Talk Moves in Math

1. Talk Moves in Math

2. 2/3 of the talk in classrooms is done by teachers 2/3 of the talk is about controlling or directing Beware!! Excess Teacher Talk Swamps Children Cross & Nagel 1969 Carmel Crevola

3. Teacher-Centered Discussion (Image Source: http://www.icalweb.com/wiki/index.php?title=Classroom_Focus)

4. Student-CenteredDiscussion (Image Source: http://www.icalweb.com/wiki/index.php?title=Classroom_Focus)

5. Briefly, why aim for talk and discussion? •Talk reveals understanding and misunderstanding. • Talk supports academic language development. • Talk supports deeper reasoning. • Talk supports social development and perspective taking.

6. What are Talk Moves? • Academic talk by students and teachers.

7. Revoicing • The teacher repeats part or all of a student's utterance and asks the student to verify whether the interpretation is correct. • Especially helpful to teachers when they do not understand what was said. • Revoicing is not simply repeating, The third part (verification) is necessary. (I infer…. Is that right? Is that correct?)

8. Say More… • Ask a student to elaborate on what she said, or ask another student to "add on" or "say more" about a classmate's contribution. • This move is helpful whether or not the teacher understands the initial contribution. • Sometimes this move is overlooked because it is so straightforward. • Students enjoy having a platform from which to start their comment.

9. Repeat • Students restate a contribution of a classmate either verbatim or paraphrased. • Useful when an idea is out on the floor and teacher wants more engagement. • Repeating, even when reformulated in your own words, requires another layer of thinking. • It is somewhat challenging to repeat classmates' contributions. • The expectation that students be able to repeat contributions is useful. Students are "on call" and must attend to conversation. • Even teachers find the task challenging in meetings, etc. • This move changes the level at which people listen.

10. Example or Counterexample? • Student asked to provide an example or counter-example of his or a classmate's contribution. • This move is particularly useful in math, but also in other subject areas. • Calling upon other students to provide examples serves as an effective check for understanding. • Counterexamples are productive in math when disproving a claim, etc.

11. Agree or Disagree • Teacher asks student whether they agree or disagree with a comment, then also asks why. • It is important to add the "why" when using this move. • The yes or no question of "Do you agree or disagree?" is a good start point to engage students in the deeper thinking of "why?“ • Effective move to control and encourage close attention to classmates' contributions.

12. Why do you think that? Teacher asks students to explain how or why they came to their position. • Move can also referred to as "press for reasoning.“ • Pressing can include asking why, requiring evidence, citing text, questioning methods, etc. • Ultimate goal is to open a student's reasoning process to the rest of the class so that others can learn and respond.

13. Wait Time • Teacher allows quiet thinking time for students to develop responses. • While not technically a "talk" move, wait time is equally important. • It is important to provide students time to think. • Waiting for a student response may feel uncomfortable to some, but with practice is becomes natural. • Moving on rapidly is not always to most beneficial choice for students. • Students who are normally quiet can provide especially insightful responses if teacher uses wait time. The idea that this puts undue pressure on students is false. • This move allows more students to participate and builds confidence in those less accustomed to speaking out.

14. But, Where do I Start? • Start with one move. • The revoicing move can be introduced into teaching without fanfare. • Students can learn revoicing techniques with explicit coaching. • Revoicing is highly effective yet simple. • Consider announcing to class that talk will be used in new ways and describe what students might expect.