EF + Math Program
- Discoverability
- Visible
- Join Policy
- Open/Anyone
- Created
- 13 Sep 2019
microLabs
microLab 1: Oct 10th
At our first microLab, we created random break-out groups and gave each one a cluster of challenges (the result of the obstacles you put in the Google form and then categorized with Well Sorted) to synthesize and discuss. The objective was to give people a chance to begin to get to know each other, while digging into what's really stopping us from addressing these critical challenge areas.
If you were unable to join the first microLab, you can see a recording of the plenary portion, the overview slides, and the output from the discussions.
microLab 2: Oct 21st
During the second microLab, we continued to explore the challenge of creating powerful math learners, this time from another angle, rooted in the perspective of the users. This was meant to trigger your empathy — to put yourself in the shoes of the actors who are most involved and will feel the impact of this work. Each breakout group selected a user profile, and was given a use case template to fill out.
You can see a recording of the plenary portion of this second microLab, and read all of the use cases that resulted from the rich small-group discussions. There's also a summary of potential solutions, and the hurdles to overcome to reach those possible outcomes.
microLab 3: Nov 1st
In our final virtual workshop running up to the in-person event, we were very fortunate to have a featured speaker, Dr. Rochelle Gutierrez from the University of Illinois. Dr. Gutierrez' scholarship focuses on issues of identity and power in mathematics education, with particular attention to how race, class, and language affect teaching and learning. If you were not able to join, we highly encourage you to watch her presentation in the microLab recording. Here are the slides from her presentation.
Next, with her presentation top of mind, we went into small groups to have discussions that move from exploring the challenge (as we've done in the first two microLabs) to generating potential solutions. We do this by thinking about wishes, and doing so in a specific format:
"Wouldn't it be great if ... (an aspirational statement) BY ... (an interesting potential approach)?"
The groups were asked to reflect back on the obstacles to helping students in under-resourced schools and communities become powerful math learners as well as your understanding of the relationship between Math, Executive Function and Equity. We challenged each group to generate at least 5 WIBGI statements per breakout group at the intersection of the skills and interests of the group members. You can review the output here, and even add to it if you have more ideas.
The microLabs
A microLab is a 90-minute, interactive, virtual event using the video conferencing platform of Zoom. It is not a webinar, which is focused on disseminating information. A microLab is designed to facilitate stimulating discussions in smaller, more intimate virtual breakout groups. It's truly interactive. During the three microLabs, you began to understand the challenge and develop ideas in collaboration with fellow participants.
The microLabs aren't just pre-work. They are a significant part of the entire Team Development process. So we appreciate that you could clear your schedule to attend them as you would a live meeting. We recorded the plenary portions of the microLabs and posted them here in the Hub, but because of the interactive quality of these virtual workshop, the recordings will give you limited value, with the exception of the third microLab with our featured speaker Dr. Rochelle Gutierrez.
About the breakout groups
For those of you who did attend the first two microLabs, you can review the notes you made from your discussions -- the output from microLab 1 and from microLab 2 remains open for you to revisit and refine. You can also review the WIBGIs from microLab3, and in fact you can continue to contribute if you like.
Keep in touch with the people
One of the objectives of these virtual workshops is to help you get a sense for as many of the participants in this program as possible, and have real conversations with them before you meet up at the in-person event in Chicago in November.
If you want to continue any of the conversations you started, checking back in to these Google docs (listed above) is a good way to remember who was in your breakout groups, so you can stay in touch. You can connect to them via the Hub. Just go to the members page and click on the envelope next to the person you'd like to message.