Using Talk Moves to Support Mathematics Discussions in a CMP Classroom CMP User’s Conference Cindy Callard, BCSD Jennifer Kruger, BCSD February 19, 2016

Session Goals Participants will:  consider strategies for how to incorporate various forms of classroom talk into their CMP lessons  examine a case study of a CMP classroom to identify teacher “talk moves” and evidence of the impact on student learning

Agenda  Brief introductions  Why have kids talk in math class?  What are talk moves?  Deepening understanding about some talk moves  Examining use of talk moves in a CMP class: What Do You Expect?  Reflecting/connecting to our own practice

Why even have kids talk in math class?!? THINK-PAIR-SHARE

What are challenges that teachers encounter when encouraging students to engage in discussions in math class?!? THINK-PAIR-SHARE

The “Typical” US Classroom Researchers have found that few American classrooms display consistent or even occasional use of student talk. Instead, most classroom talk consists of the teacher lecturing, asking students to recite, or posing simple questions with known answers. Chapin, O’Connor & Anderson (2013)

What ARE talk moves, anyways?!?  The term talk moves refers to strategic ways of asking questions and inviting participation in classroom conversations.  There is no one definitive list of talk moves, but different authors have identified talk moves from observation of skilled teachers and their ways of supporting productive talk.  The use of talk moves takes explicit practice on the part of the teacher and on the part of the students.

As you watch this video clip, identify “talk moves” that this teacher identifies. udent-participation-strategy

Chapin, O’Connor & Anderson (2003, 2009) 1. Revoicing 2. Repeating 3. Reasoning 4. Adding on 5. Waiting Count off by 5’s and have each person read one of the “talk moves.” Share your talk move with your small group. Give examples and any “nuances” of your move. Clarify/ask questions of each other. Discuss differences, and when you might use one talk move over another.

Examining the Use of Talk Moves in a CMP Class (“What Do You Expect?” Pr. 1.3/2.3 revised) Students will…  determine if a game is fair or unfair (making sense that in a fair game, the chances of winning and losing are equally likely);  compare experimental and theoretical probabilities and consider the relationship between the two (i.e., the “law of large numbers”);  find the probabilities of compound events using organized lists, tables, tree diagrams, and simulation (7.SP.8)

Match or No-Match  Santo and Tevy are playing a game with coins. They take turns tossing three coins. If all three coins match, Santo wins. Otherwise, Tevy wins (no-match). Each player has won several turns in the game. Tevy, however, seems to be winning more often. Santo thinks the game is unfair.  Try this game for 20 tosses of 3 coins and record who wins each toss (Player A – match; Player B – no- match). When you are done with 20 turns, record your results in the class chart: GroupNo. of MatchesNo. of No-MatchesTotal Trials

As a teacher, discuss the following with 1 or 2 people next to you:  Do you think this game is “fair” or “unfair”? Why?  What do you think students might say? Why?

Mr. Donnell’s 6 th grade class:  25 students  Suburb outside a major city  Commitment to using talk to support student learning in mathematics  End of a unit on probability

Examine the class data and discuss the following questions:  What do you notice about this data?  What is the class experimental probability of getting a “match”? What is the theoretical probability? How can you illustrate/prove this?  As a teacher, what might you anticipate students have to say about “fairness?”  What do you think students might say about the class experimental probability?

Examining use of talk moves in a CMP class: What Do You Expect?  Examine the transcript from Mr. Donnell’s class and look for evidence of talk moves.  What are some talk moves that Mr. Donnell makes? How did they support student learning?  Share these with a partner (turn and talk!).

Reflecting on our own Practice  What talk moves do you use in your classroom?  What could you add?  What could you incorporate in your own practice?