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.
I was nodding as he was describing the "studenting" behaviors. I also 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 the same. I couldn't place what those "studenting" behaviors were until he started listing them and I thought, "oh yeah, I know they types 😅". I was one of them! The faking was a big one for me and I remember how stressed out I was that 1)not only was I stressed about not understanding the content, but 2)I was afraid I would be found out. I wasn't encouraged to think, nor did I feel I could think "right". I often wonder how many of my students are experiencing the same stressors and how to balance out encouraging them while also letting them struggle. It is so easy to get discouraged when they struggle or get down on themselves. I'm still working on how to support them without taking that opportunity away from them to think.
DeleteI wrote down the same quote because it resonated deeply with me. It is hard to let go of so much guilt; I am holding on to "know better. Do better." To do better mathematically, I am looking forward to digging into the normative structures and institutional norms to move toward a thinking classroom. The primary example on p. 21 would be a great thinking task to give to a small little parent run math group. I have some very capable mathematicians this year. I am finding it hard to meet their needs because, so far, there seems to be no time to differentiate.
ReplyDeleteReading the intro and chapter 1 were super convicting in the fact that this is why I have been struggling so much with unit 2. I am not used to using a math curriculum that requires thinking and neither are my students! Unit 2 has been a real struggle and this hit the nail on the head so to speak. Also, reading about Jane and the 3 problem solving failures resonated with me too! And it gave me hope that as the year progresses I will become a more effective teacher using this curriculum and facilitating thinking (one can hope, right?!!!)
ReplyDeleteSo much is resonating with me from the introduction and Chapter One. Liljedahl talks about beginning the lesson with a thinking task. This reminded me of the warmups we do at the beginning of each lesson. In the month of September, I was noticing the same five students raising their hands to share ideas during the warmup routine. In the end of October and early November, it was obvious that there had been a huge shift. ALL my students raise their hands now to share thinking in warmups (if I give enough wait time). I've also noticed this boosts their confidence for the activities that follow.
ReplyDeleteI really loved that sense of vindication that we're on our way as well! The engagement from the warm-ups alone has drastically changed how my students interact with problem-solving. I like the emphasis in the book that you only have the first 5 minutes to get students on board with the task of thinking before you start to lose them, because it reminds me how important it is to start with the warm-up right away rather than going on my own little speech about what we have been doing and what we are going to do. "Less is more" in terms of getting them engaged to think. I also liked what you said about that "think time" because it goes along with having the patience to give them the thinking opportunity.
DeleteThe main thing that resonated with me was the obvious distinction between "thinking" and "mimicking". I say "obvious" because it seems so clear while reading about the difference between the two, but so much more convoluted while actually teaching. It's so hard to take that step back when students are begging you to just show them HOW to do the task, but it's SO worth it in the long run as the students learn to think and problem solve on their own! I highlighted the sentence, "Furthermore, mimicking tends to create short-term success without the long-term learning that allows students to make connections with other topics in the same and subsequent grades." I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this quote plenty throughout this year as a gentle reminder that giving kids the opportunity think through this curriculum on their own (and avoiding jumping in to "teach" regularly) is hugely beneficial!
ReplyDeleteI would like to "mimic" the comments above to say I also am having this concept resonate with me. This is especially true for when state testing approaches and there is a sudden panic to get as many things taught as possible and no time to give them exposure to what they could need for the state test. I got really excited by the thought of changing norms and really connected with the parts where he talked about changing as many norms as possible because of my tendency to want to change everything in an effort to do what is supposed to be better for kids. I know we all feel that way. I am also recognizing that 2 distinct feelings are going on within me as I read this first part, and they are 1.)I am motivated to change for the better and 2.) I am overwhelmed by the thought that this is an issue at a systemic level and I don't have the time or bandwidth to make all the very best changes right now like I would want to. For this reason, it is noticeable that I have my own biases to reject that which is causing me to stress out. I really appreciate that so far, this book has been a source of challenging those biases with concrete results and careful research. I appreciate the outlining of how the research started, what they were wrong about in how they approached it and how they corrected their approach in changing only one variable at a time.
ReplyDeleteI hope this all makes sense. I am geeking out lol.