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Chapter 2 - Option 3:

01/11/2019 11:12 PM | Anonymous

The 4 Essential Instructional Strategies (page 28) are 1. Ask-Yourself Questions; 2. Annotation; 3. Sentence Frames & Starters; and 4. Repeat-Rephrase-Reword-Record.

The fifth Core Element of the Instructional Routines is 5. Math Practice Reflection (page 25-26).

Which of these 5 strategies feels most accessible for you to be able to do as a teacher?  Which seems most challenging at this point?


Comments

  • 01/13/2019 5:54 PM | Alison
    The most accessible strategy for me is number 4 - repeat-rephrase-reword-record. I have read "Classroom Discussions - Using Math Talk to help students learn" by Suzanne Chapin, Katherine O'Connor, and Nancy Anderson so I frequently use talk moves in class and record our math ideas. The strategy that will be most challenging is number 1 - ask yourself questions. I think I am in the habit of asking a lot of questions like "what strategy did you use?" and other questions about problem solving. The challenging part is to phrase the questions to be about the math practices (i.e. "How are the quantities related") and then for students to start asking themselves these questions. I look forward to trying these math practice questions with my students. I think it will be valuable for them and will help them be better math thinkers - and in a more broad sense than just learning asking themselves about specific strategies.
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    • 01/18/2019 9:24 PM | Luke
      I ask a lot of questions too but they are more about the steps or reasons "why" and may not be geared toward the math practices. I sometimes get too focused on the math they know, or don't know, than about the strategy or practice.
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      • 01/19/2019 3:36 PM | Amy Lucenta
        Alison and Luke - your capacity to reflect on your practice is remarkable!
        Your students are fortunate that you have articulated next steps that will be so beneficial for them!
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    • 01/27/2019 9:38 AM | David Shimchick
      Hi, Alison.
      I am going to tag onto your response as it is very much what I was going to write myself!
      I am a K-5 math coach and have the opportunity virtually every day to be working with students in each grade. Our core program is Math Investigations where discussion and discourse are embedded components in most lessons so it's commonplace for us to be utilizing the 4 R's - or a close variation that only needs refinement.
      The "Ask- Yourself Questions" will be the most challenging strategy for me also to incorporate because those questions are focused on purposefully and strategically getting at that layer of student thinking (and my own!) that is at the "notice," "attention," "wondering" level. That is new learning and new thinking for me.
      I'm excited because helping students become more adept at figuring out the entry point into a problem has always been a bit of a mystery, even to myself. Just how is it that I knew how to approach a problem? What does my brain actually do when I encounter a problem that is less typical?
      David
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  • 01/16/2019 9:05 AM | Dave Johnston
    I love how intentional the authors are in their examples of these instructional strategies. In our work with English Language Learners, we often use sentence frames, but the examples in this chapter were so well designed to highlight exactly the thinking we want to develop. ("I noticed ___, what did you notice?")

    I want to learn more about the effective use of annotation. I have observed that math teachers want to help "too much," and it rescues students from the productive struggle that is important to their development. I want help finding the line where annotation can help highlight student thinking or focus our understanding without giving away answers.
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  • 01/18/2019 2:35 PM | Leah Frazee
    The most accessible strategy for me is annotations. Annotations are an important part of my own learning. For me, annotating is related to the visual reasoning I use frequently in mathematics, but it helps me to communicate that visual reasoning to others. By creating annotations, I think it helps me build a model of how the problem works and how I might go about solving it. While I know that not all students feel comfortable reasoning visually, it is a valuable skill in mathematics and I want to help my students develop their visual reasoning whenever possible.
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    • 01/18/2019 9:19 PM | Luke
      Annotating is something I use too. However, I find I need to refine some of it at times. I talk through a lot of the steps, or the math, I present and try to balance it with annotating. At times I may annotate too much and then it may be hard for my kids to fully follow the notes.
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  • 01/19/2019 1:23 PM | Michele DeMaino
    I've have been able to incorporate math reflection time at the end of mostly all lessons now even if I'm not using a routine that day. I give students 3 sentence starters and always make my students write at the end of the class. These starters benefit all students to write about their thinking and help wrap up our thinking from class. I have a hard time still displaying some of the reflections when students share out. I teach 5 blocks of 6th grade math. I found that I'm constantly writing on chart paper and then students are not referring back to the chart paper. I need to find new ways to incorporate it into students notes. I could possibly take pictures and post them into their Math Google Classrooms. Something like that? But also not sure students will go and refer to them? I also feel like it is sometimes a challenge to choose the 2 or 3 students annotation and/models to share out during the class in the moment during a routine if I am the only teacher in the room. (One block I have a Special Education Teacher with me)
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  • 01/20/2019 1:48 PM | Karen
    I'm in agreement with Alison for many of the same reasons. I find myself using this strategy constantly in my classroom for a variety of reasons, spanning from some students lack of attention, to ELL students who need simplified rewording. Our 4th grade assessments require detailed explanations of processes, so vocabulary and clear, concise understanding is critical. Number 1~Ask yourself questions, I'm finding allows students to "talk things out" with classmates, who often have the same questions, but possibly different approaches to solutions.
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  • 01/20/2019 3:38 PM | Sarah Giaquinta
    The strategy that feels most accessible for me as a teacher right now is the math practice reflection piece. I love having a place for students to start thinking about their thinking and learning. Giving them sentence starters and frames helps with getting every student thinking and involved in their own reflection. I don't think they are asked on a regular basis to reflect on what they have learned and some are uncomfortable with that idea, or intimidated to start. When given some guidance and really teaching them how to think about their learning makes the wrap-up of a routine more meaningful and thought provoking. They are able to piece together what happened throughout the routine, instead of me being tempted to do it for them. I love that!

    The instructional strategy that is most challenging at this point is annotation. I have done this when implementing one of the routines and found it challenging to write what the students say but not give anything away, just write what the student is describing. I also found it challenging when their language wasn't precise enough to annotate what they were saying. I'm sure this will come with practice and time as they develop their language and practice the routines. Describing what they are thinking is hard! I am looking forward to getting my classes to the point where they can annotate for each other, and working on this skill so they can annotate their own work. It will certainly strengthen their understanding of material.
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  • 01/21/2019 4:10 PM | Allison Day
    The sentence frames and sentence starters are great instructional strategies that easy implemented into each lesson. I love that the sentence starters keep the routine focused and help students communicate their ideas. I find that more students are engaged using the sentence frames. The partner discussions are richer, deeper, and more directed at the task. It definitely provides access for all students, helps with communication and expectations. I also see the language from the sentence frames being transferred into daily lessons. Posting the frames in a visible place make it easy for students to refer back to. Students are pausing to say, "I noticed..." I also think it is important, as the book suggests to customize the frames according to each lesson.

    I think annotation is the most challenging. It is important to capture students' thinking in a clear, accurate way and sometimes students struggle to communicate what they are thinking/their strategy. Sometimes what makes sense to me may not be as clear to students. Trying to anticipate what students may say and how I might annotate ahead of time helps in this process. I think it is important when modeling annotation for students, that is okay to revise your annotations to make the thinking clearer. Teaching students to annotate themselves can also be challenging but is an important strategy for students to learn and use. The more opportunities students have to annotate the better the annotations have become. I think annotations truly help solidify students' thinking, build connections, and notice relationships.
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  • 01/23/2019 8:46 AM | Marianne Springer
    I believe that the ask yourself questions and sentence frames and starters are more accessible to me at this point than the annotation, 4Rs and math practice reflection. The ask yourself questions and sentence frames and starters seem like they are good ways to modify existing lessons to quickly get students thinking and communicating about their reasoning approaches. When the actual routines have been introduced to us in PD, I have been concerned about the amount of preparation time that is needed to find appropriate tasks and a good time in the instructional flow to use them. I can certainly see value in starting to introduce these instructional strategies without a complete redesign of a lesson. Sufficient time to work with peers to redesign lessons based on these routines will hopefully be forthcoming.

    I am less comfortable with the 4Rs and math practice reflection strategies because they are more student driven and I wonder what responses I will hear and how to handle them in the moment.
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  • 01/23/2019 9:27 AM | Michele Hanly
    As a strong visual learner, I feel the instructional strategy of Annotation is the most accessible to me, especially for word problems. After reading a portion of a word problem I will stop and try to draw something (diagram, table, chart) that contains the given information. I will then read on, stop again and do the same thing.

    In my experience, there are some students who want to do everything in their brain and don't write anything down on the paper. That may have worked ok for them in earlier math, but as the problems get more complicated they struggle. By modeling the process, I try to show them how to break the problem into steps and do one step at a time.

    Most challenging for me is to remember to take the time to have the student reflect on what they did. Time is always so precious, but I know that reflection time is important too.
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  • 01/23/2019 3:34 PM | T
    Of the 5 instructional strategies, the one I feel most comfortable incorporating at this point is Sentence Frames and Starters. Most students in my school engage in discussion at many points during the day. They are often asked to turn and talk with a partner or to discuss their ideas in a group. However, not many of them do this successfully. Many times partners struggle with getting the conversation started as it can be difficult for them to figure out how to put their thinking into words. Sentence frames and starters can help “jumpstart” the verbalization of their ideas. Additionally, many times a “discussion” consists of nothing more than one person talking first, then their partner talking. Neither one builds off of the other nor shows any sign of having heard the partner’s idea in the first place. The use of sentence frames and starters could help students build off each other’s ideas.

    I feel comfortable modeling annotation as well. I’ve worked with students who get lost in their own representations and struggle to make sense of the work they’ve already done to complete their problem solving process. It often helps them follow their own thinking when I model how to label the thinking they already have notated.
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  • 01/28/2019 1:02 PM | Tina
    Like others I find the "Sentence Frames & Starters" to most accessible. How they have been created to keep the math practice as the learning is very helpful. I think #1 "Ask-yourself Questions" will be the most challenging. I would need practice to develop questions that support the learning around the MP's and not get skill focused. I am a math coordinator and don't get to spend as much time directly with students, so my practice is also limited. I will get to practice and share with teachers and gather some good thoughtful feedback.
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  • 01/30/2019 10:27 AM | Jami Packer
    The Repeat-Rephrase-Reword-Record strategy seems most accessible to me because it is a bit similar to something that I do naturally on occasion. I think making it a deliberate and repetitive part of our class routine will help to highlight student discoveries and perceptions in a way that would be empowering to students and would put more of the learning back into their hands.

    Annotation actually feels most challenging to me at the moment. I believe that I have a tendency to use annotations in my own explanations with students, but I'm not sure yet how to introduce students to the practice so that it becomes a natural part of their explanations/presentations.
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  • 01/31/2019 10:48 AM | Anonymous
    [Barbara's comment moved from Reminders to Chapter 2 - Option 3]

    01/25/2019 1:22 PM | Barbara Rock

    Chapter 2 Option 3
    I think the Four Rs: Repeat, Rephrase, Reword, Record is the most challenging strategy at this point. It is challenging because of the many in-the-moment decisions that have to be made. I advocate for teachers to do the math ahead of time and anticipate how they hope the discussion will go, but it is still something the teachers shy away from.
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  • 02/09/2019 11:30 AM | Anonymous
    Post moved from Reminders:
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    02/03/2019 10:05 PM | Cesar Llontop

    Option 3
    I have to say Ask yourself questions is most accessible to me because I prepare a few questions in advance prior to delivering a lesson. So, I know exactly what I am going to ask to promote mathematical thinking in the classroom. The challenging piece is for my students to think like mathematicians because I have students who like math and others who dislike math. Those students who like math would want to share their thought process with others, whereas the students who have no affinity for math may not want to ask questions at all.
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