Displaying Student Strategies
How can our students share their problem solving skills?
As stated by Marian Small, it is essential to plan and make time for the reflection portion of a lesson. According to Lucy West, we need to teach students to be active listeners which will engage them in their own learning. There are plenty of methods through which students can share their thoughts such as class discussions, or presentations. Three methods worth investigating further that are excellent means of sharing are Bansho, gallery walks and math journals.
Bansho Lesson:
The bansho process uses a visual display of all student solutions, organized from least to most mathematically rich. This is a process of assessment for learning and allows students and teachers to see the full range of mathematical thinking used to solve the problem. Students have the opportunity to see and hear many approaches, and they are able to consider strategies that connect with the next step in their conceptual understanding of the mathematics.
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_bansho.pdf
Gallery walk
A gallery walk can be conducted in many ways in the classroom. Ideally all children will have the opportunity to view each other’s work, ask questions and offer feedback. One of my favourite strategies is to provide students with sticky notes as they rotate around the room. The purpose of the sticky notes is to seek clarification, offer suggestions, ask questions and provoke conversation or dialogue.
Below is a great video showing an example of a gallery walk:
Journals
According to Marilyn Burns, “Introducing math journals is your students' ticket to understanding math! When children write in journals, they examine, express, and keep track of their reasoning, which is especially useful when ideas are too complex to keep in their heads. By reading their journals, you can evaluate their progress and recognize their strengths and needs.”
Math journals are an excellent means of integrating literacy and numeracy in a classroom. It is a safe place that students can record their thoughts, pose questions and demonstrate their learning.
Click here to download an excellent resource of journal prompts that can be used to start rich responses for students’ journals.
According to Marilyn Burns, “Introducing math journals is your students' ticket to understanding math! When children write in journals, they examine, express, and keep track of their reasoning, which is especially useful when ideas are too complex to keep in their heads. By reading their journals, you can evaluate their progress and recognize their strengths and needs.”
Math journals are an excellent means of integrating literacy and numeracy in a classroom. It is a safe place that students can record their thoughts, pose questions and demonstrate their learning.
Click here to download an excellent resource of journal prompts that can be used to start rich responses for students’ journals.