Earlier this week, I was honored to facilitate some trainings in my district around math talk and formative assessment in the classroom. Above are the two resources that much of the information of the modules I presented was pulled from. I read both over the summer and they give powerful primary and intermediate vignettes, highlighting powerful math talk in classrooms. Because I was tasked with sharing information around math talk, the role of math talk in formative assessment and how these two work together to subsequently aid teachers in making sound instructional decisions in the classroom, I have been spending quite a bit of time thinking about my own math instruction. My realization this summer is that I have some place to grow and that is an exciting prospect. I am hoping to be a bit more effective and intentional when working with my students in mathematics. I am using open shares and targeted talk all the time in my classroom. Math talk is alive and happening everyday, but I don't know that I am as effective as I can be in utilizing that talk to assess my students understanding or misconceptions in math. In the past I have moved between open shares and targeted talk without always being cognizant of that formative assessment piece. Perhaps some of that just comes naturally as you teach and you aren't always fully aware of all of the "moves" you are making based off of the students responses, and in some ways that is probably okay. I do think this will be a goal for me as I enter the school year-- keeping that formative assessment in math talk in the forefront of my mind. Being aware of the decisions I am making and why. Becoming more precise, and intentional through the math talk occurring in my classroom and finding more effective ways of pinpointing next steps for my mathematicians in whole-group, small-group and partner work.
For those who may be interested. Here are some online resources that cover more on math talk, open sharing, targeted talk and formative assessment in math.
