Feedback I Recieved

How will supporting teachers to implement number talks in their math classrooms inform my coaching practice?

In my mid-coaching cycle feedback form I asked:
What’s missing for you in this cycle? Any suggestions for how this cycle could be improved?
The response I got was:
Mollie (co-teacher) and I have lots of great math conversations and number talks. I remember you saying that number talks should be short. Our talks usually go over 10 minutes. I’m also concerned about engaging all learners into our rich conversations. I’d like to see you model a number talk.

I suppose working with these teachers around their number talks has not yet informed my coaching because we haven't really begun. However, the simple fact that they are asking for support with number talks does inform my coaching. I am excited that they are thinking about and grappling with number talks.

Questions I would like to ask or am wondering about: How long do their number talk generally run? Who is doing most of the talking? How do you two  (co-teachers) plan a number talk? Why might it be important to keep number talk short? Have you ever seen a number talk in action other than your own?

Debriefing a Model

How will supporting teacher to implement number talks in their math classrooms inform my coaching practice?

Last week I had a the opportunity to debrief with two 2nd grade co-teachers for whom I had done a model number talk the week before. Originally I had planned to use the guiding questions I provided for their observation as the guiding questions for our debrief. However, when the time came it just felt better to ask them for highlight, suggestions and questions. I had them bring their notes from the observation  to support our conversation.

The teachers had a bunch of interesting observations but one of their reflective comments really stuck out to me as informing my coaching.

One teacher said she was surprised that I was able to get to all four problems in 10-12 minutes. She noticed that I would ask for only 2-3 students to share their strategies, maybe have the other girls comment or ask a question, and then move onto the next problem. She said that often they only get to 1 or 2 problems because they are trying really hard to make sure everyone understands. This conversation made me realize that, as their coach, I need to pay more attention to their pacing during number talks as well as mini lessons. As they are planning are they making predications about student's possible misconceptions? What questions do they ask when a student does not understand during a number talk or mini lesson? Does the student not understand or are they just having difficulty explaining their thinking? In addition we may need to dig further into the purpose of number talks. What do you think the benefits are of providing girls with a short amount of time each day to do mental math? Why is it important to get through each of the problems in the number talk? What do you need to understand in order to facilitate a purposeful 1-15 number talk?   

Models and Reflection

Yesterday I modeled 2 number talks. One in a 2^nd grade classroom and the other in a 3^rd grade classroom. I had not had the opportunity to observe whole class number talks in either room. I would have liked to have had this opportunity so that my planning could have been more focused but scheduling was just tight. In the end I just decided to jump in and do the number talk. I hoped that teachers would see this as my willingness to take the risk. I also thought that I could write some reflective questions that addressed the appropriateness of the number talk. Was it rigorous enough? Were students able to access the math? Was it connected to the content being taught and learned in math workshop? Were my expectations and routines consistent to what was already established?  Also, having been in both classrooms for math workshop and having had planning meetings with the teachers I had some idea of what was happening during number talks and what would provide opportunity for teacher reflection and growth.  

I provided guiding questions for the teachers to use as they observed me. I pulled them mostly from the Number Talks book but felt that they connected well to thinking these teachers are engaged in terms of math content and pedagogy.

·         Do students use one problem to help them solve the next? How?

·         What strategies do you hear students using? Is this what you expected?

·         What models do I use to show student thinking? How do these models support student understanding/development?

·         How do the sentence prompts help students discuss the problem with each other?

The last question was one that I added. Supporting students in talking to each other about their ideas and strategies, rather than just to the teacher, is an aspect of the routine that both classrooms are working on. I wanted the teachers to start thinking about how sentence prompts could help students create math conversation amongst themselves. I did a simple introduction with the prompts and had them hanging for the girls to see. That was it during the number talk.

In the debrief meeting I will ask teacher reflective questions around the prompts. Which prompts do you think will be easiest for students to use? Why? Which will be most difficult? Why? How will these support students in talking to each other about their thinking? Are there any students who will struggle to use the prompts? Why do you think they will be difficult for these students? What else could we do to support these students? Are there other prompts that could be useful? Are there other tools that we could use to create discourse? Below are the prompts that I wrote out on a chart.

·         I agree with _________ because ___________.

·         I do not understand ____________. Can you explain this again?

·         I disagree with __________ because _________________.

·         How did you decide to __________________?

Adjustment to Methodology

I need to make an adjustment to my methodology. My intention was to work with the same 5 teachers throughout two 5-week coaching cycles. This has proved very difficult. As I switched from cycle 1 to cycle 2 the group of teachers I work with changed. I thought I would be able to continue to work with the first group of teachers just around their number talks but the scheduling is nearly impossible. They are now in a coaching cycle with the literacy coach and I need to be respectful of their time. I want this work to be meaningful and useful to them not a burden. As such I am now working with my new group of teachers around their number talks. I do not think this adjustment will be a problem as the process, no matter who I am working with, is informing my coaching.

Small Group NT Model

Before the holiday break I had modeled a number talk for a special education teacher in one of our CCT classrooms. Let’s call her Sarah. Sarah had been concerned that during whole class number talks a select group of girls, all with IEPs, were unable to engage with the content and discussion. At that time, the class had been working on visualizing doubles and near doubles addition combination on a double tens frame.  This small group of girls was missing the opportunity to develop new mathematical understanding and skills related to being a mathematical community member. Sarah was becoming unsure that these students would ever be able to talk about their math ideas clearly. I wanted her to see, that when provided with accessible but challenging work, her girls would be able to talk about math in meaningful ways and develop new understanding through their conversation. I also wanted Sarah to see that there is flexibility in the approach to a number talk.

We decided to do some small group number talks with this group of girls that focused on subitizing small numbers. I would model the first one around seeing 4. I decided to also video tape this number talk so that during our debrief Sarah, her co-teacher, and I could talk about what we noticed. It was a good opportunity for them to see me reflect on my process and question asking in a critical but positive way and use that information to inform my instruction. 

Highlights from the Debrief:

·         Sarah shared that she was surprised girls were able to articulate their ideas in a clear way.

·         Sarah said the girls shared strategies that were more efficient than what she had expected.

·         Sarah reflected on my ability to stay calm and said that sometimes after a long day working with the girls she can get frustrated by the challenges they face to in terms of attention.

·         I was able to point out a specific aspect of my number talk that I would have done differently.

·         It informed out instruction in the sense that this approach and content was appropriate.  

Frustrations from the Debrief:

·         It was difficult to hear the video.

·         I should have put together thoughtfully chosen clips of the video and created questions around those clips.

·         I am not sure how useful the process was for Sarah’s co-teacher.

This week I received Sarah’s Mid-Coaching Cycle Feedback. In response to the question “What’s missing for you in this cycle? Any suggestions for how this cycle could be improved?” Sarah wrote that she would like me to model some number talks with the whole class. I have not seen a whole group number talk and asked that I see one first and then we plan the model together. I am interested in what they are working on in number talks and how they are feeling about the small group of girls participating with the whole group. What skills or understanding have the girls developed that will allow them to participate with the whole group? What did you do to support them with this development? Are there any supports you can provide while the girls work with the whole group?