Week 3 Report & Reflection

Week 3 Report & Reflection            

            We opened our class this week with a game called “I have…Who has?” which requires students to 1) answer math questions that people ask because the answer might be on their card and 2) pose the question on the card to everyone else. Each card has a match and the game is inclusive to all students. Teachers can strategically plan the cards according to the level of the student or have the students work in smaller groups. A generator for “I have…Who has?” can be found here. It’s a great resource for just about any subject!

Our topic this week was parallel tasks and open tasks as strategies to differentiate math. The underlying principle is that there should be a ‘big idea’ that could be addressed at different developmental levels using these strategies where students can also have a choice. The main difference is that in open tasks, teachers pose a single question that has a broad range of responses at many levels and in parallel tasks, teachers pose 2 different questions at different levels, but they are related according to the big idea and their context. 

            We got our first taste at doing these types of questions in class and I found it to be very successful in allowing any student the ability to answer the question according to their level. The Capacity Building Series has a great resource that has, using examples, more information about parallel and open tasks.

Capacity Building Series. (2008, September). Differentiating Mathematics Instruction. P. 5 [Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/different_math.pdf]. 

Capacity Building Series. (2008, September). Differentiating Mathematics Instruction. P. 7 [Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/different_math.pdf]. 

            After reviewing this week’s module, I learned that it’s important to work on challenging math problems that encourage students to struggle so that they can learn from their mistakes. It’s also important to make mistakes because a student might notice a concept or pattern that they wouldn’t have seen otherwise, or a student may understand why a method didn’t work. As a result, students would be able to talk about the problem or concept better. We need to encourage students that mistakes are opportunities for growth. 

            I know that things don’t always come easy, and most things require a lot of practice. Math is very similar to art in the sense that they both take time and practice. Your best art piece may take many attempts and will take time to get just right. Similarly, being good at math does not mean being fast at math. Math requires time to process and understand the concept. This is something to consider when we are testing our students. We wouldn’t put a time limit on students completing an art project so why would we put a time limit on a student’s processing time during a test? Placing a time limit for testing is often difficult for students who need time to think deeply and critically. Similar to open and parallel tasks, time allows students to go at their pace and level to meet goals in ways that suit them best. 

            Just like in art, there is more than one way to showcase something. The same is true for math. Being open to different experiences is an approach that students can use to recognize that there is more than one way to do something. Learning 1 algorithm is not the only solution to most problems. By being open to different experiences and ways of solving mathematical questions, students will be able to build a deeper and fuller understanding of concepts and big ideas. 

            The last thing we looked at this week was asking common questions and scaffolding questions. It’s important to help our students by asking questions related to the problem they are solving by using a common question or a specific question related to the problem without telling them the answer. The point is to allow students to think for themselves but make them aware that the teacher is there to help by guiding their thinking. As our teacher Pat said, "Be LESS helpful...but at the right times." Students shouldn’t feel like they can’t do something. Educators need to encourage students to foster a growth mindset using the word YET—they may not be able to do it yet.