Q&A with Jody Guarino
The UC Irvine lecturer's book, Nurturing Math Curiosity With Learners in Grades K-2, is set for publication on May 31, 2024.
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By Carol Jean Tomoguchi-Perez
May 13, 2024 Jody Guarino, Ed.D., is a lecturer at the UC Irvine School of Education and is the manager of the Teaching, Learning and Instructional Leadership Collaborative at the Orange County Department of Education, where she supports teaching and learning within coherent instructional systems. In her work at UC Irvine, Guarino has the privilege of learning alongside scholars, teacher educators and graduate students to understand and support adult and student learning. She is the author of Nurturing Math Curiosity With Learners in Grades K-2, which will be published on May 31. Q: Can you explain why math curiosity is especially important to cultivate in K-2 students? A: Kids are born curious. I remember my own kids were always asking why, but at some point that stopped. We see kids grapple with ideas and test things out – what does that look like at school, in classrooms where there are a lot of kids? Are there ways to nurture children’s natural curiosity? |
Jody Guarino
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How is math curiosity different in K-2 students compared to older students in grades 3-6, and beyond?
We've seen K-2 students showing curiosity and having a willingness to share it with others. They have great ideas and are excited to share. When we don't make time for that curiosity to shine, students may lose the willingness or excitement to explore as they get older. It's important to keep building on that curiosity so that students can keep mapping new ideas onto things they already know.
What motivated you to author Nurturing Math Curiosity With Learners in Grades K–2?
I didn’t set out to write a book; I set out to learn with a group of teachers because we were curious. Looking back, I wish I knew what I learned when I spent 18 years in a primary classroom. I thought, how can others have an opportunity to learn from the classrooms we were in?
In my own elementary learning, I didn’t learn like this; math was let me show you what to do and now you repeat that until you can do it with automaticity. I didn’t even imagine what this experience could look like or sound like for children or for me as the teacher. I thought of how my own experience, or my own children’s experience could have been different.
Can you summarize what K-2 teachers can expect to learn from Nurturing Math Curiosity With Learners in Grades K–2?
Teachers can expect to have an image of what mathematical argumentation can look like and sound like in primary classrooms. They will have tools and resources to enact argumentation in their classrooms through instructional routines, support for language development and setting up their learning communities. Teachers will have the voices of colleagues alongside them in this journey as they hear from other classroom teachers, and make connections to their own practice.
How will students benefit from your book?
Students will learn alongside their teacher and peers as they investigate mathematical ideas and communicate their ideas; they will justify and create proofs; they’ll experience the discipline of mathematics. They’ll engage in the ideas of their peers and their peers will engage in their ideas. They’ll see the brilliance in others and others will see their brilliance.
Did your background as a UC Irvine lecturer for 18 years, a mathematics coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education for 10 years, and your experience as a curriculum developer and designer influence the approach you took when writing your book?
Yes! As we considered the book – writing to teachers for teachers, my background as a teacher, what would be useful, what would argumentation look like – we had an amazing opportunity to learn from teachers we worked with and we wanted to share that
Did you encounter any challenges when writing the book?
We learned a lot in writing the book, from finding our own voices to telling a story. We had learned so much; how could we possibly share it all?
What did you find most rewarding while writing the book?
Getting to share our learning alongside the teachers we worked with; we learned so much and saw children and teachers do so many brilliant things, and the opportunity we have to share this and perhaps allow others to have rich learning opportunities because of it.
Do you have plans for future books? Can you share what topics they will cover?
There are 3-5 books in the works. We’re still in the learning stage and spending time in upper grade classrooms, and I anticipate working with a few UCI Master of Arts in Teaching + Credential program alums.
We've seen K-2 students showing curiosity and having a willingness to share it with others. They have great ideas and are excited to share. When we don't make time for that curiosity to shine, students may lose the willingness or excitement to explore as they get older. It's important to keep building on that curiosity so that students can keep mapping new ideas onto things they already know.
What motivated you to author Nurturing Math Curiosity With Learners in Grades K–2?
I didn’t set out to write a book; I set out to learn with a group of teachers because we were curious. Looking back, I wish I knew what I learned when I spent 18 years in a primary classroom. I thought, how can others have an opportunity to learn from the classrooms we were in?
In my own elementary learning, I didn’t learn like this; math was let me show you what to do and now you repeat that until you can do it with automaticity. I didn’t even imagine what this experience could look like or sound like for children or for me as the teacher. I thought of how my own experience, or my own children’s experience could have been different.
Can you summarize what K-2 teachers can expect to learn from Nurturing Math Curiosity With Learners in Grades K–2?
Teachers can expect to have an image of what mathematical argumentation can look like and sound like in primary classrooms. They will have tools and resources to enact argumentation in their classrooms through instructional routines, support for language development and setting up their learning communities. Teachers will have the voices of colleagues alongside them in this journey as they hear from other classroom teachers, and make connections to their own practice.
How will students benefit from your book?
Students will learn alongside their teacher and peers as they investigate mathematical ideas and communicate their ideas; they will justify and create proofs; they’ll experience the discipline of mathematics. They’ll engage in the ideas of their peers and their peers will engage in their ideas. They’ll see the brilliance in others and others will see their brilliance.
Did your background as a UC Irvine lecturer for 18 years, a mathematics coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education for 10 years, and your experience as a curriculum developer and designer influence the approach you took when writing your book?
Yes! As we considered the book – writing to teachers for teachers, my background as a teacher, what would be useful, what would argumentation look like – we had an amazing opportunity to learn from teachers we worked with and we wanted to share that
Did you encounter any challenges when writing the book?
We learned a lot in writing the book, from finding our own voices to telling a story. We had learned so much; how could we possibly share it all?
What did you find most rewarding while writing the book?
Getting to share our learning alongside the teachers we worked with; we learned so much and saw children and teachers do so many brilliant things, and the opportunity we have to share this and perhaps allow others to have rich learning opportunities because of it.
Do you have plans for future books? Can you share what topics they will cover?
There are 3-5 books in the works. We’re still in the learning stage and spending time in upper grade classrooms, and I anticipate working with a few UCI Master of Arts in Teaching + Credential program alums.
