Clark Davidson

 LLAMa PRINCIPLES of LEARNING

Also known as Mrs. Scott’s Math Lab Belief Statement

L

L is for Love – First and foremost we do everything with love.  We treat all kids with dignity and respect.  We show them they are valued and appreciated.   We build relationships with students because they won’t care what we know if they don’t know that we care.   We treat students the way we would want our own children treated.  Sometimes this means tough love – actions have consequences, but it is always rooted in love!

L

L is for Learning –  We believe all students can learn.  We know they don’t all learn at the same rate or in the same way, but they can all learn. Our mission is to help all students.  We meet them where they are and build upon their prior learning to learn new things.  We understand that learning can be hard, but we can do hard things! 

A

A is for Active participation – Math is not “sit and get” it is active, engaging, and meaningful.  We teach math in a variety of ways through auditory, visual, and kinesthetic activities.  Our unique circuit training format includes 6 different stations – Listen & Read, Write & Draw, Number Riddles, Make & Build, Play & Explain, & Music and Movement.   We follow the I do, we do, you do model of instruction.

M

M is for mathematics – Math is not about tips, tricks, and shortcuts, it is about building conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts.  We focus on building students’ conceptual understanding by practicing math concepts concretely, moving on to visual representations, and then working abstractly.  With our coaching, Students will make meaning of math concepts and discover for themselves the tips, tricks, and shortcuts when their understanding is rooted in conceptual thinking.

A

A is for Asking – we ask questions instead of telling answers.  What do you notice?  What patterns do you see?  How is this like other things we have learned?  We give wait time when asking questions and ask other guiding questions to help students through their thinking.  We value productive struggle as a means to deeper understanding and problem solving.