Chapter 14 page 308
Problem 14.1. Evaluating Teaching. Teacher Explanations of Strategies
An elementary school teacher is explaining to students the strategy of checking whether the answer
makes sense. Evaluate what the teacher says:
“When we check whether the answer makes sense, we look at the answer, and we say, “Does this
answer seem about right? Is it about what we were expecting?” Checking your work is something you
can do on any kind of math problem. If you’re checking prices at the supermarket, you can check your
work. If you’re taking a math test in this class, you can check your work, too. Or you can use this
strategy when you’re figuring out how many pizzas you need to buy for your birthday party to make
sure that everyone gets at least 2 slices of pizza.
Response: The teacher has told what the strategy is, and when it can be used. But the teacher has not
explained how to do the strategy, or why it is valuable.
Teachers Modeling Strategies
Effective teachers model the strategies they are teaching (A. Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989;
Duffy, Roehler, & Herrmann, 1988; R. Friend, 2001; Graham et al., 2005; McNeill & Krajcik, 2008;
Schoenfeld, 1985). Teachers model cognitive strategies by thinking aloud to show students how to use the
strategies. In other words, teachers who model cognitive strategies to their students articulate their thought
processes out loud as they demonstrate for students how to use the strategies. For example, here is a high-
school social studies teacher modeling the strategies of thinking open-mindedly and thinking about
counterarguments before reaching conclusions.
Teacher model Analysis
“As we’ve all read, this article is trying to persuade us
that the U.S. will have more influence in the world if it
exercises diplomatic power rather than emphasizes
military power.
Well, I have to say, the author’s arguments are
pretty persuasive to me. So shall I reach the same
conclusion that the author does? Well, before I do that,
even though I think I agree with this author, I want to
make sure I’m being open-minded here. I really want to
see if I can think of any good counterarguments to the
author’s arguments. So I want to look at her first
argument—that U.S. military presence usually does
more harm than good. Is that a good argument?
Hmmm. It seems pretty good to me. But is it? Let me
think.... Can I think of any counterexamples? Are
there any counter-examples from South America?
No—I don’t think so. I can’t think of any really
positive military interventions in South America.
Panama? Well, that’s a controversial military
intervention. Not a clear-cut counterexample. Some
people would say that was a positive military
intervention; others would disagree. Anything in
Africa? Not that I can think of.... Wait a minute.
Here’s a possible counterexample. The U.S. has had
The teacher acknowledges her initial evaluation,
but rather than jump into a conclusion, she asks
herself if she is really being open-minded.She now models the strategy of trying to think
of counterarguments.
She examines the author’s first argument
and starts there.She models the process of trying to think of
counterexamples.She considers a possible counterexample but
rejects it as controversial.She thinks of a possible counterargument and