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Food for Thought: Using the Math Talk Communities Framework in a Methods Course . Krista Strand University of Oregon, Education Studies Dept. Portland State University, Math Education TOTOM 2013. Motivation for Sharing.
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Food for Thought:UsingtheMath Talk Communities Framework in a Methods Course Krista Strand University of Oregon, Education Studies Dept. Portland State University, Math Education TOTOM 2013
Motivation for Sharing • September 2010 – Went to TOTOM for the first time, loved it! Planned to attend every year. • September 2011 – Honeymoon, no TOTOM • September 2012 – Had my first child, no TOTOM • September 2013 – Bought a house and moved yesterday. Refused to miss TOTOM again! And I got so excited about attending that I volunteered to present something.
What I’d Like to Share With You Today • An assignment we use in our Elementary Math Methods Course at the UO • Based on a research article that presents a Math Talk Community framework, and a case study of the development of the Math Talk Community in one classroom • Benefits of using this article/framework in our course • Group discussion: This framework? Other frameworks?
A Little Context • Assignment used in a Math Methods course for the Elementary UOTeachprogram. This is the second Math Methods course of the program. • Our students are in the final Summer of their Master’s/credential program and have completed a full year of student teaching. • I co-teach the course with a practicing 5th-grade teacher, Jamie Tait
The Article • Research article published in JRME in 2004 • “How does a teacher, along with her students, go about establishing the sort of classroom community that can enact reform mathematics practices?” • Intensive year-long case study of one classroom • Framework of the development of a Math-Talk Learning Community, based on that classroom and others
The Article • Features of Research Article That I Like • Engaging read • Article follows the development of a real classroom • Transcript excerpts provideconcreteexamples • Low-income, first grade, English language learners, performing below grade level, makes a student-centered, discussion-based classroom seem possible for any teacher • Acknowledges that establishing a productive Math Talk Community is challenging work • Discussion of a realistic timeline
The Framework • Four Dimensions of a Math Talk Community • Questioning • Explaining Mathematical Thinking • Source of Mathematical Ideas • Responsibility for Learning • Describes Levels, 0, 1, 2, 3, overview of the shift from Level 0 to 3 • Descriptions of what the teacher is doing and what the students are doing in each level for each dimension
Benefits • Examples of Productive Discussions Sparked in our Methods Course: • Is it ever necessary to have a “Level 0” classroom? • On the first day of school? • When starting a new topic or unit? • What about a Level 1 classroom? Should we expect the Level of our class to dip now and then? How low? • How do we work with students who are used to a Level 0 math classroom? • What are Krista/Jamie doing to push the level of our Math Talk Community when we’re doing math together in this class?
Benefits • Using Frameworks in Methods Courses • Shared vision of a rich mathematics learning community • Explication of different components of a Math Talk Community, and their different levels. • Helps students identify what is strong about their own math teaching • Source of concrete ideas for how to push our math teaching to the “next level” • Tool for reasonable goal-setting for Year 1 of teaching • Communication tool throughout our methods course
Benefits • Additional benefit • Jamie and I get a window into our students’ understandings of the math teaching they observed and enacted in their student teaching experience. • We can tailor our instruction to address the experiences that our students had in the past year • Class discussion: How do we move forward from here, taking into account that most of us observed and enacted Level 0 and 1 teaching during student teaching
Using Frameworks in Math Methods Courses • Other useful frameworks • Boaler & Humphreys’ (2005) questioning framework from Connecting Mathematical Ideas • Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) • OSU study: Modified MQI for professional development • Also useful for teacher education? • My experience being trained on the MQI • What other frameworks do you find useful in your methods courses? Or, have you used the Math Talk Communities framework? Related thoughts/ideas to share?