Reflect after reading Chapters 8-11:
As you begin to imagine a full lesson in a thinking classroom, what practices will support student autonomy and ownership? How will you know if the practices are working?
Consider the following questions:
- What is resonating with you from the reading?
- What caused you to pause and think during this section?
Those chapters were a lot. I did find some things that I thought were good for my classroom. I liked the idea of mobilizing knowledge. This gets kids asking specific questions of each other and explaining themselves so that others understand. I liked the graphic in chapter 9 that starts with "doing" and goes up the staircase to "creating". I hope to try this. Chapter 10 had the strategy of explaining someone else's thinking. I have used what I call a gallery walk before but not this detailed of a walk. I wonder what this would look like in second grade. How many kids would be able to follow and not be off task?
ReplyDeleteLindsey (TSD)
DeleteI like the idea of a gallery walk Kim, and think modeling first, and going over expectations could really payoff and be an enjoyable learning experience!
There was a lot of information in this section. The part that resonated with me was the discussion on optimal experiences in chapter 9. In order to have an optimal experience students need clear goals at every step, immediate feedback and balance between the ability of the doer and the challenge of the task. There was a great visual on page 148. We want to make sure there is a clear balance between frustration and boredom. I am wrestling with implementing optimal learning tasks in the resource room because I am differentiating between different ability levels within my groups.
ReplyDeleteThis is my response. I forgot to change the name.
DeleteLindsey (TSD)
ReplyDeleteA lot of the ideas shared in these chapters reminded me of learning more about our new math curriculum and giving students more autonomy while working in pairs with others. It is a change of mindset beginning without a mini-lesson and diving right into the activity. Page 161 (chapter 9) reminded me..."do not forget that while students are working their way through the sequence of tasks, you are still in the room. The instruction you would normally give at the beginning of the lesson can now become hints that you use when needed to keep groups moving further up the flow channel." Something that resonated with me was the modes of engagement to increase challenge, and the final step of "creating" being a way that I can support students by giving more opportunities to take a task into their own hands. This reminds me of them creating story problems using pictures in our last unit on whiteboards. Giving them more choices seems to payoff. Reading more about group sharing made me stop and think about how I'm approaching group work. In partner reading, I have groups spread out so they can focus in pairs, and have encouraged math groups to do the same so they're not distracting other groups. Maybe this is something I need to be more flexible with when it comes to partner sharing in math prior to rejoining to synthesize at the carpet. I also thought about how I could include more non-curricular math activities outside of our math block, mentioned in chapter 8. Possibly, during calendar or wrapping up the end of our day.
Something that resonated with me was student autonomy and the idea of teachers not being the sole source of knowledge in the room. Rather, teachers should encourage students to make use of the knowledge in the room with other groups. I can see how teachers being deliberately ‘less helpful’ would promote more interaction between groups and increase student independence.
ReplyDeleteAs I read about consolidation at the end of a lesson in chapter 10, it reminded me of class discussions during problem solving tasks. I found the suggested refinements to the consolidation process intriguing, especially the idea of keeping the students standing and doing more of a gallery walk and having other students explain the thinking of another group instead of the students who did the work. I always had the student who did the work, explain their own thinking. I can see how these refinements would increase student engagement during this part of the lesson.
Patty - I shared your same connections about the gallery walk and having other students explain the thinking of another group. This would require so much more thinking and it would be way more engaging. Wish I would have learned this 10 years ago...so good!
DeleteThere was so much packed in these few chapters that made me stop and think and quite honestly made me feel anxious! Finding "optimal experiences" and maintaining the balance between ability and challenge is an everyday exhausting battle for me. On page 158, it states "when students are solving a task, their mode of engagement is doing"... but I love how it further explains that if I ask them to justify their answer by saying they are not correct or if they would bet $100 dollars on their answer they are being challenged and convincing themselves they are correct! I have tried this and it is golden, especially to those that are early finishers and think they get it all the time! It allows these particular students to stop and think, rather than rush and do all their work!
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of gallery walks/consolidation where the kids are being challenged to further their knowledge beyond the "doing and telling" to decoding someone else's work and "necessitates their thinking"! I want to allow more time for this!
For this section, the chapter that resonated with me the most was Chapter Nine about using hints and extensions. This was because I was covering in a classroom where the teacher had structured a group activity with math around the room that ended with extensions that built on the flow groups had developed through the other problems they had solved. The result was groups excited to get to the extensions and willing to be persistent even though they were extremely challenging. One struggle that I faced was supporting the groups in being responsible for the learning of each member. I tried to work with a couple groups on strategies of how to support each other's learning, like doing each step together, checking with each other, etc. It is certainly an area I would like to explore more and build my skills.
ReplyDelete