1. Teaching for Understanding
Sheila 9:00
MS – February 3rd
HS – February 10th

2. Productive Group Work Video Illustration
How would this look for you in your classroom?
For your work today, decide how you will use this model of group work.
What would you keep?
What would you want to change?
Val: Next slide gets into what it takes to make group work productive
Productive Group Work

3. Supporting Productive Group Work
Culture that supports collaboration and teamwork
Structure for groups and task
Nurture strategies that promote the work throughout the year
Val
When students have well implemented group work they:
More opportunities to articulate their thinking – (bring in how this aligns to mathematical practices)
Exhibit deeper understanding and retention of CONCEPTS
Able to incorporate other peoples ideas into their own strategies
Feel less isolated and anxious
Along w/ social outcomes: better communication, justification ability, ability to team, respect differences
Critical details to success:
Culture that supports collaboration and teamwork
Need trusting relationship with other students so teachers need to create opportunities for students to get to know each other and activities to build trust – to get them to group mentality- want group to be successful
Creates ownership of learning – students are making own decisions
Structure- for groups and tasks
Students benefit from having a leveled “playing ground” Helps to make mathematics learning more equitable
Nurture –Strategies that nurture the work throughout the year.
All year the norms created must be kept in check. (can’t turn to teacher first before team mates)
Continue team building activities
Journals, exit tickets, group quizzes build individual responsibility and reflection – journals to write about the group experience
All this can build to productive group work and it is the cornerstone of a community of learners.
Supporting Productive Group Work

4. Overall Structure Gear 1 Gear 2 Gear 3 Gear 4 Active Listening
Independent Work
Gear 3
Study Groups – Own work to do, but can collaborate
Gear 4
Team Work – Interdependent roles
Val
Gears are what the classroom is doing at large
When we get into gear 4, we need to define what individuals are doing/responsible for
Depending on the task, this might be their behavior or might be their product

5. Classic Roles Facilitator Resource Manager Task Manager
Initiates activity and checks for understanding throughout
Resource Manager
Manages supplies and seeks teacher assistance as needed
Task Manager
Listens actively and keeps entire team on track
Recorder/Reporter
Shares data with all and seeks consensus before reporting
Val
Behavior roles
Roles for projects, bigger tasks
Implies that everyone has equal responsibility in the work or solution

6. Revised Traditional Roles
Captain
Ensures everyone understands his/her role and participates
Timekeeper
Tracks group work time and individual talk time
Skeptic
Raises questions or doubts
Sound Check
Monitors the volume level
Enforcer
Keeps paper at the center of the table and keeps members in roles
Cheerleader
Encourages positive attitude and persistence
Val
Roles for projects, bigger tasks
Roles for behaviors
These roles lend themselves to better engagement by the students than the traditional roles
All these must be taught and modeled, and feedback given to students on their performance relative to their role expectations
Overall classroom culture must support engagement in these roles

7. Roles Using Models Physical Visual Narrative/Written Graph Table
Build it, cut it out, demonstrate it, … and defend why you made it this way
Visual
Scale drawing, sketch, clear visual representation of the action, … and defend why you made it this way
Narrative/Written
Record of the thought process and strategies employed (with a push toward using mathematical language)
Graph
Create the graph and defend the choice
Table
Create a two-way table, create a flow chart, … and defend why you made it as you did
Mathematical/Symbolic
If an equation is appropriate one is developed and justified
Val
A must follow up is asking how the representations connect and support one another, which is the best for the problem at hand
Students are not solely responsible for making a given representation but the CHAMPION of that representation, making sure it gets made
These are product roles

8. Roles Unique to the Problem
Multiplier
CLTer – Combine Like Terms
Lead Writer
Grapher
Graph scale checker
Conjecturer
Defender
Sheila
This link is to the math task on graphing sine curves..then this is our list that we came up with for the roles…hit enter to show them
Ask them for potential roles for the sine curve task…
How do you get every student as an active participant in every problem?
Which roles appeal to you? Why?
LAYERING ROLES – Is it possible to layer traditional or revised traditional with representation or other product roles?
Roles suggested by group:
Pattern Analysis
Techie
Sketch Artist

9. Launch about Gears Group roles for the gears task will be based on representations: physical, visual, mathematical, graphical, or written (narrative) The Problem Additional Resources
Sheila
Also want to be explicit which gear we are using and when…
Gear 1: Active Listening: Watch the launch
Gear 2: Independent work: Given the problem to mull over for 5 minutes
Gear 4: Team Work w/ roles specified
We haven’t done anything to present the work – if we have time, we should do a sharing out.
This is where we choose most concrete to most abstract work.
Let’s Work It Out

10. 2 Part Reflection Part 1: Reflect on group work
How did the roles work in your group?
What would you keep and what would you change if you used this in your classroom?
Has this opened the door to try group work in your classroom? What are some potential barriers?
Part 2: Reflect on task
Discuss at your table how many different strategies were used to start this problem at your table.
Then discuss if this task would be considered a rich mathematical task – why or why not?
Sheila
Part 1: Reflect on group work – this should be done as a journal entry (by themselves) It would be great to do as exit ticket to break…
How did the roles work in your group?
What would you keep and what would you change if you used this in your classroom?
Has this opened the door to try group work in your classroom?
Part 2: Reflect on task
Discuss at your table how many different strategies were used to start this problem.
Then discuss if this task would be considered a rich mathematical task – why or why not?
Then move to the rich task slides to review.
2 Part Reflection