Reflect after reading the Introduction and Chapter 1:
Why do the types of tasks matter in math classrooms? Why is the delivery important?
Consider the following questions:
- What is resonating with you from the reading?
- What caused you to pause and think during this section?
Respond and Interact
After reading these chapters, 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.
"Problem solving in not the precise application of a known procedure. It is not the implementation of a taught algorithm" is a quote that resonated with me. In my resource room groups it feels like we are always getting bogged down with which operation is needed to solve the problem. My students struggle with taking risks and being okay with having a "wrong" solution to the problem. It often feels like they are trying to wait me out until I give them the correct solution. I am excited to explore and try out some of the highly engaging thinking tasks. I have a little more flexibility to not follow a pacing guide in the special ed setting, so I will be able to devote a more time to these highly engaging tasks.
ReplyDeleteThe behaviors on page 9 was interesting and got me to thinking of my students past and present and where they fit into these behaviors. I really do notice students sitting and waiting for someone to answer or for me to tell. I took photos of the thinking tasks throughout the book and am anxious to present them. So many questions about how the ideas in this book and the new math curriculum are going to feel good. Right now I'm just anxious. I have so many questions. It's all presented as if we have total control over our schedule and timing. I remember reading something in this chapter about furniture not facing "front" but then on the other hand, I've had a principal tell me my desks were wrong because they weren't facing front.
ReplyDeleteI felt myself seeing the faces of many of my past students as I read the behaviors also. I actually read a little ahead in chapter 2 about collaborative groups, which was interesting to connect to these behaviors as well.
DeleteI was nodding as he was describing the "studenting" behaviors. I felt convicted when I read, "Thinking is a necessary precursor to learning, and if students are not thinking, then they are not learning." It reminded me of so many math lessons where I just stood up there and asked kids to do what I was doing. They weren't thinking at all - they were just mimicking me. 😳 I hope they had a better teacher somewhere down the road. lol.
ReplyDeleteI felt this comment, Renae! I often have students mimicking my steps and I wonder why they can generalize the information (hanging my head in shame).
DeleteMe too.... (Sad face!)
DeleteOne of the things that resonated with me from the Intro and Chapter One was the idea of not if a math task is good or bad, but examining what it is good for. To that end, tasks and delivery matter because the type of task selected and how that task is delivered create an outcome. If the goal is to achieve the outcome of students who think about math in a way that will sustain them throughout their lifetime, attending to choosing thinking centered tasks and delivering them in a way that creates thinking classrooms is essential. For me personally as a student learning math who did so mostly by mimicking and didn't truly learn to think about math until I became a teacher, this would have been in a game changer! In addition, the macro and micro moves resonated with me as they are applicable changes that can be made in a classroom to move toward changing the outcome for students. Specific teacher moves that can be implemented to get students thinking more is such a great place to start!
ReplyDeleteWell, I loved all of what I have been reading! As I was reading through all the author was saying about non-curricular tasks, scripted curricular tasks and regular curricular tasks, I kept thinking, there must be a sweet spot for both a progression of these tasks and/or how many of the non-curricular tasks would be enough to create a classroom culture of thinking and then be able to weave in more regular curricular or scripted curriculum tasks. At last it came when he talked about maintaining the positive effect and affect (remembering to pose it as a challenge). I think this sweet spot will be different for each group of students, but exciting to watch it happen!
ReplyDeleteYes! Agreed! We are always modifying depending on the group we have-some years may be able to incorporate more of the non-curricular? I was also thinking having a few extra minutes here and there (after pack up, before lunch, etc.) would be a great time to throw in some of those quick non-curricular engaging tasks that don't need to take long.
DeleteSomething that resonated with me was on page 20-"Once routinization happens, students are mimicking rather than thinking. Good problem solving tasks are also rich tasks.." I enjoyed reading about the different types of tasks and would love to learn more about card tricks. I enjoy numeracy tasks because anytime there's a connection to a child's real life, it can be so engaging. This book reminds me of the change in thinking with our new math curriculum, we are asking students to do something without at first telling them how. The engaging warm up tasks seem to be more geared toward a thinking classroom, and gives students more ownership in problem solving. My kids seem to really enjoy them! Something that I always remember doing as a kid, and surely wasn't from our third grade curriculum was a soduku each day from the newspaper on an overhead projector with my third grade teacher, as a whole class. I have no idea what else I learned that year but I did learn how to play soduku-which I believe would be considered a non-curricular task. It was engaging and memorable. I love the idea of these rich tasks and look forward to learning more about a thinking classroom in this book!
ReplyDeleteThis book is making me uncomfortable but it is so true! I feel like I am shoving information at these kiddos (too much to teach, so little time!) and I know better but wow! It does say, "Stop worrying about curriculum".... but!?!?!
ReplyDeleteWhat really resonated with me was, on page 30 it said, "Mimicking is an addiction that is easily acquired at lower grades and difficult to give up on lower grades". As a 2nd grade teacher we often teach by -I do, we do, and you do- which is great, at first! My question... is how do we get rid of the "addiction" and can't wait to read more!