Professional Development

We recommend that teachers attend our online, virtual training program. 

The training will consist of seven, online 75-minute sessions.  Conducted live, these interactive sessions will reinforce the big ideas in the LEAP curriculum:

• Equivalence, Expressions, Equations and Inequalities
• Generalized Arithmetic
• Functional Thinking

You will learn why early algebra is so important and how to incorporate LEAP with your current curriculum, followed by specific training for leading the LEAP lessons. The training is appropriate for district leaders, math coaches and classroom teachers who are supporting students in grades 3-5. Outlined below is more specific information about what is covered in each of the seven sessions.

 

Pricing:

Includes access to online training as well as one grade level LEAP resource book per participant.

$350 per person

$300 per person for teams of 5 or more

 

Dates:

First training is August 19, 2021 (8:00-11:00am EST).  Subsequent sessions will take place at one month intervals during the school year.

Sign Up Form

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact us at LEAP@didax.com.

 

Detailed Overview of Training Sessions

Session 1

• LEAP Overview
  • What is Early Algebra? (Practices and Big Ideas)
  • Components of a LEAP Lesson
  • What Happens During a LEAP Lesson?
    • The Teacher’s Role
    • How Lessons Develop Understanding
    • How to Support Struggling Learners
• Evidence of LEAP’s Effectiveness

 

Session 2

• Exploring Early Algebra Practices and Content through Evens and Odds
  • Generalizing Relationships
  • Representing Relationships
  • Justifying Relationships
  • Reasoning with Relationships

 

Session 3 – The Equal Sign

• Why It Matters for Upper Elementary Grades
• Operational vs. Relational Thinking
• LEAP Strategies for Developing Relational Thinking

 

Session 4 – Properties of Operations

• Exploring Early Algebra Practices through the Commutative Property of Multiplication
  • Identifying a Relationship
  • Representing a Relationship through words and variables
  • Understanding Why the Relationship Works
  • Using the Relationship to Simplify Computational Work

 

Session 5 – Relationships in Arithmetic: Revisiting the Case of Evens and Odds

• Developing Conjectures
• Building Good Arguments
  • Use of Examples vs. Representation-based Arguments
• Evaluating Arguments

 

Session 6 – Expressions and Equations

• Exploring Expressions with Unknowns
• Modeling with Equations and Solving for Unknowns

 

Session 7 – Functional Thinking

• Exploring Early Algebra Practices through the String Problem
  • Identifying a Relationship
  • Identifying a Relationship
  • Representing a Relationship through Words, Tables, Graphs, and Variables
  • Reasoning with a Relationship to Understand Function Behavior