Reflect
Read the two summaries linked below to get a better understanding of the design principles and key structures of Illustrative Math. Then watch the short video to learn more about the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Math Discussions.
Consider
- What is resonating with you from these readings or this video?
- What caused you to pause and think?
- What principles or structures from your own math classroom align with some of these beliefs or components?
Respond and Interact
After reading and watching, 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.
“Effective teaching requires being able to support students as they work on challenging tasks without taking over the process of thinking for them”. This statement was one of many that jumped out at me. We want to raise up THINKERS not mimickers. We want our students to be able to explain how they solved the problem, not how their teacher solved the problem. It requires a whole lot of self-control for me not to jump in and show kids how to get started and/or model a more efficient way to solve a problem. But when I do that...I'm robbing them of their chance to think.
ReplyDeleteWhat resonated with me the most this week was the section on developing a math community. I love the chart showing the student vital moves vs the teacher moves. I have always struggled with asking the "right" questions to enhance student thinking and learning. I feel the new curriculum helps with these types of questions but seeing all the different strategies in one place was great! As Renae stated above, "we want our students to be able to explain how they solved problems, not how their teacher solved the problem" and how it requires me NOT to jump right in and show them but ask the vital questions to get them to move that direction!
ReplyDeleteTwo ideas rise to the top for me this week: Building a math community, and cultivating math thinking. There is so much language students absorb about being good at math, liking math, using math in adulthood, etc. and the fun part about TK is that none of them have heard these cliches yet. They have no idea if they are classically "good" at math! This puts me at an advantage when it comes to building a safe learning community, and it makes me want to plant good seeds for them about their identity going forward.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to cultivating math thinking, I can't rely on written numerals yet, so it's all manipulatives, all the time (for now). I am finding it takes a LOT of effort to manage these materials. ;) I am looking forward to honing this management and giving students more meaningful opportunities to explore!
One of my thoughts was, do we have access to this Minds Online space she discussed in the video? Or is this a case where I have to buy the book in order to have access to those resources?
ReplyDeleteSomething that made me pause was that both the example from the video and the reading are pulled from intermediate grades. How can we incorporate these strategies more with the students that are just learning to discuss and understand what they are doing in the primary grades? Especially after reading the Design Principles, it states that primary grades are doing precursor modeling. So are we doing enough of this setup for students to be able to accomplish their own thinking or modeling in the future or is there more we could be doing?
"Students learn mathematics by doing mathematics, rather than by watching someone else do mathematics". In kindergarten we are so used to showing kids how to do things and in the past math was no exception. I am working hard to "monitor" student learning and have patience while my students problem solve. I can be so hard not to jump in! This is definitely an area of growth for me.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of student journals. I wonder if anyone has tried that in the younger grades? I wonder how applicable this would be for us? It would be a great tool for knowing our students better.
It's fascinating how our approach to teaching math has changed. We've realized that students understand mathematical concepts by actively engaging with them, rather than observing and watching. I'm working hard to foster an environment where students can problem solve especially when my students struggle to communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings. However, it's admittedly tough not to intervene immediately when they encounter difficulties; it's a personal area for growth.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Ninan, what do student journals look like in a kinder setting? is it appropriate? It would be such a useful tool to track student learning and understanding and give students the opportunity to reflect on new concepts they have learned or even just the practice of writing to help them remember!