students were in math the previous year, and even if many of the students were
together the year before, I am a new facilitator for this group of students. They
need to figure out what I expect of them.
I open the conversation by asking students: “Can someone tell me why we
meet at the carpet before and after each math lesson?” By asking this question,
I’m hoping the students will realize how much I value this piece of our mathe-
matical learning. I also pose this question to get a sense of my new students’ expe-
riences: Are they at ease sharing in a whole-group setting? Are they willing to
take risks and answer questions that may not be straightforward? Do they feel
comfortable within our classroom?
September
TEACHER: Can someone tell me why we meet at the carpet before and after
each math lesson?
LISA: We come here to review our work, find out if the answer is right or
wrong.
JOHN: I think it’s to share.
BETHANY: Yeah, but we also get more ideas.
TEACHER: Do our conversations help you as a math learner?
DARRYL: It helps you understand something.
LISA: Well, we see different ideas.
JOHN: You might see that someone else did the same thing as you.
TEACHER: How do you feel talking about the math we are working on? [A
long, uncomfortable minute of silence follows.]
CODY: It’s hard, I don’t want to say the wrong answer. [Many children nod
their heads in agreement.]During this conversation, I asked the students three different questions and
still did not get many responses. The children who were brave enough to give an
answer gave very generic responses that felt like what they thought I wanted to
hear.Ideaswere referred to, but what are these ideas? Why do we talk about them?
Eventually, these “things” we share will be the strategies the students use to solve
problems, the questions we ask to clarify a classmate’s thinking, and the connec-
tions we make while investigating different mathematical concepts.
Reflecting on this conversation, I could sense the uncomfortable feeling
that filled the classroom. At times, the silence was so intense I found myself
shifting in my chair, trying to think of different questions that I could ask to fill
the quiet “dead air.” But even this brief initial discussion helps me to get to
know where my students are and allows me to quickly assess how to best reach
BUILDINGUNDERSTANDINGTHROUGHTALK