning. We're here for you.
Speaker 2:
Hi everybody, welcome to the Extraordinary Educators podcast.
Speaker 1:
I'm Danielle, I'm Sari, and this week we are joined by our wonderful colleague Liz Peiser, who is a National Director of Content and Implementation at Curriculum Associates.
Speaker 2:
And our conversation with Liz is about something she's super passionate about multisensory learning and the use of manipulatives in mathematics, and how important that is y'all?
Speaker 1:
Absolutely so. She provides great strategies and tips for implementing these in your classroom, whether you teach math or not. I think some of these are math specific, but a few others can be applied across content areas. So here's our conversation with Liz. What can they do on the set? Welcome, liz, it's great to have you back. Thanks so much for being here today.
Speaker 3:
Hello, it's so good to be with you all again. I was going to say see you, you, but I can't see you because I'm on a podcast.
Speaker 2:
Well, we're zooming and podcasting, so it's good to have you back on the podcast. I agree with Sari Liz, so I know that you've been doing a lot of work around multi-sensory learning. Can you talk to us a little bit about that, what it is and why it might be important for students right now, in 2024?
Speaker 3:
Absolutely. Thank you so much for asking that. When I think about mathematics I often think well, the way I learned was just kind of like with numbers and writing things down. But I really think in order for students to fully make sense of the mathematics, we need to include all of the environmental inputs that we use to make sense of our environment seeing things, touching things, putting things together, talking, listening. So multisensory learning for me is just using all of our senses to make sense of the mathematics, just like we do to make sense of the real world around us and any situation we're in.
Speaker 3:
And then why I think it's important now is because now, post pandemic, we're seeing students really struggle with mathematics and when we look back, a lot of these kids that are coming through the grade levels now did not have multisensory mathematics. They were on Zoom. They were seeing things in a two-dimensional way. They weren't interacting with concrete manipulatives and having the teacher help them put together a cube train to make 10 at their workstation. We tried to have discussions via Zoom but that, you know, was kind of lost with all the different Zoom platforms and things you know getting cut off and stuff. So I think now that we're back in the classroom. Really fully engaging students in the mathematics requires us to use all those senses talking, listening, working in groups, using concrete manipulatives, putting things together and as well as writing the numbers down, I mean, let's be real, I think kids were struggling with mathematics before COVID too, and this is just a really awesome way to experience math.
Speaker 2:
I wish I had that. You know my my senior year I took an AP Cal class and my AP calculus teacher did multisensory learning with us with calculus, which is actually one of my favorite math experiences. I loved it so much. I took calculus in college and it was not multisensory, so I did not do well in college, but I think this is so important. So, as educators are listening, liz, what's maybe like one or two techniques or things to consider if they are planning for multisensory learning, and all grade levels too? Like this doesn't just work for kindergarten, right? We're talking like all students. K-12 could benefit from multisensory. So what's like one or two things that you are your go-tos when you're delivering workshops or helping people understand the importance of this?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, Absolutely, that's fantastic. So I think there are three things. The first one, that is the easiest. I'm going to go from easiest to more complex. The easiest thing is to include a turn and talk. So pose a question to the students, have them think about it on their own and then turn and share their thinking with a partner and that, right there, just dislodges so much stuckness in the kid's brains when they have to talk to somebody and then they get to listen and both kids benefit from talking and listening. So that's number one. Easy, you don't need manipulatives. Super easy. The kids are sitting there, you know. Management-wise very easy.
Speaker 3:
The second one is to have things for kids to write on. So paper, paper is actually very important, the interaction with paper and pen and writing things down. There's a huge connection with the hands and the math brain. So writing things down, paper, whiteboards and markers, having kids draw show their thinking. So just writing again, that's simple, it doesn't require a lot of manipulatives.
Speaker 3:
And then the third one which, as you're getting more used to this, include manipulatives, but start out with just a few. We're just going to. You have 10 cubes. You need to put them all together and link them in 10 cubes. Put your hands in your lap when you're done and be very specific on the instructions. Here's what you're going to do with them here. Lap when you're done and be very specific on the instructions. Here's what you're going to do with them. Here's how you're going to use them. Put your hands in your lap when you're done, and then you know the older students algebra tiles is fantastic. I'm not sure what your teacher used, but in high school algebra tiles and in middle school, just fantastic for equivalent expressions and solving equations with algebra tiles. So don't be afraid to test out those manipulatives.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for sharing those. Those are very helpful and, I think, not overwhelming to think about implementing in a classroom. So definitely appreciate that. As teachers think about incorporating these things whether it's more paper and pencil or manipulatives that they might have put away or not used yet, especially in middle school or high school Are there any tips you have for kind of the operations behind the scenes, like, um, the, the routines and procedures or the way that teachers can roll this out, because I think a lot of times that can be kind of a either a pitfall or something that they don't consider or something that might seem a little bit daunting at first.
Speaker 3:
So I think probably the one that's the most challenging are the manipulatives, and I think sometimes we're afraid that kids will use them inappropriately or play with them. So I think you know just like, okay, if you're first introducing them, have them, play with them, and we're hey, we're not gonna do anything with math right now, just kind of like play with them and link them together and, you know, make a funny object or something.
Speaker 3:
And then, when you are getting ready to use them with a specific activity, some really great things I've seen in classrooms are the teachers will have them, like especially with their primary kids will have them in cups, like here are your 10 cubes in these little cups, and then there is a student that comes up to get the like tray of cups for their table and bring them back. So the kids are involved with actually setting them out, so they're responsible for them, and then that person will return them so you can have jobs or tasks set for kids. And then, um, as I said previously, if they just um, include really specific instructions, okay, you have your work mat now. Um, I need you to fill your five frame with five cubes, count out five cubes and put them on your five frame and then put your hands in your lap, yeah, you know. And then, as kids get more used to using that and they get used to using the routines we don't have to say those things so often, but but I would. That's how I would start it.
Speaker 2:
And also I don't think I think putting your hands in your lap is good for middle school kids too, Right.
Speaker 2:
I mean, I think a lot of times. I made the mistake once of introducing highlighters without teaching kids how to use a highlighter and they highlighted the whole thing. I'm sure you've all experienced that. That's like the fatal flaw as an educator you introduce something, you don't teach the kids how to use it. So, final thoughts what is your favorite manipulative out of all the math manipulatives that you've been working? What's your? What are your favorite?
Speaker 3:
Oh, my gosh, I am so glad you asked that question. My favorite are linking cubes because they can be used for so many things. They're those little unit like well, unifix cubes or linking cubes or the little cubes that snap together. I love them because you can put them in a 10 frame and then link them together, because making one 10 out of 10 ones is really challenging for kids. You can unlink them and put them back into your 10 frame so kids can see that thing that looks like a one, the rod actually is 10 ones. You can put them back together. You can use them for addition and subtraction, so basic computation. And then you can also use them for stacking to make a nice three-dimensional bar graph, so for statistics, because I'm a big fan of statistics, so I like using linking cubes to show we can make our stacks in our bar graphs.
Speaker 1:
Thank you so much for sharing that. I wish the folks listening could have seen Liz's face when Danielle asked that question, because she was actually smiling ear to ear and got very excited to share. So, liz, as always, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for being here and to our listeners. She also wrote a blog on this. If you're interested, it's linked in the show notes. So we appreciate you and your insights, as always.
Speaker 3:
Thank you, thank you, thanks, ladies.
Speaker 1:
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Speaker 4:
And remember, be you be true, be extraordinary. The Extraordinary Educators Podcast is produced by Curriculum Associates. Social media by Atsi Hannon, guest booking by Sari Labaris, production by Haley Browning. This podcast is copyright, material and intellectual property of Curriculum Associates.