Maureen Malley believes she and her middle school math students are on a shared adventure in her Upper School Math class.  Using the innovative ‘flipped classroom’ strategy, students familiarize themselves with new content at home and then come to class primed to ask questions, brainstorm and practice their skills in a creative, collaborative setting.

But every worthwhile adventure begins with the same tool: a reliable guide making it crystal clear what a student has mastered and what lies on the road ahead...

Enter Miss Malley’s Math Maps, a concept the Whitby School math department co-chair hopes will catch on across subject areas.

“It creates more flexibility with pacing with students,” said Malley, who teaches three levels of Algebra I. “It’s nice for kids to spend time on things they need to spend time on. You don’t have to hold everyone to the median pace. Students who are motivated and take the initiative like the flexibility it offers.”

Malley and Design Teacher Phil Lohmeyer came up with the maps as a way to make teacher intent more visible.

“I help Maureen figure out what is needed to complete each math unit and come up with symbols to represent each task, such as houses, bridges, trees, quicksand and school buildings,” Lohmeyer said. “Then we lay out the symbols across the 11”x17” map.

“Both Maureen and I really want to come up with effective ways to represent each unit’s specific mathematical journey, through the map.”

A unit on polynomials, for instance, includes stops for mastering definitions, multiplying polynomials and simplifying rational expressions. Students complete corrections as needed, and once they’ve mastered the core material of a unit they can opt for “math bonuses” to stretch their understanding even further.

The maps also allow Malley to assess where individual students are at a glance.

“It only takes two or three days to have kids in wildly different places,” she said. “This makes it easier for me to monitor progress and for students to have confidence to move at their own pace.”

The flipped classroom and maps are possible, in part, because Whitby encourages opportunities for challenging assumptions, thinking critically and acquiring skills that will prove invaluable throughout students’ educational and professional journeys.

“The leadership at our school is always supportive of us taking risks and trying something new,” Malley said. “This is something we live every day.”

 Thanks for reading, and feel free to check out Miss Malley's Math Maps below!