My task today is to reflect on the opportunities I give students to communicate and explain their ideas. I actually thought I did this quite well, but my student survey results at the beginning of MPI suggest that this is not the case. So some reflection is definitely necessary!
I expect that students will show me their thinking in their maths books. I don't expect them to write screeds and screeds, but I do expect that they will show me how they got to their answer (for example, if the question is 25 x 12, did they use doubling/halving? Or did they use place value partition? Or old school algorithm?) This usually gives me the opportunity to give them feedback or discuss with them in small group sessions - which strategy do you think is the most efficient? Why? Also, unfortunately, there is no room for a high trust model with this particular group of children - some will definitely be using the calculator function on their chromebooks to work it out, so if they have to also write a strategy, it at least allows me to hold them to account in some way.
On reflection, however, I need to remember that some children may prefer to share their strategies verbally rather than writing them; and I also need to make allowances for students who would rather draw their thinking (which I tend to dismiss as 'babyish' for my senior students). This can maybe be an independent station activity (providing them with a choice of how they represent their thinking), or it could be part of small group sessions (although these sessions are usually taken up with strategy teaching and/or practise). As Te Poutama Tau/The Numeracy Project is heavily reliant on the teaching of strategies, I do need to make time for teaching specific strategies, as that is how progress is measured; however, stations provide an opportunity for a bit more variety and exposure to other types of activities.
learners to communicate their thinking and ideas.
