Student Voice
"Effective mathematics teaching engages students in discourse to advance the mathematical learning of the whole class. The discourse in the mathematics classroom gives students opportunities to share ideas and clarify understandings, construct convincing arguments regarding why and how things work, develop a language for expressing mathematical ideas, and learn to see things from other perspectives." (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 29)
The quote above from the NCTM's Principles to Actions, sets the stage for the importance of a teaching model that has student voice or discourse as one of its main components. During the We-do stage of my flipped model, students have opportunities to work together to discuss their strategies and ideas for the high-level task they are working on. Then following this group work time, there is a class-wide discussion run by the students and facilitated by the teacher to bring out the learning goals of the task. If students are to be the center of instruction, student voice is an important part of the flipped model I propose. The book 5 Practices for Effectively Orchestrating Mathematical Discussions supports the need for student voice stating, "complex knowledge and skills are learned through interaction with others."
The type of discourse most present in the GRR model is referred to as Initiate-Response-Evaluate (IRE). "IRE consists of the teacher talking with specific students in a script-like, predictable manner, focusing on students’ answers, with little or no student explanations of their thinking (e.g., The teacher begins: What is your answer to this problem? The student responds with his or her answer. The teacher responds with “good” or another evaluative term). Clearly, the IRE pattern does not include opportunities for students to build on one another’s comments, which is a hallmark of effective discussions" (Hodge et al., 434). With IRE, the teacher is the center through which classroom discussion flows.
In my flipped model, the conversation is centered around the students and their ideas/strategies, where the teacher is simply a facilitator using a variety of different 'talk moves' to key the students' discussion on track moving towards the mathematical goals of the lesson. These talk moves, according to Smith and Stein, are "deliberate acts by the teacher to develop a thoughtful community of mathematical thinkers who feel responsible for both initiating ideas and responding to the ideas of others. These moves position students as authors and critics of mathematical ideas" (91). Positioning students at the center of the lesson places a greater cognitive load on the students because they are forced to "articulate and justify their own mathematical ideas, reason through their own and others' mathematical explanations, and provide a rationale for their answers", rather than passively attempting to absorb the words and ideas of the teacher. By positioning students in such a way in the flipped model that I propose, students build deeper understanding and stronger connections than they would in the traditional GRR model.
This research supports what I noticed in the classroom as I incorporated more time in my lessons for student voice in a variety of settings such as pair work, small group work, and class wide discussions. Over the course of the year, I observed the level of student participation and engagement increase, and the specificity and clarity of student justification improved.
To learn about how I specifically encouraged student voice in my classroom use the following link: Student Voice Artifacts.
The type of discourse most present in the GRR model is referred to as Initiate-Response-Evaluate (IRE). "IRE consists of the teacher talking with specific students in a script-like, predictable manner, focusing on students’ answers, with little or no student explanations of their thinking (e.g., The teacher begins: What is your answer to this problem? The student responds with his or her answer. The teacher responds with “good” or another evaluative term). Clearly, the IRE pattern does not include opportunities for students to build on one another’s comments, which is a hallmark of effective discussions" (Hodge et al., 434). With IRE, the teacher is the center through which classroom discussion flows.
In my flipped model, the conversation is centered around the students and their ideas/strategies, where the teacher is simply a facilitator using a variety of different 'talk moves' to key the students' discussion on track moving towards the mathematical goals of the lesson. These talk moves, according to Smith and Stein, are "deliberate acts by the teacher to develop a thoughtful community of mathematical thinkers who feel responsible for both initiating ideas and responding to the ideas of others. These moves position students as authors and critics of mathematical ideas" (91). Positioning students at the center of the lesson places a greater cognitive load on the students because they are forced to "articulate and justify their own mathematical ideas, reason through their own and others' mathematical explanations, and provide a rationale for their answers", rather than passively attempting to absorb the words and ideas of the teacher. By positioning students in such a way in the flipped model that I propose, students build deeper understanding and stronger connections than they would in the traditional GRR model.
This research supports what I noticed in the classroom as I incorporated more time in my lessons for student voice in a variety of settings such as pair work, small group work, and class wide discussions. Over the course of the year, I observed the level of student participation and engagement increase, and the specificity and clarity of student justification improved.
To learn about how I specifically encouraged student voice in my classroom use the following link: Student Voice Artifacts.