Doing Math the Routty Way: Engaging Activities from A to Z (Day 24)

Yo-Yo Partner Work- Often times, one student tends to dominate the conversation when completing partner work.The yo-yo partner strategy is a great technique for holding partners accountable for work completed during cooperative learning so that both students have the opportunity to learn and show growth. 

When students are communicating about their mathematical thoughts, processes, and ideas, use a timer to guide discussion time. Give each student 30 seconds, longer if needed, to communicate their ideas to a partner. The listener should listen intently and then make one comment and ask one question. The students then reverse roles. 

Comments can include thoughts like, "I really like the strategy that you did. I might try that next time." Or, "Your work is easy to follow and the table that you used helps me make sense of the problem." Initially, students will need support to understand how to make informative and supportive comments. You may even want to brainstorm a list of statements/comments on chart paper for the students to refer back to when they are communicating about mathematics.  

Follow-up questions can include questions from the Open-Ended Questions Poster presented previously on my blog. 

Doing Math the Routty Way: Engaging Activities from A to Z (Day 14)

Open-ended Math Talk Questions- "Questioning is a powerful instructional strategy." Creating a classroom where students are able to effectively use math talk during a classroom discussion can be challenging. Many of our students do not know how to discuss their mathematical ideas and strategies using key math vocabulary and concepts. As teachers, we play an important role as we help students identify their thinking processes and build new knowledge by connecting to ideas and concepts that they already understand. 

An article written by the Student Achievement Division of Ontario Schools offers eight strategies for asking effective questions: 

1. Anticipate Student Thinking
2. Link to Learning Goals
3. Pose Open Questions
4. Pose Questions that Actually Need to Be Answered
5. Incorporate Verbs that Elicit Higher Levels of Bloom's Taxonomy
6. Pose Questions that Open Up the Conversation to Include Others
7. Keep Questions Neutral
8. Provide Wait Time

You can read more about these strategies and download the article here. 

Article Reference: Asking Effective Questions. (2011, July 1). Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/cbs_askingeffectivequestions.pdf

Go to the "File Cabinet" page of my blog and click "Engaging Math Activities" or click on the picture below for a download of my Open-ended Questions Poster Freebie.