KAVON: When we talk, it basically helps us learn more. But, basically we
are helping others learn too. I might know something someone else doesn’t.
What I say might help someone. Sometimes I get ideas from other people,
too.
TEACHER: What made you comfortable in the class to talk about the math
you do?
ANDREA: We do a lot of talking, but I think it’s OK, I got used to it. I think
that I learned more this year because of it.
STEPHANIE: Yeah and it’s OK to make a mistake. Like, I might solve a prob-
lem and get the wrong answer, but I don’t have to be embarrassed. No one
will laugh. I used to be scared though.
DAQUAN: The teacher wouldn’t like that.
STEPHANIE: I also know that I can ask for help when I’m stuck.
YASMINE: We talk when we work together, too.
MYREEK: I think we talk a lot because we might help someone else who
doesn’t get it. I might know how to solve a problem with a picture, but
someone else might be able to tell me what kind of math sentence to
write.Stephanie and Myreek are two students who were hesitant to share for the
majority of the year. By June, they felt confident enough to say that they
weren’t sure about something a classmate shared or to share their own thinking
even if it was pretty basic when compared to what others were contributing.
Myreek was able to ask for help to write an equation to match his picture.
Although the majority of the students may not be drawing a picture to show
their thinking, Myreek felt secure enough to point out how others could help
him. Stephanie’s thought about feeling embarrassed is something that many
reluctant learners experience. They don’t want to share if they know that they
don’t get the math or if they are afraid of being laughed at. It’s important for me
to encourage everyone to participate, emphasizing how the class can work
together to solve problems. Ideally, a struggling student can contribute some-
thing to the discussion that other students can then build on, or the struggling
student can reiterate what was said or done to feel she has had an important
part in the math discourse.
One student ended this end-of-year conversation by saying “the lightbulb
goes off.” I asked her what she meant by that and she said, “If we didn’t come to
the rug, there would be no lightbulbs. We help each other understand the math.
We don’t tell each other answers, but try to ask questions, like you do. Then the
lightbulb happens; we can make our own connections.”
BUILDINGUNDERSTANDINGTHROUGHTALK