Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

Reflection on Lesson

General Reflections

When planning this lesson, my goal was for the students to be able to solve a two-digit

dividend by a one-digit divisor using strategies such as models and the standard algorithm. More

importantly, I not only wanted them to be able to solve them using these strategies, but I wanted

them to be able to find a strategy that made sense to them. I therefore utilized a worksheet that

allowed them to use a strategy they were comfortable using, and to then use a strategy that they

were trying out. They could then ultimately decide for themselves which made more sense to

them.

I then made it a goal for students to be able to share their ideas and strategies that they

utilized so other students could see how their classmates were thinking. Since there was a

connection between multiplication and division, I wanted them to find that connection on their

own either through doing the mathematics themselves, or by seeing another student find the

connection. As Carpenter stressed, the teacher sets the tone, invites students to engage with each

other, and supports them to figure out how to engage in a way that moves beyond agreeing or

disagreeing that the strategy is correct (p. 155). I wanted to make it a goal for myself to make

sure students had a chance to share and socialize to develop a deeper understanding of the

connection between multiplication and division or finding a strategy that made sense to them.

My understanding of the students prior knowledge and experiences guided me to connect

the material to a scenario that would be relevant and engaging to their lives. I therefore chose to

use a scenario that they were familiar with and would understand from personal experiences,

which is figuring out ways to share items evenly whether that be between siblings, family or

friends.
 Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

The instruction motivated and intellectually engaged the students in developing

understanding of mathematics because I first used a scenario that was relevant to them. I then

allowed them to use their own strategies, not just mine which allowed them to use a strategy that

made sense to them, not just one that they were following mindlessly. I also utilized turn and talk

which allowed students to engage with their classmates about each others ideas. As Van de

Walle emphasized, when students in your classroom attempt to investigate new ideas in

mathematics, they should find your classroom a safe and nurturing place for expressing nave or

rudimentary thoughts (p. 174). I made sure to create a safe environment for the students by

repeating that everyones ideas were welcome in order for students to be motivated to share their

methods without feeling they would be seen as nave.

Focused Reflections

1) In what ways did you elicit and respond to students thinking? In what ways did you use

questioning to reveal students strategies, explanations, and justifications? How did students

respond?

As Carpenter stressed, there is no perfect sequence of questions nor can questions all be

preplanned because supporting students to explain the details of their ideas requires listening and

responding to what students share (p. 140). As I had my students come up to share their ideas to

the class, I used questions that directly revealed the students strategies based on what methods

they had within their work. Although questions cannot exactly be preplanned, it is important to

utilize questions that are open-ended rather than close-ended.

For instance, when I had Cristopher come up to show the class his methods, he pointed

out that using the algorithm made the problem easier or quicker to solve. In order to elicit his
 Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

thinking and to show the class why one method may be more efficient, I asked him why he felt

the algorithm he used took less time, rather than drawing out the problem. He then pointed out

that with the algorithm, 6 times 7 is 42, so you can just answer [the question] quicker. Since I

realized that he had made a connection between division and multiplication, I then used the

moment for Christopher to explicitly tell the class how he found the connection. I brought up

how earlier he had showed me the connection, and asked if he could share with the class what

division was connected to. After he shared that multiplication can be used when solving division

problems, students can be heard agreeing that utilizing math facts and the connection between

the two operations could help us solve division problems.

2) In what ways did you orient students to each others thinking? How did you get students to talk

about and respond to each others ideas? In what ways did you orient students to the content?

It is vital to show students that we can all learn from each other. The development of

problem-solving requires teachers to be able to believe all of their students are capable of

constructing their own methods to solve math problems. In order to orient students to each

others thinking, I made sure to allow time for turn and talk several times throughout the lesson. I

first allotted time for turn and talk after I used a story about having to share things between my

siblings and I. I then asked them to first take a minute to think about a time they had to share

something between their siblings or friends and to then share those ideas with the people in their

group. I then allotted time for them to turn and talk after everyone was done completing the

problems. They were then able to share with each other how they solved the problems using their

own methods or strategies.

When students rose their hands to ask what other ways they could solve their problems, I

asked them to speak with their partners rather than giving them my own method. When you
Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

allow students to have an opportunity to invent and share their own methods, students see the

value not only in each others ideas, but in their own as well. On the other hand, it is important to

make sure that students understand the methods they are using and why they should use them. As

Van de Walle emphasizes, students using methods they understand make many fewer errors than

when they use strategies that they learned without understanding (p. 174).

To orient the students to the content, I had three different students share their methods for

each problem in front of the class using the doc cam. Allowing students to share their strategies

with the class helps the student enhance his/her understanding and the class to learn what

counts as a complete mathematical explanation (Carpenter, p. 142). In one moment where I had

a student come up, she had explained why she used a picture strategy because she found it to be

easier since it provided a visual. I then asked the class why her strategy may be good to use. A

student then explained how it helps you see that everyone is getting the right amount and is just a

picture form of the algorithms we usually use. I then explained how using visuals are also good

to use if you are not yet comfortable using the algorithms, which is okay. I wanted to achieve my

goal of having the students engage in a way that moves beyond agreeing or disagreeing that the

strategy is correct, I wanted them to see how a person was thinking and exactly why they

decided to use a certain method over another one (Carpenter, p 155).

5) What kinds of representations did you use during the lesson (e.g., equations, ratio table,

base-10 blocks, etc.)? In what ways did use representations to support students understanding and
Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

use of mathematical concepts? Refer in particular to your photo of the board at the end of your

lesson.
During the lesson, I made sure to provide several representations so that the students

could choose which one made sense to them. As Jackson pointed out, when you tell your

students to use a particular strategy, you rob them of the opportunity to develop mathematical

understanding as they generate their own solution methods and representations (pg. 28). I

therefore allowed students to use my representations only as a reference, I made sure that they

understood that they could use whatever strategy or method made sense to them. I explicitly tell

them that they should use each other as references and that they didnt have to solve the

problems the way I did.

As teachers, we sometimes tend to focus on the objective rather than the process of

mathematics. Rather than understanding why we use certain operations and methods, we strive to

memorize how to use certain algorithms. On the other hand, it has been shown that when

manipulating symbols were often devoid of meaning it resulted in a strong dislike for

mathematics (pg. 289). If we are to create content that a student will find useful and

meaningful, we must make sure they are able to engage in math in a way that is significant to

them. If they are just following the algorithms and strategies we use mindlessly, they become

more prone to making mistakes due to their inability to see if their answer makes sense or not.

The worksheets I decided to use helped me a great deal in getting the students to utilize

different strategies. As you could see in the final display of what was on the board at the end of

the lesson, the student can be seen using multiple representations of their thinking. In order for

students to really understand and get them thinking why we use certain operations, it requires

opportunities for children to pursue their own ways of reasoning so that they can construct their

own mathematical understandings rather than feeling as if they are mimicking their teachers
Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

thinking (Jacobs, p. 108). I feel that in order for students to get the most out of a lesson, they

have to leave it really knowing why or how we solved a problem using certain methods. I dont

want them to leave thinking they have to memorize the algorithms or equations but that they

understand how to solve the problem on their own.

Looking Ahead

Although there is no particular way we can recreate a perfect classroom, we can learn to

facilitate productive conversations within it by giving our students opportunities to communicate

with each other. My ideas that I have for future enactments of this activity with this group of

students revolve around creating a more student-oriented environment. One way I could do this

is by asking for more student input throughout the lesson. At times I feel that I have to explain

the way students are thinking, but instead, I could ask for other students to help me explain it

themselves.

Another way I could incorporate more student talk would be to have students not only

share their ideas with each other, but also teach them how to ask more extending questions to

each other. I can teach my students to create deeper conversations than just whats on the surface

by having them ask more about each others strategies in order to find how they found that or

why they did that.

As a result of this analysis, I would like to strengthen my ability to utilize more student

talk rather than stepping in myself. The thoughts of my students are more important to hear than

mine all the time, and Id like to learn how to ask more supporting questions rather than doing

the explaining myself. I also am not sure that all students saw the relationship between

multiplication and division. This was one of my goals because I knew that the focus on making
Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

sense of number facts also contributes to helping children see that mathematics can be

understood and reasoned about rather than learned as a collection of unrelated facts and

procedures (Carpenter, p. 63). Therefore, in the future, I plan to be more explicit with these

connections by allowing the students to have plenty of time to understand the properties and the

relationship between multiplication and division rather than focusing on memorizing number

facts.

Citations

Victoria R. Jacobs, Heather A. Martin, Rebecca C. Ambrose and Randolph A. Philipp Source:

Teaching Children Mathematics, Vol. 21, No. 2 (September 2014), pp. 107-113
Laura Montes | Lhm468 | EDC 370E

Kara J. Jackson, Emily C. Shahan, Lynsey K. Gibbons and Paul A. Cobb Source: Mathematics

Teaching in the Middle School, Vol. 18, No. 1 (August 2012), pp. 24-29

Thomas P. Carpenter, Elizabeth Fennema, Megan Franke, Linda Levi, and Susan Empson.

nd
(2015) Childrens Mathematics: Cognitively Guided Instruction (2 edition),

Van de Walle, J., Karp, K., LouAnn, L., & Bay-Williams, J. (2013). Teaching Student- Centered

Mathematics: Developmentally Appropriate Instruction for Grades 35, 2nd Edition.

Boston, MA: Pearson.