Building Thinking Classrooms: Ch. 6 - When, Where, and How Tasks are Given

Question 1

What are some of the things in this chapter that immediately feel correct?

Give tasks in the first 3-5 minutes to optimize thinking.

This is always my goal and why I was such a failure at taking attendance!  

However, this year we have been using Test Trainer during the first 7-10 minutes.

I see this changing. 

Test Trainer will be able the thinking activity.

It may be the last thing they do each day,

Or a transition activity in the middle.

Question 2

Think about your teaching when students are sitting in their seats.  How many are really paying attention to you?  If a teacher were standing in the back of your class and was able to see what your students were really doing, what do you think they would see?

I can see now that sitting is a really passive way of learning.  Add that to proximity questions, and students have a ride down easy street for their math learning.  Love the idea of standing for instructions.  

If a teacher were standing in the back of the classroom they would probably see students drawing, zoning out, or trying to talk to their neighbor.

Question 3

What is it about the students standing in close proximity to you that changes the way they pay attention to you?

Proximity has always worked as a classroom management tool, so why not use it as a way to promote thinking!  By standing, students are already more focused.  And with the teacher in the middle of it giving only verbal directions, attention should increase.

Question 4

Think about how often you are verbal, only verbal, in your current practice. Don't just think about when you talking to the class as a whole, but also when you are interacting with the students one-on-one or one-on-few?

I am not a verbal learning, so rarely am I only verbal.  I usually had a text copy of the activity that students could refer to as the instructions were given verbally.  And as the book pointed out, this is not effective to promote thinking.  I will definitely be trying the verbal and write only pertinent information on the board to see how that goes.  

Question 5

Think about how often. you are verbal in your interactions with people outside of the classroom. What are the circumstances in which being verbal is not enough, and you need to demonstrate, point, or write something to help with the interaction? What is it you show, point to, or write in these circumstances? How does that compare to what you write for students in your current practice?

With the MidSchool Math curriculum, to introduce a problem, there is a always a video.  In a sense, one could say that is verbal.  As I introduce the data/computation piece, instead of having them refer to a page in their workbook (which we won't have anyway next year), I can instead introduce the task verbally by writing on a specific whiteboard at the front of the room (that students will not be using, the important data they will need to use. 

Question 6

What will be the hardest part of trying to be verbal when giving a task?

I can see students wanting to engage in their own conversations with each other if they are standing in close proximity to each other.  

Question 7

What are some of the challenges you anticipate you will experience in implementing the strategies suggested in the chapter? What are some of the ways to overcome these?

Figuring out how to use this concept with the new curriculum.