Reflect:
After reading Chapter 1, please post your response to the prompts below by Monday.
Respond:
After reading Chapter 1, please post your response to the prompts below by Monday.
Respond:
1) Since this is our first week, please introduce yourself to the group by sharing your name, what school you work at and what grade you teach.
2) As you read the case of Mr. Harris {pgs 10-15}, consider the following questions and respond to one {or more} of them:
- What does Mr. Harris do during the lesson to support his students' engagement in and learning of mathematics?
- What aspects of Mr. Harris's teaching are similar to or different from your own teaching of mathematics?
- Which aspects of his teaching might you want to incorporate into your own teaching of mathematics?
- In what ways does the case illustrate the eight effective teaching practices in support of ambitions teaching of mathematics?
Interact:
On Tuesday, read your colleagues' reflections and respond to at least one other post by sharing a comment, insight, or interesting possibility by Friday.
Logging you in...
Renae Hanson 59p · 291 weeks ago
shawnseeleydotcom 44p · 290 weeks ago
I’m Shawn Seeley, I work at TES, teach fourth grade, and enjoy long walks on the beach.
After examining the case of Mr. Harris, it has become quite clear to me that (while not obviously stated in the text thus far), Mr. Harris introduced a concept to his students using a task, rather than teaching the concept first. In my teaching, I have always been tempted to teach the concept or set of lessons before asking students to complete a related task. The reason I’m tempted to do this is because I’m worried that students won’t know what to do or where to begin, when in reality, if the task is low-floor, high-ceiling, multiple entry points will exist, allowing students to use underlying strategies and concepts.
When I teach to the task rather than from the task, students miss out on many of the eight effective teaching practices. If the task comes after the instruction, little reasoning is required, and there will be less chance of different mathematical representations to connect, as most students could be expected to use whatever method was covered in class. In turn, there would be little in the way of meaningful mathematical discourse, and I would lose out on an opportunity to build student procedural fluency from conceptual understanding that would have been more evident if I were to assign a task first. Moving forward, I am wanting to incorporate more rich tasks at the beginning of each unit and big idea.
R/S,
Shawn
Eric Richards · 289 weeks ago
Renae Hanson 59p · 286 weeks ago
shawnseeleydotcom 44p · 286 weeks ago
I performed a task to introduce multi-digit multiplication and let students solve it however they could, without any prompting from me. They were encouraged to solve it multiple ways and I provided manipulatives. The results were astounding and students used all of the following strategies: repeated addition, simple doubling, complex doubling, decade partitioning, non-decade partitioning, compensation, and one student solved using the standard algorithm. I was floored! I selected specific instances of each strategy and used them the next day to ask different students (not the ones whose strategy I picked) to make connections between the strategies as they became increasingly sophisticated.
I was a bit worried about it because I was warned that this group of students was a bit "lower" in their math ability, but the results have been amazing. All of my students are now able to reason through all these strategies, and even my lowest students are able to explain (and choose to use!) decade partitioning methods like the area model. I have never felt more optimistic heading into the Unit 2a assessment!
Christine Wilson · 285 weeks ago
I like you're thinking about doing tasks at the beginning or earlier in the unit. I do notice what you are saying about them already "knowing" the task it tied to their learning in the unit. For example if we're doing addition then they automatically know they need to add. I was also thinking that I want to do more of "in your head" tasks but then have them explain by writing out their thinking. It seems to add to their enthusiasm and engagement.
Eric Richards · 289 weeks ago
This is Eric Richards, 4th grade at GPES. The activity with Mr. Harris' class mirrors many of the types of activities we talk about and did during Math Lab last year. I am incredibly excited to look at increasing my use of the 8 practices in math teaching.
What does Mr. Harris do during the lesson to support his students' engagement in and learning of mathematics?
I think he posted an interesting question to them that was open-ended in how they could respond and answer the question. He then proceeded to ask multiple open-ended questions with multiple entry points to how they could answer and respond.
What aspects of Mr. Harris's teaching are similar to or different from your own teaching of mathematics?
Going back to my roots from Teacher-to-Teacher materials, I love to ask questions of students without answering theirs, probing and making them continue to dig deeper into their own thinking. One of my biggest challenges is working questions and activities like this into daily practice, allowing for the learning of "content" and following the "pacing guide". It is an interesting dichotomy how to marry the differing approaches into seamless math instruction.
Which aspects of his teaching might you want to incorporate into your own teaching of mathematics?
I like his approach to bringing in the questions that dig more deeply into Webb's Depth of Knowledge type questions. One of the biggest pieces is getting a balanced math approach while differentiating for all student needs and preparing students to meet grade level standards.
In what ways does the case illustrate the eight effective teaching practices in support of ambitions teaching of mathematics?
This is a great question but tougher to answer as this is an isolated activity in a vacuum of the classroom. It shows when thoughtful activities are part of the work in classrooms, you are able to create opportunities for students to dig deeply into the math.
Julie Rodriquez · 289 weeks ago
One teaching practice Mr. Harris used in his lesson that I would like to incorporate into my own teaching is the strategy of "sharing and comparing" in a new way. My students share their work, ideas, and strategies a lot in our classroom, and I do ask them to compare their work to another students. However, the extra component of having to walk around and find someone else's work that looks different from mine jumped out at me as an "aha" moment. Students are encouraged to think more deeply about their own strategies and critique the strategies of others. They also have opportunities to see other entry points for solving the same problem. I'm going to try this strategy with our next performance task practice day.
shawnseeleydotcom 44p · 288 weeks ago
I also really like this idea because it lets students make connections between multiple solution paths, requiring them to make sense and reason or critique the reasoning of others. I'm looking for ways to do this in my classroom soon, and I think I might have students solve a task for me soon that would show me their understanding of multiplication, since we are headed into our multi-digit multiplication unit. I'm still working out the wording of the task, but it might be something along these lines:
There were 3 groups for an art project. Mr. Seeley gave each group 4 packs of colored pencils. The colored pencils come in packages of 24. How many colored pencils were used for the art project?
I'm interested to see how students might solve this task.
Jen Mako · 288 weeks ago
This was also my "aha" from the chapter. I am looking forward to sharing it with my teammates and trying it during a lesson. I often have students share their thinking and work, but I think having them find similarities and differences will be pretty powerful and lead to deeper understanding.
Liz Cuddie · 286 weeks ago
Jan Clemsen · 285 weeks ago
I, too, liked this compare with a friend. I was fascinated by the students choices as they walked around the room to what they felt was a different strategy then the one they chose. I'm excited to try it again. I'm with you, performance task time. I can really see it working with elapsed time.
Jen Mako · 288 weeks ago
This is Jen Mako. I teach 3rd grade at Glacier Park.
In the Mr. Harris example, I thought his use of a "real-world" question that actually applied to the students increased the level of engagement right from the start. He also asked a lot of questions prompting the students to critique and explain the work of others. He allowed the kids to turn and talk, sharing their thinking. One part of his lesson that I really liked and would like to try in my class was finding a classmate with a different representation and discussing how they are similar and different. This allowed students to learn from one another, revise their thinking, and increase their conceptual understanding. I liked how this kind of sharing allowed kids the time to be reflective and feel safe to share and change their ideas.
Stephanie Clement · 287 weeks ago
I agree. There was a ton of "math talk" involved in this lesson. I would also like to try having them find a classmate who used a different strategy. This gives them both the opportunity to explain their thinking and how they solved the problem. I also agree that it creates a safe environment for them to share.
Stephanie
Stephanie Clement · 287 weeks ago
Renae Hanson 59p · 286 weeks ago
Traci Cline · 286 weeks ago
As I read this chapter the one thing that stood out to me was the idea of developing an identity as a capable mathematician. I think that Robert Harris is an example of making his room a place where that can happen. Students entered the task at their level and were able to talk to others to explain their thinking. Everyone had something to contribute and there was no opt out given. To me that is how get all kids engaged in math.
Caty Carino · 286 weeks ago
I totally agree with you! I like having a classroom environment where it is okay to make a mistake and not be afraid to share out answers. I think it really benefits a child's confidence when they feel comfortable sharing their work whether is correct or incorrect. I think it also goes along with growth mindset and being able to say we can learn from our mistakes or I don't get it... yet.
Sara Spangler · 286 weeks ago
Mr. Harris used a real world situation that the students may be able to relate to which is something I try to incorporate into my teaching as regularly as possible. I feel that his lesson is very comparable to lessons that I've facilitated in my classroom. One of my goals for this year is to grow the math discourse that happens in my classroom. Mr. Harris had some great questions ready to ask of the students to help their discourse. I really liked how he had them go find someone with a different strategy. I often showcase different strategies, but it happens from me finding them not letting the kids find it themselves. This example really showed how having a safe classroom environment really ups the level of ownership and learning: such a great read!
Susan Heater · 286 weeks ago
I completely agree with what you said about them finding someone else with a different approach. I do the same thing you had mentioned. I teach them different strategies, but I need to work on allowing for more productive struggle because I have seen how kids can come to these strategies on their own and it is so much more meaningful when they find them on their own.
George Czarnowski · 286 weeks ago
1-Mr. Harris did have some great questions for the students that can help drive the discussions in a math class.
2- I also liked how he had students go find a student who did the problem differently than they did.
Susan Heater · 286 weeks ago
Mr. Harris helps kids stay engaged by choosing a scenario that was relevant to the kids. They had a band concert coming up, so they can actually see how multiplication can benefit them in a real-world situation. He gave them think time to determine a strategy on their own, and then had them share their strategies with a partner. He asked open-ended questions and asked students to elaborate by saying "Can someone add on?" and "Can someone else say this in their own words?"
My teaching style is similar to Mr. Harris' teaching style in that I really put effort in to making sure the kids can apply the concepts to real-world scenarios. I also try to ask open-ended questions.
I would like to do better at having the kids elaborate on their answers and would like to focus on more problem-solving questions where the kids can go in-depth with their answers than having them fill out most of the journal pages.
Having them discuss the similarities and differences between their approaches allows them the opportunity to justify their own approach and critique the reasoning of others and also to own their work.
Caty Carino · 286 weeks ago
Liz Cuddie · 286 weeks ago
Rachelle Bainton · 286 weeks ago
Sara · 257 weeks ago
I agree with you about the idea of kids doing more sharing and reflecting in small groups or partners before sharing whole class. This gives those kiddos who struggle a bit more time to listen to a partner and then reflect on their own thinking.
Rachelle Bainton · 286 weeks ago
Traci Cline · 286 weeks ago
Christine Wilson · 286 weeks ago
Clark Kostohris · 286 weeks ago
Julie Rodriquez · 286 weeks ago
Jill Arnold-Phillips · 285 weeks ago
George Czarnowski · 286 weeks ago
What aspects of Mr. Harris's teaching are similar to or different from your own teaching of mathematics?
I find that I have a similar teaching style to Mr. Harris. I have always tried to "loudly" celebrate how students can approach math in different ways. In particular I often have kids share out their work to the class so everyone can see how different students tackled the same math problem in different ways. I also think this is critical as it helps students "see" another way to approach a math problem.
Meribeth Rowe · 286 weeks ago
Grade 3 teachers ~ I used problem 24 on page 98 of the student journal today as a performance task problem. Kids used white boards and had to find a partner who had solved the problem in a similar way. It was noisy, but the excitement and thinking was evident!
Jan Clemsen · 285 weeks ago
Jill Arnold-Phillips · 285 weeks ago
I really loved this task, it was complex and interesting enough to take some thinking but also accessible using multiples of 10. His questioning kids as they worked is so important. Often kids are working away on a task and when they have to "explain" their work to someone else, they sometimes realize that they may need to change something, or everything, add labels, or just re-think. I also use questioning, especially when kids are drawing their thinking. I've found when I question them, they usually realize they need to add labels or some kind of explanation. I have used the wipe boards and had student groups share out so the rest of the class can see their thinking. It was very powerful for the students to see the variety of ways to solve a problem. I'd like to try having kids find a classmate who used a different strategy or representation with their individual work too, I have generally been doing that with partners or small groups.