1. Overview Mini-problem Analyzing teacher questions
Observing student thinking
Wrap up

2. A student solved the problem 92 - 37 in the following way:
I know that 92 – 40 = 52.
Since 37 is 3 less than 40,
I need to take 3 away from 52.
So the answer is 49.
Analyze the student’s method, and explain why it gives the incorrect answer. Why might a student think this method would work?
How could you modify this method to make it work? (That is, how can you start with 92-40=52, and arrive at the correct answer?)
What are some other erroneous subtraction methods that students might come up with?

3. Purposes for Teacher Questions
Initial eliciting of students’ thinking
Probing students’ answers
Trying to figure out what a student means or is thinking when you don’t understand what they are saying
Checking whether right answers are supported by correct understanding
Probing wrong answers to understand student thinking
Focusing students to listen and respond to others’ ideas
Supporting students to make connections (e.g., between a model and a mathematical idea or a specific notation)
Guiding students to reason mathematically (e.g., make conjectures, state definitions, generalize, prove)
Extending students’ current thinking, and assessing how far they can be stretched

4. Developing Question Shells
Work in groups to develop “question shells” for each purpose.
Examples:
Initial eliciting of student thinking (Purpose #1 ): What did you come up with? What have you found so far?
Focusing students to listen and respond to other’s ideas (Purpose #3) What do people think about what Patty said? How does that relate to what Derek said?
Record your ideas on a separate piece of paper.
We will collect these and then compile them into one document to develop a beginning repertoire of questions.

5. Observing Student Thinking
Solve the problems.
What is the same and different about these problems?
How do you think young children might solve them?

6. Observing Students’ Strategies
Watch the student solve the problem.
Make a record of the student’s approach.
What next question would you ask the student to probe his or her thinking?

7. Why we are working on this…
Increase awareness that there are different types of word problems and that the structure of a problem can influence how students solve it
Recognize the variety of strategies that students can use to solve problems
Develop skills at observing and interpreting students’ thinking
Develop skills for asking questions to probe students’ thinking

8. Wrap Up
Assignments:
Read through mini-problem description. Work with CT to choose problem. Send us an with your problem by Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 8pm.
Reading and related tasks
Please leave notebook --- pick up tomorrow outside of Suite 2400
Comment cards