connecting mathematical ideas: middle school video cases to support teaching and learning jo boaler...
DESCRIPTION
Eight Cases 1.Building on Student Ideas – connections between algebra & geometry 2.Building Understanding of Algebraic Representation – algebraic expressions, variables, and functional dependency 3.Defending Reasonableness 4.Introducing the Notion of Proof – algebraic equivalence 5.Class Participation – students share feelings on talking publicly and different methods of eliciting participation 6.Continued discussion of Proof 7.Volume of Prisms and Cylinders 8.Surface Area – deriving a formula for SA of a cylinderTRANSCRIPT
Connecting Mathematical Ideas: Middle School Video Cases to Support Teaching and Learning
Jo BoalerCathy Humphreys
About the Book• Eight cases of teaching and an
accompanying set of student interviews• Year-long project videotaping two seventh-
grade math classes (higher tracks)• Filmed everyday for entire year• Connections between:
• students’ ideas and between student and teacher ideas
• areas of math – encourages reflections on ideas, representations, and different domains such as algebra and geometry
Eight Cases
1. Building on Student Ideas – connections between algebra & geometry
2. Building Understanding of Algebraic Representation – algebraic expressions, variables, and functional dependency
3. Defending Reasonableness 4. Introducing the Notion of Proof – algebraic equivalence5. Class Participation – students share feelings on talking
publicly and different methods of eliciting participation6. Continued discussion of Proof7. Volume of Prisms and Cylinders 8. Surface Area – deriving a formula for SA of a cylinder
The Case for PCK• The demands teachers face when
questioning a student are complex!• First listen to student, understand his
reasoning, and locate his ideas in the broader mathematical terrain.
• Consider what the student is capable of and willing to do plus consider a mathematically productive direction for the student (and class).
• Post a good question – accessible, challenging, and useful.
Instrumental vs. Relational Understanding
• Cathy Humphrey’s Teaching Journey – select segments p. 7-9
• “Being able to perform the appropriate algorithmic procedures… does not indicate any depth of understanding.”
• “But for me as my colleagues, mathematics had always been about following directions.”
• “I learned that I had developed an “instrumental” understanding of algebra (what to do) rather than a “relational” understanding (what to do and why).”
Developing Mathematical Proficiency• The cases were selected based upon interesting,
unexpected, and sometimes difficult moments that occurred during ordinary lessons.
• Theme emerged… students grappling with making connections among math ideas, representations or models of real-world contexts… which is at the heart of math proficiency.
• As teachers, if we are able to more profoundly connect our math understanding to our growing understanding of how children learn math, the fabric of our own teaching can become stronger.
Learning Mathematics• Means making sense of mathematical relationships.• Means getting better at the action verbs used to describe
the thinking habits mathematicians routinely use: looking for patterns, conjecturing, justifying, analyzing, wondering, and so on • Relates to Mathematical Practices• edTPA – developing a Language function for central
focus of a learning segment
Teaching Mathematics• Means helping all students learn to think mathematically.
Students need to understand that:• Math is more than arithmetic• There is no direct route to understanding• There are many ways to be good at math• Many ways to approach most problems, even those
with only one answer.• We can get better through practice, but talking and
listening to each other (Not just the teacher!) about mathematical ideas help us understand the ideas in different ways. We really understand what we can EXPLAIN.
How to use the book• Read Cathy’s notes about designing the
lesson• Watch the case• Ready Cathy’s reflections• Read Jo’s Case Commentary• Use CD discussion questions as source
for reflection and discussion as well.