A while ago, we came across South East 1 Math - a TDSB Math Coach's blog online. We decided to email her and see if she could reccommend a classroom where math was being taught the way we are trying to learn about. She was very helpful in setting up a visit with a teacher and her principal who co-teach some 3-part lessons in math, and today we were lucky enough to be able to go spy on this very dedicated teacher's Grade 3/4 classroom!
MINDS ON...
MINDS ON...
ACTIVE...
First, the Principal reviewed learning goals with the students, using the language of the grade 3 and 4 Math curriculum on a chart paper.
First, the Principal reviewed learning goals with the students, using the language of the grade 3 and 4 Math curriculum on a chart paper.
CONSOLIDATE...
DEBRIEF...
Students met together on the carpet, this time all facing the chart board, to discuss various solutions, and changes they had made to their work based on the feedback. This was facilitated by the teacher. Then the principal took over the class discussion to debrief the highlights of the lesson.
He used questions to stretch student thinking and encourage them to be specific as they articulated their learning from Minds On to the End of the lesson. He listed the learning on a chart paper. Both Teacher and Principal facilitated a conversation about the importance of specific, criteria-linked descriptive feedback, so that students would know how to make improvements to their work. | It was neat to see the whole lesson posted up on the board at the end, so that students could see their learning journey over the morning. |
It is not often one gets to visit another classroom and "just observe"... I feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to learn from this fellow teacher, and her classroom gave me much to think about as I prepare for a new way of teaching math in the year ahead.