The project was introduced to the staff by the administrator and the content leader; the following points were made:

• Just as we’ve recently spent time injecting language arts concepts and skills into all classes, our standards also dictate that math concepts, specifically the Standards for Mathematical Practice, also be made a part of all classes.
  
  
• In the minds of the administration, the instructional coaches, and the math department, the most convenient and effective way to communicate these ideas is through a printed booklet.
  
  
• Since ideas from this project will mostly be presented in print, there will be instances when physical staff meetings are replaced with reading time.

   The text was then made available to all teachers; the administrator assigned the first five chapters to be read during Session 2.

   Finally, the content leader gave teachers early notice that we’d be looking for volunteer participants in an exhibition in Session 3 as detailed below.

   The staff read Mathew Chapters 1 through 5.

   In the course of that reading, there is a shift in thought; Chapter 4 begins a focus on what to do (instead of what not to do). As a result, the administrator encouraged teachers by email to read Chapters 4 and 5 with a view of applications to their own classes specifically.

   In Session 1, the content leader mentioned that there would be a need for three teacher volunteers to participate in a math instruction version of ‘Stump the Band’ from the Johnny Carson show. In the activity, teachers were asked to come forward and describe one of their units that they believed had very little chance to involve mathematics; the band (consisting of our three math teachers) would then ask questions of the teacher in hopes of gaining enough information to insert a math connection.

   Teachers were told in advance not to let the math department know any details of what they were planning. They were also told not to expect miracles; this was planned to be much less of a parlor trick and much more of a demonstration of the planning process.

   The math teachers brought some curriculum notes with them to the meeting. They also provided a sealed prize envelope for the day’s three volunteers.

   In this specific activity, the volunteers included a social studies teacher planning a unit on Reconstruction, a resource teacher planning a unit on nouns and plural nouns, and a choir teacher planning a unit on vocal health. As warned, the math department didn’t exactly hit any of them out of the park, but it did come up with some ideas involving economics, math vocabulary, and data collection that were reasonable.

   After the volunteers were through, the content leader closed by reiterating some of the points that were central to the purpose of the activity:

• Math does not need to be involved in everything. Even though we might be able to push a connection, if it adds nothing to the lesson, it is best left out.
  
  
• Connections must be grade-level appropriate. If the associated level of math is too high, we teach kids that math makes things worse. If the associated level of math is too low, we teach kids that they only really need the math they studied a couple of years ago … what the current math teacher is selling is useless.
  
  
• Making these connections requires a good deal of back-and-forth between teachers. Math teachers don’t know everything about what happens in other classes; if a non-math teacher simply asks a math teacher what to do, it’s hard to give a useful answer. At the same time, math teachers don’t expect non-math teachers to know what skills are being learned at each grade. Good connections come from good communication … and often, when both parties have had some time to think for a while.

   In closing, one of the best comments about the session was from an English teacher who said, “I liked that the math teachers seemed vulnerable.” It was important to her that the math teachers looked like partners in the process, not as people commanding compliance.

   The staff read Mathew Chapters 6 and 7.

   The administrator assigned the staff an exercise involving the list of transferable terms on page 13 of Mathew. Teachers were instructed to choose four terms from the list and describe how they could incorporate them into their subject areas. Evidence of the incorporation was to be shared with the administrator in six weeks’ time.

   The content leader led the staff in an activity designed to demonstrate that many vocabulary terms from mathematics classes were already in use around the building. A template for a script that introduces and explains the activity is available here.

   At the close of the activity, members of the math department awarded prizes to the winning team and any other staff member who seemed especially deserving in some way. The administrator reminded the staff to read Chapter 8 of Mathew in advance of the next session.

   The content leader led the staff through the That's My World slideshow.

   In the activity, teachers take a short math quiz … but the content of the quiz is built on various types of estimation and calculation that are specific to various disciplines. Success in this activity would be revealing that many teachers already have math built into their curricula, and, in some cases, in a way that may not appear anywhere else in the building … including in math classes.

   The administrator assigned the staff an exercise involving number sense. Teachers were instructed to give an example of how they have incorporated number sense into a lesson. Evidence of the incorporation was to be shared with the administrator in four weeks’ time.

   The staff read Mathew Chapters 9 and 10.

   The administrator assigned the staff an exercise involving fostering a mathematical culture. Using the question stems provided on pages 18 and 19 of Mathew, teachers were instructed to provide evidence of incorporating seven of these stems into daily lessons. Evidence of the incorporation was to be shared with the administrator in six weeks’ time.

   The staff used three final sessions to complete work on curricular links and/or meet with math teachers.

   Teachers who survived the project to this point but still didn't feel that they had suitable ideas for connections between their classes and math concepts were encouraged to look into something involving data analysis; that's a concept that's part of the math curriculum at multiple grade levels and has connections to several different disciplines.

   More information about connections through data analysis is available through this primer. This material was written in 2006, so some of the reference indices to specific standards are outdated ... but the conceptual material itself is still generally current and applicable.