ROUNDING UP: SEASON 5 | EPISODE 3

Representations, language, and symbols are all important ingredients in building students' conceptual understanding and fluency. But how can we understand the relationship between those three ingredients? And what happens if we leave any one of them out of the recipe?

In this episode, we explore these questions with Dr. Patrick Sullivan, professor of mathematics at Missouri State University.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Patrick Sullivan teaches mathematics content and methods courses for future K–12 teachers at Missouri State University. His work focuses on helping teachers unleash children's mathematical brilliance, particularly in the areas of number, fractions, multiplication, and mathematical reasoning. He has published in the areas of elementary mathematics education, mathematical authority, technology-supported learning, and statistics education.

Dr. Sullivan is the author of See It, Say It, Symbolize It (Solution Tree), which challenges educators to rethink how mathematics is taught and learned. He is also the past president of the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the founder and director of the Young Mathematics Teacher Academy, a program designed to encourage and mentor high school students interested in becoming mathematics teachers. Formerly, he served as a school leader and high school mathematics department chair. He has received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and the Missouri Teacher Educator of the Year Award.

RESOURCES

See It, Say It, Symbolize It book

Unleashing Mathematical Brilliance website

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction • Building Mathematical Understanding

00:32 - Grandma Edna's Math Lesson

05:44 - See It, Say It, Symbolize It

09:21 - Concept Images & Fractions

14:07 - Language as the Connector

21:46 - Equal Exchange

26:02 - Making Sense of Symbols

32:51 - Connecting Math Across Grades

37:43 - Wrapping Up

TRANSCRIPT

Click here for a full episode transcript.