UnboundEd Blog

Find the latest research, commentary, and resources to empower educators and help all students meet the challenges of higher standards.

The Profound Effects of Language in Both ELA and Math

How do we get students to engage authentically—to genuinely desire to communicate their ideas—in both ELA and math? This is a central question in Dr. Timothy Shanahan’s and Dr. Jeff Zwiers’ keynotes at the summer Standards Institute. United by a desire to improve student outcomes across the country, Shanahan and Zwiers implored participants to examine the role that language, specifically …

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The Mathematics Guides Explained

We often hear educators ask, “What does standards-aligned mathematics instruction look like?” The UnboundEd Mathematics Guides answer this question by providing an in-depth look at one or a few clusters of math standards at a time. Each grade-level guide, from Kindergarten to Algebra II, explains what new, high standards for mathematics say students should learn in each grade. The Mathematics Guides …

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Interview with Dr. Andrew Chen

The math standards can help more students progress, but only if teachers understand them. To help more teachers use the math standards effectively, UnboundEd asked Dr. Andrew Chen, President of EduTron, to discuss the math standards and the type of instruction they require. In this podcast, Dr. Chen explains: The standards from a historical context and how key turning points …

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Gifts From Grandma

Watch as students solve and then discuss an Equal Groups/Group Size Unknown problem. A student uses a level-3 multiplication and division strategy to simplify the problem and make solving it easier. The video shows: Practices that engage students in solving Equal Groups/Group Size Unknown problems. One student decomposing the dividend to complete division with more familiar numbers and a second …

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Replace FOIL with Conceptual Understanding

In this video, Dr. Andrew Chen explains why math educators should replace the “one trick pony” FOIL method with a conceptual instruction that students can apply in multiple situations. Dr. Chen describes: Why the traditional FOIL method most of us learned doesn’t work anymore How to lead students through a “scenic route” that helps students understand why a problem-solving approach …

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