Watch the video Math Class Needs a Makeover and read the excerpt from Principles to Actions. Pay close attention to the 8 Math Teaching Practices on page 10 and the chart on page 11 that outlines Productive and Unproductive Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Mathematics.
Consider
Respond and Interact
After watching and reading, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
- What is resonating with you from this video and reading?
- What caused you to pause and think?
- What math experiences from your own classroom came to mind as you were watching and reading?
After watching and reading, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
One thing that resonated with me in the video was when Dan Meyer deconstructed the textbook ski lift problem. When he began sharing all of the possible opportunities for active engagement and math learning. In the article the first bullet states that students should, "engage with challenging tasks that involve active meaning making and support meaningful learning"- Removing some of the labels and procedural clues allow students to think about the problem in different ways...conversation ensues, "Math serves the conversation." Of course, right? Giving the students time to explore and genuine curiosity regarding math in the real world. Another aspect that stood out in the article was the "dominant cultural beliefs" on how math should be taught. I never really thought of how some of the general contempt/dislike of "new math/common core math" has an impact on how math is taught. I think the chart comparing unproductive and productive beliefs will be a useful talking point to reinforce the value of the shifts in instruction. M.Bradley (SLES, 4th)
ReplyDelete"Mila, I agree, "the chart comparing unproductive and productive beliefs will be a useful talking point to reinforce the value of the shifts in instruction." New math" is always the scape goat. I have seen parent comments on an example of computation where the student was building number sense while working through a problem in a complex way. The comments were just about why have students go through all that work? Instead, the comments said, they should just use simple computation. We have to help families understand.
DeleteI think helping our students develop a "productive disposition" is the most important part of our job as math teachers. "To see sense in mathematics, perceive it as useful and worthwhile, and to believe that steady effort in mathematics pays off, and to see oneself as an effective learner and doer of mathematics." In trying to promote the productive disposition in our classroom we talk about math being building blocks of learning and we have to keep on trying our best to build our learning. I don't think students and or parents always really understand how challenging new learning is if there are missing parts in their learning. That's encouraging the steady effort part. As students collaborate on their work, they are instructed to only ask questions and not to tell answers. If someone provides too much information, they are reminded not to steal the other person's joy of figuring the task out.
ReplyDeleteWe don't want to shape neural pathways into solving simple problems. We want to provide rich open ended questions with real life applications which will engage our students. I love the warm up activity, "Which one doesn't belong." I am always so impressed with the unique thinking that is shared during these activities. And as child describes their reasoning in their own way, it opens doors for others' thinking.
Agreed, the missing parts sure do make things tricky! I am really struggling...have always struggled figuring how to support those w/"missing" foundational concepts. How do I create accessibility and practice while moving along? I appreciate the collaboration, the discussion, and the productive struggle. It seems that our practices change, but so often our assessments do not so things seem so disjointed- it is discouraging.
ReplyDeleteI was also struck by the quote "the math serves the conversation; the conversation doesn't serve the math." It reminded me of an Annie Fetter video that I watched years ago about creating genuine curiosity among our learners. It was in this video where I was first introduced to, "What do you notice?" and "What do you wonder?" These two simple questions have been game changers for me in launching a lesson. I was so glad when I learned that IM uses these questions so frequently in their lessons.
ReplyDeleteSo, I joined a little late in the group. I got started and already I am energized by what I saw in the video. Many of the comments you all have made resonate with me. Mila- your comment regarding assessments is one that I think needs some thoughtful exploration. Kathleen- my favorite part of the new math lessons is the warm-up activities. The discussion is lively and teaches kids to really look at all of the information. I can see how the routines being established at the elementary are foundational skills for the upper grades! One of the most loved math activities in my class over the past several years has been the Esti-mysteries problems. Students made sense of problems and persevered in solving them with enthusiasm. I am inspired to make use of them soon.
ReplyDeleteThe ski lift problem is still playing in my mind. Stripping it down and giving ownership to the students is genius! Questioning, decision making and problem-solving opportunities become authentic. I had a geometry teacher in high school that made learning fun and interesting in a very similar way!
While watching the video it made me think how can I apply to my classroom and make this meaningful for all students who are learning at various levels. I like how he broke down the problems to make them more relatable and took the "math" out of them at first, then gradually introduced more complex thinking. I also like that they are not trying to get the answer right away. In math, I have given the answer to them but then they have to prove how to get the answer. I sometimes think that students are so worried about getting the answer correct instead of focusing on the how. Where as a teacher I am more focused on the how and why. Another thought I had is with this method is time and being able to slow down to really dive deep into one problem rather than multiple.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video I do like the productive struggle he is allowing his students to experience (which seems to inspire them to talk) I would have loved to hear more about how he gets to those that don't seem to have an entry point or point of reference. I think our curriculum now is great that it allows student to student conversation, but feel sometimes like some are being left behind because they are not at the point of access. I am excited to see different options on here like Meribeth the Esti Mysteries - sounds fun and interesting. I also agree with Renae what do I see and What do I wonder are leading questions now and make for fun conversations.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video I think that student experience is very important. This curriculum we are using really benefits student experience and I see my students really engaged in games and the lessons with all the hands on activities. I agree with Jodel about the conversations I hear with my students.
ReplyDeleteAfter viewing the video I think that any way you can encourage students to "talk it out" helps make the student experience and input very important in their growth. I love using the "What do you notice (what do you wonder)" questions with students. I believe that really helps bring them out of their shell and helps them get involved in the lesson.
ReplyDeleteSomething that really resonated with me in both the video & the article is the focus on the students really understanding the concept as a whole, and not just memorizing facts & formulas. The video mentioned the "eagerness for formula" and this is something that I've been noticing lately in our math lessons. We are currently working on division with whole numbers & unit fractions and just today I took a step back, paused and circled back around to the meaning of these equations. I was extremely proud of the kids for piecing together the memorization tactic of looking for which type of number came first in the equation to tell them which type of number (fraction or whole number) the quotient would be. However, when I paused & asked them WHY this was the case, there was a lot of hesitation. My next step was something else that really resonated from the video - using real-life circumstances to make the math relatable. When I put the equation in terms pizza slices that were being shared by a group of people, the engagement & understanding of the lesson and the meaning behind it skyrocketed!
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