Jason Hall – 2015-2016

Owsley County

Jason Hall – 2015-2016

Owsley County

Snapshot

Project Title: Mouthing About Math

Learning Innovation Grant Recipient

In order to deepen students’ level of understanding, teachers of mathematics should encourage the use of rich forms of discourse, such as explaining one’s reasoning and comparing multiple problem-solving strategies. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has also called for greater efforts on the part of teachers to integrate explicit mathematical processes like reflection, reasoning and explanation into daily classroom instruction. My goal will be to promote students’ reflection, reasoning and explanation of math practices in order to help deepen their level of understanding. In order to provide models of rich forms of discourse and monitor students’ practice of reflecting, reasoning and explaining their math practices, I will use the resources through this grant–combined with classroom discretionary funds provided by my school–to purchase a Canon VIXIA HF G30 Full HD Camcorder. I will use Success for All Power Teaching Math strategies to guide students’ discussions when solving math problems in collaborative groups. The SFA/PTM rubric for responses includes points for providing the correct answer, the correct process and explaining which of the 8 mathematical processes the group used to solve the problem. As students work within their groups–they will not only use standard algorithms–but also alternative methods to solve problems. As they share their processes with their group members, they will also explain why they used a particular method and defend why it is correct or change it if necessary. We will use the camcorder to video student conversations as they develop a response to a math situation to serve as models. We will also use the camcorder to video “Random Reporters” who share the groups’ agreed upon responses. Videos will be uploaded weekly through the class YouTube channel to provide access for student use as examples of good discourse. Examples will also be upload to the Holler. Hopefully other educators will use the videos as models for student discourse about math.