Mary Hurley • Negotiating the Fifth Grade Math Curriculum: Compliance and Revision

Mary Hurley stresses that in addition to covering the math curriculum, a priority in her teaching is to support the students' ability to express what they think. She points out, "Sometimes the hardest work I do in the class is to really hone in on what I'm hearing - what it is that they're really saying that captures their math thinking. Then taking that to the next step, I have to think hard about what is going to be a really deep but compassionate question that is going to move them further and at the same time open it up to another group of kids who possibly didn't understand it. Listening is intense because you don't know what is going to happen next. And of course, I make all kinds of assumptions about what I think they understand that they may not." She also adds that moving through the curriculum is but a frame for the intense teaching and learning that takes place in the classroom. Listening intently, responding deeply, working collaboratively, and talking together about concepts and strategies are all integral parts of the math in her classroom.