Math
Our math program includes instructional materials, hands-on kits, classroom resources, and professional learning experiences for teachers.
Some Key Features of Argument-Driven Inquiry in Math
Figuring Out Phenomena
All our investigations require students to figure out either a natural, social, or mathematical phenomenon. A phenomenon is something puzzling that we can use math to explain or understand. A phenomenon grounds student learning in a common experience and then uses that experience to feed student curiosity over time. The use of phenomena makes all of our investigations meaningful for students and helps them see math as a tool for making sense of the world.
Use of Mathematical Ideas and Practices
- All of our math investigations are designed so students must use the ideas and practices of math to make sense of a phenomenon. Instead of telling students what they need to know and requiring them to complete practice problems, students are encouraged to grapple with and make sense of important ideas and practices and their use. Our goal is to help students become knowledgeable, flexible, and resourceful mathematical thinkers.
Use of Literacy and Mathematics Practices in the Service of Sense-Making
Our math investigations give students an authentic context to develop their disciplinary-based literacy practices because they read to obtain and evaluate information, talk to communicate, critique, and refine ideas, and write to share what they figured out. The investigations that focus on figuring out natural phenomena also give students opportunities to use the core ideas and practices of mathematics to help them make sense of the world.
Equitable by Design
Our investigations are designed to provide all students with a fair opportunity to learn how to use the ideas and practices of math. The design supports active engagement of all students. Every student feels like their ideas and participation are valued and useful, because they have unique life experiences and ways of talking or thinking. Our investigations invite and support the active engagement of all students in ways that contribute to the development of agency and identity as a knower and doer of mathematics.
All Investigations Stress Collaboration and are Highly Interactive
Students are collaborators who work together as a community to figure something out during an investigation. They are encouraged to examine their peers’ ideas and to consider how to use those ideas to make sense of what they are seeing or doing. Students give each other feedback and help each other improve. These types of activities provide room for, and support the development of, rigorous mathematical thinking over time.
Research-Based and Standards Aligned
We use the Argument-Driven Inquiry instructional model to create all our math investigations. This way of teaching was developed and tested through classroom-based research and then refined over time based on feedback from teachers. We also align each investigation with the CCSS and other state standards so teachers can make informed decisions about when and how to use them.
Easy to Integrate into any Curriculum
Our instructional materials are designed to supplement rather than replace an existing math curriculum. Teachers can add one of our investigations to a unit to give students an opportunity to actually use the concepts they are learning about or they can use one of our investigations to replace a lesson in a unit that is not well aligned with a key standard. These investigations can also be used as a stand-alone learning experience that takes place in-between units to address any topic that is not really addressed in the current curriculum or after a unit to give students another opportunity to learn a concept in a meaningful, rigorous, and equitable way.
Check out an Investigation
Download an example investigation and other useful instructional tools.
Videos
Watch some of our videos to see what an investigation looks like.
Hands-on Kits
Investigation kits include all the hands-on materials that students need.
Classroom Resources
We have whiteboards, dry erase markers, posters, and other resources available.
Instructional Materials
The ADI Learning Hub includes a growing library of math investigations.
The ADI Instructional Model
We use the ADI instructional model to create all of our math investigations.
Ready to make a change?
Set up a meeting with one of our program specialists to learn more about how you can use Argument-Driven Inquiry to make the teaching and learning of math in your district or school more meaningful, rigorous, and equitable.