Encouraging students to explain their thinking process is a major step that is easy to forget about. In math, sometimes the focus is directed towards finding the correct answer and the actual process is ignored. Actually having students explain how they got an answer shows how much the student understands. In my classroom, I always try to have students show through a picture or using manipulatives how they reached an answer. We go through the steps together and any confusion can be identified and explained through this process. I also liked that the author connected this to the earlier skill of having a language-rich classroom. Having students communicate how to perform a math operation helps to keep the vocabulary in practice and shows how different disciplines connect through math. Students who are struggling could also be helped by having other students share their reasoning so that they can get a different perspective.
Encouraging students to explain their thinking process is a major step that is easy to forget about. In math, sometimes the focus is directed towards finding the correct answer and the actual process is ignored. Actually having students explain how they got an answer shows how much the student understands. In my classroom, I always try to have students show through a picture or using manipulatives how they reached an answer. We go through the steps together and any confusion can be identified and explained through this process. I also liked that the author connected this to the earlier skill of having a language-rich classroom. Having students communicate how to perform a math operation helps to keep the vocabulary in practice and shows how different disciplines connect through math. Students who are struggling could also be helped by having other students share their reasoning so that they can get a different perspective.
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