Chapter 15 page 352
Table 15.2
Uptake of Ideas
Response Explanation Examples
Acceptance The student indicates
agreement, possibly
with some elaboration.
“Yeah, okay.”
“24 miles, that means he can make it home before sunset.”
“Yeah, because that is the distance between the mile markers.”
Discussion The student initiates a
discussion about the
ideas heard, often by
posing a question.
“How did you get that?”
“Why are you multiplying?”
“Just a minute. Let me think about that.”
“But how fast does the boat go?”
Rejection The student rejects the
comment without any
rationale.
“We’re not doing that.”
“That’s stupid, you’re wrong.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
Source: Barron (2003, p. 324)
Problem 15.2 Understanding students’ thinking: Who will learn the most?A. Middle school students are solving math problems together. In which pair is the second
student likely to learn more?Pair #1
Jean: How did you do this problem?
Chris: You want to create something on the left side of the equation that is easy to
factor. So add 5.
Jean: Why’d you pick 5?
Chris: If you add 5 to both sides, then you get x^2 + 2x – 1, and that is something that
you can factor. That’s why you add 5 to both sides, so that you get an
equation that we all know really well, that we know how to factor right away.
Jean: All right. I see. Thanks. That’s it then. I’m going to do my Spanish homework
now.Pair #2
Paul: How did you do this problem?
Jada: All right. Add 5 to both sides. Then you get x^2 + 2x – 1.
Paul: Why’d you pick 5?
Jada: Because x^2 + 2x – 1 is something we’ve factored a hundred times. We know
how to do it. So you see that you can get a really familiar equation if you add
5 to both sides.
Paul: OK. Let me try it on the another one. Then I need to get to my Spanish
homework.B. High school English students are working on an assignment in which answering some
questions about how to write a good essay. Since the class has just read Authur Miller’s
The Crucible, the questions focus on how to write an essay about that play. One question
addresses whether the statement “There are many examples of panic and frenzy in Arthur
Miller’s The Crucible” makes an acceptable thesis statement for an essay. In which pair is