1. Talk Less, Smile More: Getting Students to Discuss and Debate Math
Welcome!
Talk Less, Smile More: Getting Students to Discuss and Debate Math
Chris Luzniak & Mattie Baker
@PiSpeak
@Stoodle

2. Talking Circle Let’s Begin! Name Where from/What you teach
Goals for Morning Session
If you were a historical figure (dead or alive)...

3. ACTIVITY #1 - Chalk Talk
- Write your thoughts/questions/examples to the question.
- Read the responses of others and comment.
- NO talking.
What is thinking? / How do you “see” student thinking?
What are your concerns/fears with facilitating student discussions?
What does your ideal classroom look like?

5. Our Objectives
To explore ways to help students feel safe and prepared for classroom discussions
To give direct experience of TALKING STRUCTURES you can use in your classroom
To allow work time to help you implement ideas in your classroom

7. Multiple Obstacles to Overcome
“Tell and Practice” routine.
Student defense mechanisms.
Thinking is invisible.

8. Math leads to close encounters with defense mechanisms.

9. We need to help students get past the “fight or flight” mentality & free them to experience the power of a growth mindset for themselves.

10. Using “skillful means”:
The best way to work through defense mechanisms is to Lower the Stakes...
Using “skillful means”:
Structures/routines/scaffolding that temporarily bracket defense mechanisms to create emotional safety.

12. Common Examples: Explain/justify your answer. What do you Notice?
What do you Wonder?
Chalk Talk

13. ACTIVITY #2 - Talking Points
Talking about discussion
Groups of 3
Groups will have exactly ten minutes to do as many rounds as they can do.
Each “talking point” statement on the list receives three rounds of attention.
One person reads the first statement aloud with NO COMMENT.
There are then three rounds of speaking and listening. You want these to be “lightning rounds” rather than plodding or deliberate rounds. The Talking Point statements are provocative and designed to stimulate reactions that can be worked with.

14. Groups should then move on to the next Talking Point.
ROUND 1 – Go around the group, with each person saying in turn whether they AGREE, DISAGREE, or are UNSURE about the statement AND WHY.
Even if you are unsure, you must state a reason WHY you are unsure. NO COMMENT. You’ll be free to change your mind during your turn in the next round.
ROUND 2 – Go around the group, with each person saying whether they AGREE, DISAGREE, or are UNSURE about their own original statement OR about someone else’s statement they just heard AND SAY WHY.
ROUND 3 – Take a final tally of AGREE / DISAGREE / UNSURE and make notes on your sheet. NO COMMENT
Groups should then move on to the next Talking Point.

16. Take a break!

17. ACTIVITY #3 - Debate

18. Arguments

19. ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT
ARGUMENT - a statement made with sound reasoning. Every argument has two key parts:
CLAIM - the controversial statement being made.
WARRANT - the justification for the claim.
ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT
“My CLAIM is ___________
and my WARRANT is _____________________”

20. Oral Arguments

21. ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT
Part #1: Soapbox Debate
Name, Claim+Warrant
The best movie is ______.
The most important math topic is ___.
___________is the best method for solving the system:
ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT

22. Which problem shows the BEST mistake?

23. Always, Sometimes or Never? ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT
Activity #2: Circle Debate
Summarize, Claim+Warrant
Always, Sometimes or Never?
Max gets a pay raise of 30%.  Jim gets a pay raise of 25%.  So Max gets the bigger pay raise.
When you cut a piece off a shape, you reduce its area and perimeter.
and are co-terminal on the Unit Circle.
ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT

24. ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT
Activity #3: Point. Counter-point.
Would you rather….(a) Have crayons for teeth
(b) Have spaghetti for hair
Would you rather solve this problem…
(a) Using a proportion
“Find 45% of 80” (b) Making into a decimal and multiplying
Claim+Warrant
STEVE
ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT

25. ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT
Activity #4: Table Debates
Team A: It is better to solve by breaking the shape into rectangles.
Team B: It is better to solve by finding the large rectangle and subtracting the missing piece(s).
ARGUMENT = CLAIM + WARRANT

26. More Examples

27. Which One Doesn’t Belong?

28. Classwork/Proof

29. Classwork/Proof

30. Quizzes

31. Wrapping Up!

32. On the first notecard
“I used to think….,
but now I think…”

33. On the second notecard One thing you enjoyed today.
One thing you wonder/want to hear more about/need mentioned/are confused by/etc
What could you share with the group?

34. Contact Us! Mattie Baker Chris Luzniak @Stoodle @PiSpeak
@Stoodle
pythagoraswasanerd.wordpress.com
Chris Luzniak
@PiSpeak
clopendebate.wordpress.com