1. High School Number Talk Webinar
Anne Gallagher – Director of Mathematics
Katy Absten – K-12 Math Specialist
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

2. Guest Teacher/Coach Drew Crandall Corey Burchill Marilyn Gilman
Academic Coach
North Kitsap High School/North Kitsap School District
Corey Burchill
Mathematics Teacher
Marilyn Gilman
South Sound High School/North Thurston School District

3. Email Newsletter Best way to stay informed via OSPI emails
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Encourage your colleagues
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Anne
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
9/17/2018

4. Number Talks First time hearing about them Aware of them
Have tried them
Tried them and stopped
Do them regularly
Anne

5. What Are Number Talks? Instructional Routine
3-4 times a week for about 10 – 15 min – consistency is important
Opportunity for students to mentally reason with numbers
Students share their solutions and strategies and their solutions are recorded and honored
Allows students to consider different perspectives on how a problem can be solved
Opportunity for students to reflect on and compare their solutions with other students’ solutions.
Anne
Number talks are only one of a variety of instructional routines.

6. Why Number Talks: a high-leverage teaching strategy/routine to transform the culture of the classroom
FROM:
TO:
Teacher centered
Student-centered – students have ideas worth listening to
Teacher explaining the solution to an answer
Students sharing their reasoning & strategies
Focusing on the right answer
Honoring how students arrive at a solution – even if it is wrong
Math anxiety/low confidence
Confidence in math ability
One method of solving a problem – often using the standard algorithm
Students are flexible in their thinking & reasoning
Low student participation
High student engagement & productive struggle
Anne

7. The “Routine” Students put paper and pencil away
Teacher writes a problem on the board – left to right, not one below the other
Students put a thumb up once they have an answer – additional fingers if they have more than one way of solving the problem
Once most thumbs are up, teacher records the answers only on the board – asking if anyone has a different answer. No reference is given as to whether the answer shared is correct or incorrect.
Teacher asks for volunteers to explain how they figured the problem out, student clarifies which answer they are defending, and teacher records the strategy and might ask the class “does anyone have a question for ____________”, “can you say more about____________?”
Teacher records the student’s solution as the student explains it.
Katy
Thought it would be good to go over the “routine” before the video so they can identify the different elements of the routine while watching the video

8. Marilyn Gilman North Thurston School District
South Sound High School
Algebra 1, Algebra COE, and Algebra 2

9. Number Talks in Algebra 1

10. Tips for Getting Started
I was originally inspired and get re-inspired to use Number Talks from:
Jo Boaler models how to do Number Talks video from Youcubed
Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphrey talk about their book Making Number Talks Matter
Attend or Sponsor an event by the Mathematics Education Collaborative.

11. How Students Change Over Time
More students talk about their math ideas during other parts of class
Many students become more confident about their math ideas
Students hear others’ ideas and acknowledge the other’s ideas in later conversations
Some students become quite animated about trying to think of new ways to work with numbers and visual patterns
Some students become willing to go beyond the written algorithms and to notice arithmetic properties
Math vocabulary gets spoken aloud while students explain their strategy

12. NUMBER TALK EXAMPLES Multiplication problems:
I write answers offered by students
I invite students to defend their answers
I write students’ names with their strategy
I encourage students to name strategies (as in Double and half)
I ask students to make a note of a new or impressive strategy shared today

13. NUMBER TALKS WITH VISUALS
I occasionally model students’ approaches with area models of multiplication
This visual representation supports teaching polynomial multiplication methods and the distributive property
Below is an example for 18 x5 from Jo Boaler’s work on Youcubed

14. NUMBER TALKS with GROWING PATTERNS
I regularly explore growth patterns using a modified number talk format and Fawn Nguyen’s Pattern Lesson idea. Students try to answer these questions..
How do you see this pattern growing?
Sketch the first 4 steps of the pattern and the 13th form of the pattern.
Without sketching all of them out, how many snowflakes will be in the 43rd step?
patterns from -

15. How Number Talks on Growing Patterns Started
I build students’ capacity to have this type of number talk with a whole class lesson. (Fawn Nguyen)
Student pairs figure out different patterns and create posters.
Each week we have at least one brief Growing Patterns Number Talk.

16. Successes and Challenges
Successes with implementing Number Talks
Getting the talks down to about 10 minutes by using a timer
Finding places in the curriculum to insert number and math talks
Both the Math Coach and Principal commenting on the math conversations observed among my students while they worked
Challenges for implementing Number Talks
Ensuring ways to keep them in my weekly class routines
Figuring out worthwhile, small problems to discuss
Having educator allies to share the load for planning Number Talk topics for Algebra classes

17. Questions & Answers
Type in your questions for Marilyn into the question box

18. Corey Burchill– North Kitsap School District
Mathematics teacher

19. Tips for Getting Started with Number Talks
Just made the plunge after talking with our Interventionist and seeing the book at a training.
Hoped it would make students less intimidated by mental math (put those calculators away!) It did.
I started with single digit numbers multiplied by double digits, and worked into a problem like 18x19=

20. Immediate Change I saw immediate improvement on participation levels.
Endurance for the rest of the lesson also improved dramatically.

21. Change over Time
Unexpected result – It was great scaffolding for what we were trying to accomplish in Alg II, namely factoring polynomials.
Multiplication to area models
Area models to factoring quadratics
Led to another model for dividing higher order polynomials
Led to connections for synthetic division

22. Example of Where It Led My Class

23. Questions & Answers
Type in your questions for Corey into the question box

24. Drew Crandall– North Kitsap School District
Academic coach

25. Supporting Number Talks
Implementing NT’s was decided by math PLC after discussion around SMP3 (construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others).
I facilitated a book study on Making Number Talks Matter
Used PD day to develop common talks and commitment to routine
I provide support by co-planning, co-teaching, modeling and observing with Guiding Principles feedback

26. Impact? More engaged students and a larger emphasis on thinking
Using mental math strategies in other aspects of lesson, “we don’t need a calculator for that, its like a math talk”
Spotlights power of differentiation
ELA team looking for something similar

27. Successes and Challenges
Successes: All math teachers implementing math talks and have interest in pushing practice forward.
Teachers use of “talk moves” to help orient students to each other and to academic discussion.
Special Ed teachers interested in using them to help their students.
Challenges: Put more emphasis on student thinking and carry over this principles of number talks into the rest of the lesson

28. Questions & Answers
Type in your questions for Drew into the question box

29. We Are Learners Along With the Students-
Ask purposeful questions that shift the focus from the teacher to the student.
Bring student solutions back to a PLC –particularly if you are unsure about a student’s strategy.
Build your own content knowledge by making sense of the many new strategies your students will come up with!
Anne
Ask purposeful questions that shift the focus from the teacher to the student – practice as a teacher to refrain from “telling” – Learning curve for both students and teacher – develop your role as a teacher in a number talk
Bring student solutions back to a PLC – particularly if you are unsure about a student’s strategy – wonderful opportunity for us to learn more about mathematics
Students come up with many different ways – some of which will make no sense to you. Building your own content knowledge.

30. OSPI Number Talks Webinars
Introduction to Number Talks
Number Talks for Grades K – 2  
Number Talks for Grades 3 – 5  
Number Talks for Grades 6 – 8  
Number Talks for High School    
Visit OSPI’s Mathematics webpage to access recorded webinars & powerpoints.
Katy

31. Connect with others! Washington Teachers Collaborating About Number Talks
Join teachers from across Washington in creating statewide energy and support for Number Talks in K-12 mathematics classrooms
Number Talk Resources
Grade Level Discussion Boards
Katy

32. Number Talks Workshops around Washington
MEC Number Talk 2-day Institutes
April 19-20, Tumwater
May 16-17, Renton
June 22-23, 2016 Lacey
August 3-4, 2016 Anacortes
August 23-23, 2016 Lacey
Contact your ESD Regional Math Coordinators for additional opportunities and personalized support in your area.

33. Resources
You Cubed You Cubed - Number Talks
Making Number Talks Matter (book) – Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphreys
Intentional Talk – Elham Kazemi and Allison Hintz
Teaching Channel – PLC Leadership & Number Talks
Katy

34. Additional Questions

35. Thank you! Anne Gallagher– anne.gallagher@k12.wa.us
Katy Absten –
Drew Crandall –
Corey Burchill –
Marilyn Gilman –
You will find additional videos and resources that are included in the power point that is posted on our website