Author Archives: Cathy Yenca

Blogarithm Guest Post #1 of 4

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Cathy Yenca

It’s my pleasure to have the opportunity to share on NCTM’S Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School “Blogarithm” blog!  Check out the first post of four using the link below. A special thanks to Dr. Clayton Edwards for the opportunity! … Continue reading →

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Free Your Mind… and the Tech May Follow

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Cathy Yenca

I’m still in that mushy state between being on break and being back to school.  An opportunity that helped firm up a few brain cells for me this week was a day with Team Desmos a la Dan Meyer and … Continue reading →

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Exponential Growth, Similarity and a Partridge…

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

The last class or two before Christmas break is a precious time.  Students have finished all of their dreaded exams, and they come to class asking, “Are we going to *DO* anything today?!?” My answer is usually along the lines … Continue reading →

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How do you make student thinking visible?

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

Want to know what your students are thinking?  How do you get that thinking out of their heads in a format that you, as their teacher, can view, analyze, and use for instructional decision-making?  Do you keep this “visible thinking” … Continue reading →

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Book Creator, Take 3!

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  As the semester winds up (exams!) and then winds down (winter break!) it’s become a good time to give my students some creative opportunities to reflect on what they’ve learned throughout the year. … Continue reading →

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#NCTMregionals #MTBoS Nashville

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

My brain is still on overload from the NCTM Regional Conference in Nashville.  I can’t count how many times I engaged with Twitter/blogger faces in 3D whom I’ve respected virtually since I learned about this Twitter/blog thang.  What a thrill to … Continue reading →

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Match My Line: @Desmos #ActivityBuilder Style

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

My students “discovered” slope-intercept form in class last Friday through a paper-pencil graphing exploration that had just the right frustration level to get them talking, exploring, and revising until they “got it”.  While we didn’t have a lot of time … Continue reading →

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Desmos Activity Builder – Not to be Missed!

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

Has it ever been so simple to create and share interactive math lessons that rock?  The Desmos Activity Builder is inspiring math educators all over to take lesson ideas to new levels.  Head on over to Twitter and search for … Continue reading →

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#WODB Nearpod Warm-Up #VariablesBothSides

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

If you haven’t used Which One Doesn’t Belong? with students, you might be missing out on some pretty awesome dialogue.  The idea that there isn’t just one cut-and-dry answer makes justifying one’s choice a safe challenge. Students have been solving … Continue reading →

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You Don’t Teach

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

Okay, let’s be clear. I *DO* teach.  A lot. But students don’t often know how to articulate that *how* I’m trying to teach may differ, at times, from some of their past math-class experiences. They might not know exactly how … Continue reading →

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