Unlocking Student's Mathematical Minds Through Discourse

Gretchen MullerOakland Unified School District

CAMT July 12, 2013

Background

Background

Oakland Unified School District

Background

Oakland Unified School District

Background

Oakland Unified School District87 schools36,000+ students39% Hispanic31% African American11% White32% English Learners11% Students w/Disabilities11% Chronic Absence63% Graduation Rate42% UC/CSU A-G requirements5 1/2 average years of teaching experience

3 C’s

• Culture

• Conditions

• Competency

Culture

In a society - the beliefs, way of life, art, and customs that are shared and accepted by people in a particular society

In a group - the attitudes and beliefs about something that are shared by a particular group of people or in a particular organization

Conditions

• A mode or state of being• A state of health or readiness• Social position; rank• A prerequisite• A qualification• Existing circumstances

Competency

The quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually.

Problems of Practice

• Creating a safe and supportive environment.

• Ensuring equitable participation• Giving access to and producing language.• Developing flexible thinking and multiple

strategies.• Making learning visible.

The Transition

• Content

• Signature Pedagogies

• Professional Learning

Content

• Core Curriculum Units

• Key Learning Experiences

• Instructional Toolkit

Using only the digit 8 and the + sign, how can you get

to 1000?

“Problem solving in meaningful contexts, language and communication, connections within and outside mathematics, and formal and informal reasoning underlie all content areas in mathematics.”“Students will effectively communicate mathematical ideas, reasoning, and their implications….”“Students will display, explain, or justify mathematical ideas and arguments using precise mathematical language in written and oral communication.”

TEKS

Begins with the task

“Ask, Don’t Tell”

In order for us to listen, students need to talk about meaningful mathematics.

Discourse

MARS TasksProblems of the MonthFormative Assessment Lessons (FAL)

Inside Mathematics -www.insidemathematics.org

Mathematics Assessment Project -map.mathshell.org

Key Learning Experiences

Signature Pedagogies

• Number Talks• Participation Quizzes• 3 Read Strategy

Number Talks

What is 85% of 120?Sue’s Method10% of 120 is 12 because 10% is 1/10 of 100% and 1/10 of 120 is 125% is ½ of 10% so 5% of 120 is 685% is 15% less than 100% so 120 – 12 – 6 = 102Hector’s Method10% of 120 = 1280% is 8 x 10% 8 x 12 = 965% is ½ of 10% so 5% is 6 = 10285% is 80% + 5% 96 + 6

Participation Quiz

3 Read Strategy

3 Read StrategyRosa entered a math contest at school. There were 10 problems in the contest. Half of them were worth 3 points if solved correctly and half were worth 5 points if correct. Any problem that was answered incorrectly counted 1 point off.Each contestant had to answer exactly 5 questions, but they could choose how many of each kind they wanted to try.

3 Read StrategyRosa entered a math contest at school. There were 10 problems in the contest. Half of them were worth 3 points if solved correctly and half were worth 5 points if correct. Any problem that was answered incorrectly counted 1 point off.Each contestant had to answer exactly 5 questions, but they could choose how many of each kind they wanted to try.  

1st read – What is the context? What is this about?

3 Read StrategyRosa entered a math contest at school. There were 10 problems in the contest. Half of them were worth 3 points if solved correctly and half were worth 5 points if correct. Any problem that was answered incorrectly counted 1 point off.Each contestant had to answer exactly 5 questions, but they could choose how many of each kind they wanted to try.

1st read – What is the context? What is this about?

2nd read – What are the quantities?

3 Read StrategyRosa entered a math contest at school. There were 10 problems in the contest. Half of them were worth 3 points if solved correctly and half were worth 5 points if correct. Any problem that was answered incorrectly counted 1 point off.Each contestant had to answer exactly 5 questions, but they could choose how many of each kind they wanted to try.  

1st read – What is the context? What is this about?

2nd read – What are the quantities?

3rd read – What mathematical questions could we ask?

3 Read StrategyRosa entered a math contest at school. There were 10 problems in the contest. Half of them were worth 3 points if solved correctly and half were worth 5 points if correct. Any problem that was answered incorrectly counted 1 point off.Each contestant had to answer exactly 5 questions, but they could choose how many of each kind they wanted to try.  Question: If Rosa got 80% of his questions correct and scored 17 points, how many of each kind of question did she get right?

1st read – What is the context? What is this about?

2nd read – What are the quantities?

3rd read – What mathematical questions could we ask?

3 Read Strategy

Problems of Practice

• Creating a safe and supportive environment: Participation Quiz

• Ensuring equitable participation: Participation Quiz

• Giving access to and producing language: 3 Read Strategy

• Developing flexible thinking and multiple strategies: Number Talk

• Making learning visible: Number Talk, Participation Quiz, 3 Read Strategy

Learning Community

• Principals – 1st Tuesday• Teachers – 2nd Wednesday• Teacher Leaders – 3rd Monday• Site-based Professional Learning

Communities (PLC) – 1 to 2 Wednesdays

Tools for Administrators

• 5 x 8 card• Instructional Rounds

5x8 Card

5x8 Card

Instructional Rounds

High-Leverage Practices

• Making content explicit through explanation, modeling, representations, and examples.

• Leading a whole-class discussion.• Eliciting and interpreting individual students'

thinking.• Establishing norms and routines for classroom

discourse central to the subject-matter domain.• Implementing organizational routines, procedures,

and strategies to support a learning environment.• Setting up and managing small group work.• Appraising, choosing, and modifying tasks and

texts for a specific learning goal.

Thank You

Gretchen Mullergretchen.muller@ousd.k12.ca.us