Making Space and Time for Every Student in Math Discussions

Source: https://corwin-connect.com/

Many students are initially reluctant to share their ideas in whole-class math discussions. This may stem from past experiences where only a few students were called on, or because they feel their ideas aren’t valued. Some students have mathematical ideas but struggle to express them clearly in a group setting.

Articulating an idea clearly is often challenging, even for adults, as we typically refine our thoughts as we speak. This is especially true for young students and multilingual learners, who are mastering both everyday and mathematical language. It’s important for teachers to give students enough time and encouragement to express their ideas, ensuring they understand that their efforts are valued and appreciated.

Elementary students often need more time to express their thoughts, which can include hesitation, backtracking, or pausing. Teachers face the challenge of balancing support for all students’ participation while maintaining class engagement. This requires managing the tension between encouraging thoughtful expression and keeping the discussion dynamic for the entire class.

Here are some specific strategies to support both group dynamics and individual participation:

• Encourage persistence. There is an unfortunate myth about mathematics learning that you either know the correct response or you don’t. Rather, help students learn that you are challenging them to think about hard ideas and that you expect them to need time and effort to make sense of them.
• Embrace pauses, backtracking, silences. In order to tolerate the repeating, backtracking, rewording, and rethinking that are essential parts of mathematical discourse, we have to come to terms with our own discomfort when students are uncertain, our own tendencies to want to save them from frustration, and our own difficulties in tolerating the time students take to articulate their thoughts.
• Reflect back students’ own words to them. When students hesitate or break off, help them see that they have kernels of mathematical ideas by reflecting back to them their own beginnings of sense-making. This can be as simple as, “you started to say something about multiplication” or “you said something about a 1—where were you seeing a 1?” Reflecting back in this way indicates that you are listening hard and that you expect students to have ideas.
• Give students opportunities to rehearse their ideas. While you circulate during individual and small group work, engage students to explain their thinking. Identify ideas that could be shared with the whole group, keeping in mind which students often share and which do not. Ask more reluctant students in advance about how they might share their ideas, and give them opportunities to rehearse what they might show or say.

In conclusion, when both eager students and those who need more time or support to express their ideas are included and affirmed, it teaches all students that their mathematical ideas are valuable and worth sharing.

Read More: https://childreninfobank.com/safebank/making-space-and-time-for-every-student-in-math-discussions/

Image Source: https://corwin-connect.com/