Chapter 6 – When, Where, and How Tasks Are Given
Did you know that the timing, location, and mode of delivering a task can impact the amount of thinking students do in your classroom?
Traditionally, teachers give tasks in one of three ways:
· Project or write it onto a vertical surface
· Give it as a handout
· Assign it from a workbook or textbook
Can you guess which delivery method yielded the least amount of student thinking? You guessed it – the workbook or textbook problems.
When to Give the Task
A task given either in the middle or at the end of a lesson was shown to produce much less desired results than the same task given at the beginning of a lesson.
The best time to give a task is within the first 3-5 minutes of when the lesson begins.
Where to Give the Task
Have the students stand gathered around you loosely while you present the task to them. This was shown to increase student energy while creating an active environment more conducive to student thinking.
How to Give the Task
The most effective way to give a task is verbally. This was a shocking realization as it goes against everything we were taught as teachers. The essence of the task should be given verbally, almost like you’re telling a story, but the quantities, measurements, data, and any expressions can be written on the board as you share the task verbally.
You can tell if you’ve done this properly when if a student comes in late to the class after you’ve presented the task and he/she looks at the board, he/she should have no clue what the task is.
Chapter 7 – What Homework Looks Like in a Thinking Classroom
There is a huge disconnect between what teachers and students believe as the purpose of homework.
Teachers say homework is for a student to practice what they learned during the school day. Students say it’s a way for teachers to get grades.
These are the four basic student behaviors with homework:
· Didn’t do it
· Cheated
· Got help
· Tried it on their own
So, how did the Peter Liljedahl rebrand homework?
He stopped calling it homework and instead called it “Check-your-understanding questions.”
This immediately changed the view in students’ minds that this was for them and not for the teacher. Not grading the problems produced a safe space for students to make mistakes and seek understanding vs just trying to get it done to get a grade. Another shift in how “homework” is assigned is that the check your understanding (CYU) problems are accompanied with the answers. Students will see that “homework” is now an opportunity, not a requirement.
Chapter 8 – How We Foster Student Autonomy in a Thinking Classroom
The first 7 chapters have shown us how a thinking classroom is different from a traditional classroom.
· Students are standing
· Students are working in groups
· The classroom is de-fronted
· We give instructions verbally
· We answer fewer questions
· Homework has been rebranded
All of these changes require a greater independence on the part of our students.
Thinking classrooms lend themselves to knowledge mobility. Students can look around the room and get help if needed, requiring less assistance from the teacher. Thinking classrooms have less hands in the air with more passive and active interactions between the groups. Students have the autonomy to make use of the collection knowledge in the room.
Chapter 9 – How We Use Hints and Extensions in a Thinking Classroom
A goal in thinking classrooms is to keep our students in “flow.” Flow is the space where there is a balance between challenge and ability.
If students stay too long in a task that is too easy, they become bored. If the challenge is too much and they stay there too long they become frustrated and will want to quit.
“Thin-Slicing” is a way for teachers to sequence tasks that help keep students in a state of “flow.”
1. You can never start too easy.
2. Use microscopic changes. Make them extra thin.
3. Over plan.
4. Try to anticipate traffic jams or sticky points.
5. Prepare parallel problems for those who might need more of the same.
6. Not every task needs to be thin-sliced.
7. Place one problem up at a time.
Here are two examples of “Thin Sliced” tasks.
Chapter 10 – How We Consolidate in a Thinking Classroom
Consolidation is an important part of every lesson. This is the phase of the lesson where new material is reviewed to reinforce learning. Typically, teachers consolidate by leveling to the top, providing information on how to solve the tricky problems. However, many students are not ready to make that big of a cognitive jump.
When we consolidate in a thinking classroom, we do so from the bottom, showing the solutions that every student got to. Like thin-slicing, there is a gradual movement through each level of the task with the most amount of time spent at the first level.
Ways to Consolidate from the Bottom
1. The teacher leads a general discussion about the task but writes nothing down. (most suitable when talking about big ideas and general strategies)
2. The teacher leads a detailed discussion of the task and responses while recording on the board what is being discussed. (suitable when more details are required)
3. The teacher leads a detailed discussion of the task and responses using student work on the vertical surfaces to work through different layers of the answer. (most effective for maintaining engagement)
Because the Gallery Walk (the third type of consolidation listed above) is the most effective in keeping students engaged, this is the method of consolidation that should be done most often.
Prior to the gallery work, the teacher needs to carefully select and sequence the vertical surfaces that they will take the students to. Doing this coupled with purposely focused questions and allowing students to ask questions about the boards they are reviewing also increased the amount of time students spent thinking.
If you’re interested in exploring more with Building Thinking Classrooms or trying a thinking task with your students, reach out to your math coach. We’re here to help!
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