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After almost two years of the pandemic, we can acknowledge that remote learning has impacted students in a multitude of ways. One such way is the decrease in engagement due to the one-sided nature of conversations we sometimes find in virtual instruction. So, how can we spark those conversations in our classrooms now that most have returned to in-person instruction? The answer is number talks.

Number talks promote student discourse, thus engagement, in the mathematics classroom. A number talk is an explicit routine that encourages students to utilize “think time” and mental math to find one or more ways to solve a mathematics problem (Humphreys & Parker, 2015). Furthermore, number talks include a procedure for having students hold up a thumb when they have identified one way to solve the problem. Then, they are encouraged to find additional ways and indicate how many additional ways by holding up additional fingers (Barker, 2010). Once appropriate wait time is provided and the teacher see students holding up at least their thumb, the class discussion begins (Humphreys & Parker, 2015). A key facet to the number talk strategy is to have as many students as possible share the strategies they determined before diving into a more in-depth conversation about which strategy or strategies are correct (Humphreys & Parker, 2015). Another facet of number talks is to understand that sometimes the correct strategies cannot be determined at the conclusion of the initial number talk, but require revisiting the number talk on subsequent days to continue the conversation and refine student thinking.

Several goals of number talks include providing students with an open forum to think about and share their own thinking, to consider mathematics from the diverse perspectives of their classmates, to understand that there are often multiple ways to solve a mathematical problem, and to use formal mathematical language to express their thoughts and ideas (Humphreys & Parker, 2015). In addition, number talks give teachers a glimpse into their students’ minds and help them identify areas of needed clarification, thus providing formative data for further instruction.

If you are interested in incorporating number talks into your classroom routine, check out the book, Making Number Talks Matter: Developing Mathematical Practices and Deepening Understanding, Grades 3-10, from our TTAC library.

Resources

Stanford University. (n.d.). Number talks. https://www.youcubed.org/Resources/Number-Talks-All-Ages-Video/. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.youcubed.org/resources/number-talks-all-ages-video/

The Charles A. Dana Center. (2019). Inside mathematics: Number talks. The University of Texas at Austin. https://www.insidemathematics.org/classroom-videos/number-talks

References

Barker, J. (2010). Number talks. Jennifer Barker’s Site. http://www.meaningfulmathmoments.com/number-talks.html

Humphreys, C., & Parker, R. (2015). Making number talks matter: Developing mathematical practices and deepening understanding, grades 4-10. Stenhouse Publishers.

For more information, contact Leslie Murphy Brown (lmmurphybrown@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.

It’s almost spring and students may be struggling to stay engaged and motivated. What if teachers had a way to increase student interest and motivation? The answer: help students learn how to take ownership of their learning. Taking ownership of their learning can improve students’ achievement and motivation. When they are active in their learning, students are motivated and have a desire to learn (Learning Sciences International, 2018). One of Dylan Wiliam’s five formative assessment strategies is to have students actively engage as owners of their learning (Wiliam, 2011). A good place to start is to involve students in the assessment process. Typically, assessment is teacher driven; teachers administer the assessment and report results to students. Involving students in the assessment process increases achievement because it requires them to think about their learning and then articulate to others what they understand and what they still need to learn (Dyer, 2016). Here are two ways teachers can involve students in assessing their own learning:

Provide opportunities for self-assessment

Self-assessment creates feedback for students that informs their learning and improvements with performance (Andrade, 2019). The opportunity to monitor and adjust along their learning path contributes to students becoming owners of their learning. In the Teacher clarity webinar (24:49-30:42), Doug Fisher (2018) explains how teachers use single point rubrics, level of understanding charts, learning continuum walls, and exit slips as opportunities for students to self-assess their progress toward specified success criteria. In another video (beginning at 3:58), a high school teacher explains how she uses a rubric in her Trigonometry class (Continual assessment, n.d.). The rubric explains the unit success criteria and the learning progression continuum for each criterion. During the unit, students move stars on the rubric as they assess their progress along their learning pathway. The video illustrates how students actively engage in self-assessing their understanding and skill development and become owners of their learning. Other self-assessment opportunities can include using red/yellow/green cups and/or cards during instruction to indicate a student’s understanding, checklists to check off success criteria toward a learning goal, and self-reflection using guided questions (Andrade, 2019).

Have students use graphs to track their progress

Robert Marzano’s research indicates that students have increases in their academic performance when they track their progress on assessments (Marzano, 2009). Individual graphs provide guidance that enhances students’ understanding of their learning. They know where they are and where they are going in their learning journey (Corwin, 2018). Marzano (2009) provides these suggestions for tracking student progress:

• Track progress toward one learning intention/goal at a time. One learning goal per graph helps the student see multiple data points for a specific goal on the graph.
• Graph points from a rubric, not the actual assessment. Using a rubric to indicate a student’s level of proficiency for each assessment is more informative and consistent than using points earned on the assessment (e.g., 15/20 points, 6/10 points).
• Use a variety of assessments. A well-developed rubric can be used with different assessments (e.g., quiz, classroom discussions, performance tasks) to provide students with feedback regarding their learning progression. The data are consistent and make the analysis easier for the student.

Additionally, schedule periodic meetings with students to discuss their progress. The meetings provide the opportunity for students to reflect upon their learning and ensure they have identified next steps in their learning progression.

Involving students in assessing their learning empowers them to take ownership of their learning. When teachers incorporate student self-assessment and tracking their progress into their classroom assessment process, students begin to understand themselves as learners. They can articulate where they are in their learning journey and what they need to move forward. Students move from being disengaged learners to engaged and motivated learners. And, they have greater success. 

Resources

EL Education. (2018, January 17). Students own their progress [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_75SQ-9Cxs

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Hattie, J. Developing “assessment capable” learners. Educational Leadership. 75(5), 46-51.

Progress Center. (n.d.) Six-step protocol: Progress monitoring performance feedback and goal-setting instructional routine. https://promotingprogress.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/6StepProtocol-Routine-Materials-Script_0.pdf

Li, D. (2017, December 11). Why student data should be students’ data. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-student-data-should-be-students-data

Long, K. (2016, February 10). Empowering students with data. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-empowering-students-with-data/2016/02

References

Andrade, H. L. (2019). A critical review of research on student self-assessment. Frontiers in Education. 4, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00087

Continual assessment for precision teaching [Video]. (n.d.). http://players.brightcove.net/268012963001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5117777016001

Corwin. (2018, November 14). Douglas Fisher & John Almarode: Teacher clarity webinar [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=pqAHh3pZ57M&t=2813s

Dyer, K. (2016, November 29). Students can own their data: 5 ways to get started. Northwest Evaluation Association. https://www.nwea.org/blog/2016/students-can-data-5-ways-get-started/

Learning Sciences International. (2018, September 17). Strategies 4 and 5: Activating students [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PdSHCPrJIQ



Marzano, R. (2009). When students track their progress. Educational Leadership. 67(4), 86-87.

Wiliam, D. (2011). Embedded formative assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

For more information, contact Chris Frawley (cdfrawley@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.

Reading comprehension is complex and this is news that most likely does not surprise you. To comprehend text, readers must decode the words and identify their meanings. They must combine meanings of multiple sentences while integrating this information with background knowledge and verbal reasoning skills. Finally, the successful reader constructs a mental model that combines prior knowledge with the ideas in the text (Cain & Oakhill, 2007).

In order to construct a mental model of what is read, comprehension requires interpreting the surface code, the wording and syntax, and the text base that includes unstated meanings below the surface of the words. Moats (2019) describes surface code as the literal meanings of words and phrases in a sentence; while text base refers to the underlying ideas to which words in text refer. Specifically, syntax is the system in a language that specifies how words, phrases, and clauses can be sequenced (Moats, 2019). It is fairly straightforward to acknowledge that an understanding of word meanings in text contributes to comprehension; however, sentence structure, syntax, matters because it determines how words function together. Sentences break apart into individual words that have specific jobs such as what or who (subject) and what is happening (predicate). Words work as parts of speech and demonstrate function within sentences. Words grow into phrases and clauses that combine to construct varying types of sentences. Simple, compound, and complex sentences are key to understanding meaning. Simple sentences convey one idea while complex and compound sentences communicate more than one idea that can be independent of one another or dependent, relying on each to acquire understanding. Ultimately, these sentences conjoin using cohesive devices and develop into text of various types such as narrative and expository.

Putting words together to make sense is imperative for writers so that readers may extract meaning. How words are ordered in sentences clarifies who is doing what to whom and in what way. For example, “The girl wants to play” as compared to “The play the girl wants.” In addition, multiple meanings of words are provided with clarity by their function. In the previous sentences, do you think of “play” as a verb or “play” as a production including actors and actresses? The changes in word order and use of words with multiple meanings can clearly change the interpretation of the sentence.

Designing and delivering comprehension instruction related to syntax should be intentional and include direct instruction of parts of speech, phrases and clauses, and sentences. Indirect experiences should be included as students participate in read alouds and independent reading of various text types. Furthermore, students should engage with oral and written sentence-based activities such as sentence writing, combining, and expansion. Nancy Hennessy (2021) explains that reading and writing have a reciprocal relationship. Comprehension is a prerequisite for acquiring knowledge and writing is a skill necessary for expression of meaning.

Understanding and explicitly addressing syntax for novice and experienced readers is a building block for comprehension. Academic texts include challenging sentence structure; providing explicit instruction and practice activities regarding word order, phrase and clause function, and how sentences combine to deliver meaning from texts is a foundational comprehension skill.

References

Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. (2007). Reading Comprehension Difficulties: Correlates, Causes, and Consequences. In K. Cain & J. Oakhill (Eds.), Children's comprehension problems in oral and written language: A cognitive perspective (pp. 41–75). Guilford Press.

Hennessy, N. L. (2021). The reading comprehension blueprint: helping students make meaning

from text. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Moats, L., & Tolman, C. (2019). Language essentials for teachers or reading and spelling. (3^rd

ed., Vol. 2). Voyager Sopris Learning, Inc.

For more information, contact Diane Lewis (dplewis@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.