Today my group (7) began working on a problem solving task (about workers packing cherries into boxes and cartons) near the end of their session. This group is very enthusiastic about mathematics so we have a lot of cooks in the kitchen as the saying goes. I'm sharing this video to show what is working well and what needs improvement with this group dynamic.
As you'll see the girls take over quite a bit so we are working on listening to each other more and taking turns with sharing ideas. Jarome tries to share his thinking - that they can use their basic facts to help work out larger numbers when he says, "8 + 4 is 12" in reference to the problem where they are trying to work out 80 + 40, though he is talked over. It also shows how important it is for us as teachers to listen to what our students are muttering or saying within a group especially the quiet ones, as they usually know more than they let on.
They are very engaged in this task. However, as we continue the task in the next session I will need to go over the expectations of working in a group and also the importance of reading the problem. They have come a long way with their communication in mathematics and they will surely continue to improve :-)
pretty cool
ReplyDeleteBy Quentin Room13
Thank you for sharing this video of one of your groups "working together" to problem solve - I very much agree about the concept of listening out for those "whisperers" in our maths classes - as they often are able to share a different perspective or insight into another strategy. The challenge is for us to structure situations in our maths classroom programs that foster and encourage such discussion. :)
ReplyDeleteNice Problem Solving Guys! Your're Winners!!!
DeleteJordan@R17
Pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteVidhant
great problem solving
ReplyDeletecalais room17