CPM Professional Learning Portal

The dashboard is a virtual location where CPM users can interact with the Learning Management System. It provides at-a-glance views of instructional element outcomes progress.

Deficit thinking refers to the notion that students (particularly low income, minority students) fail in school because such students and their families experience deficiencies that obstruct the learning process (e.g. limited intelligence, lack of motivation and inadequate home socialization). Deficit Thinking does not Support Productive Struggle in Learning Mathematics.

A deficit mindset often results in Educators rescuing students from difficult tasks, and removing the opportunity for productive struggle. 

• “Teachers sometimes perceive student frustration or lack of immediate success as indicators that they have somehow failed their students. As a result, they jump in to “rescue” students by breaking down the task and guiding students step by step through the difficulties. Although well intentioned, such “rescuing” undermines the efforts of students, lowers the cognitive demand of the task, and deprives students of opportunities to engage fully in making sense of the mathematics” Principles to Action, pg. 48

Mindsets must shift about what it means to be “successful” in mathematics. Productive struggle should be considered as a valuable part of the learning process. 

• “Mathematics classrooms that embrace productive struggle necessitate rethinking on the part of both students and teachers. Students must rethink what it means to be a successful learner of mathematics, and teachers must rethink what it means to be an effective teacher of mathematics. “Principles to Action, pg. 49

Depth of Knowledge or DoK is another type of framework used to identify the level of rigor for an assessment. In 1997, Dr. Norman Webb developed the DoK to categorize activities according to the level of complexity in thinking.  CPM Classwork problems are often DoK level 3 or 4, while Review & Preview problems are often level 1 or 2.

Good feedback improves student learning. It has the following qualities:

Specific: It is a tool for future change.  Ask yourself, "What worked?" or "What does the student understand?" Then ask, "What needs improvement?"  

Actionable: Emphasize what could be done differently rather than what is wrong.  Actionable feedback is often in the form of a question.  "How could you have justified this differently?"

Timely: The most effective feedback is immediate and frequent.  How can your feedback be timely for both formative and summative work?

Respectful:  Make an effort to look for the good while still focusing on future changes. How can this work be an asset for future learning not just for this student but other students?

Some lessons include questions embedded in the task that study teams should use to guide their discussions, investigations, and problem-solving processes.