The Power of Public Charting in Math Classrooms to Engage Every Student in Accountable Talk® Discussions

The Power of Public Charting in Math Classrooms to Engage Every Student in Accountable Talk® Discussions

May 23, 2023 | ,

In many mathematics classrooms, there is no shortage of charts and posters adorning the walls. However, often these charts and posters are premade or purchased and are not co-authored with students. Charting for the purposes of public marking of students’ ideas or a reference tool that is publicly available and focuses on deep, meaningful math structure should be a learner-centered routine that serves students. Read these tips for incorporating or bettering the use of charts in your math classroom.

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Using Accountable Talk® Features to Think Through the Design of Remote Instruction

Using Accountable Talk® Features to Think Through the Design of Remote Instruction

Dec 14, 2021 | , , ,

Infusing practices from the business of instructional technology with Accountable Talk® features provides a light that can guide the planning of technology-based instruction, helping educators navigate challenges in order to enrich remote learning.

® Accountable Talk is a registered trademark of the University of Pittsburgh.

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TalkMoves.com: An Application of Real-Time Evidence of Their Mathematics Discussions

TalkMoves.com: An Application of Real-Time Evidence of Their Mathematics Discussions

Jun 8, 2021 | ,

Have you ever left a classroom discussion and cannot remember what questions you asked? To reflect on practice and consequently to know what to continue and what to modify, teachers need evidence and data of their own facilitation of discussions. Talkmoves, an app that processes Accountable Talk® (AT) math classroom discussion and feeds back the data (typically in about an hour) can support teachers with enhancing their practice!

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4 Effective Communication Strategies in Multilingual Math Classrooms

4 Effective Communication Strategies in Multilingual Math Classrooms

Apr 27, 2021 | ,

“If you cannot read the word problem, you cannot do the math.” This statement is false on many levels! Students who are receiving math instruction in a language other than their native language are doers of mathematics! And as teachers, it is our job to utilize specific strategies that allow every student in each of our classrooms to engage in thinking deeply about the mathematics. In this article we share four strategies for math teachers to use when working with multilingual students who are working on their English skills while also learning math.

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Questioning the Author: A Powerful Approach to Promote Student Understanding of Complex Texts

Questioning the Author: A Powerful Approach to Promote Student Understanding of Complex Texts

Mar 16, 2021 | ,

Questioning the Author is a discussion-based approach that supports students in studying and understanding complex texts. Comprehension work is an essential piece of any text-based task. If students don’t get the gist of the text or grasp an author’s ideas, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to do deeper analytic and interpretive work. It is especially important for emerging readers and emergent multi-lingual (EML) students to be able to access the big ideas of a text while building their comprehension muscles.

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Mathematical Representations: A Window into Student Thinking

Mathematical Representations: A Window into Student Thinking

Mar 2, 2021 |

Representations are windows into student thinking and reasoning. In a time of virtual classrooms, using visual representations is more complex, but as important as ever. If a teacher values students’ thinking, they need to consider how to make it possible for all students to represent that thinking. This article addresses the use of representations and the questions that help students connect representations to deepen understanding of math concepts.

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Accountable Talk® Discussions: Solidifying Knowledge and Engaging in Rigorous Thinking Alongside Others in a Collaborative Community

Accountable Talk® Discussions: Solidifying Knowledge and Engaging in Rigorous Thinking Alongside Others in a Collaborative Community

Feb 16, 2021 |

Accountable Talk discussions require teachers and their students to support one another and mutually create a classroom community committed to using and building accurate knowledge and engaging in rigorous thinking. Everyone involved understands and is accountable for respecting each other and the learning community, as a whole. This begins with recognizing and honoring each person’s different lived experiences because every person brings vital knowledge and valuable assets to the learning community. This article provides a general understanding of Accountable Talk discussions and serves as a basis to begin exploring this high-leverage practice.

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Using 4 Learner-Centered Routines to Build Positive Math Identity in Equitable Classrooms

Using 4 Learner-Centered Routines to Build Positive Math Identity in Equitable Classrooms

Dec 1, 2020 |

Every person is a “math person” and using learner-centered routines can support students in seeing themselves as doers of mathematics. This article, the second of a two-part series, shares how’s and why’s of four learner-centered routines that provide opportunities for students to build positive math identity by creating space for voice, agency, and actually doing mathematics.

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4 Go-To Learner-Centered Routines to Bolster Math Discussions, In-Person and Online

4 Go-To Learner-Centered Routines to Bolster Math Discussions, In-Person and Online

Nov 17, 2020 |

Learner-centered routines are valuable tools for educators because the routines help to spur discussion based on student input, support students as they construct understanding, improve how students see themselves as mathematicians, and create opportunities for formative assessment. This article, the first of a two-part series, shares four learner-centered routines that work in-person and online during mathematics discussions. The second article, coming out on December 1, explores how these four routines can be used to create space for student voice and agency and support them in developing positive mathematical identities as doers of mathematics.

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Remote Coaching for Rigorous and Engaging Online Classroom Discussions: Layering New Forums with Fresh Insights

Remote Coaching for Rigorous and Engaging Online Classroom Discussions: Layering New Forums with Fresh Insights

Nov 3, 2020 |

Coaches have a critical role in assisting teachers in continuing, rather than abandoning, important pedagogies while teaching online. Read about what is being learned through ongoing research at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center on how coaches can support teachers remotely to engage students in rigorous and interactive online discussions.

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Principals Leading with a Coaching Lens

Principals Leading with a Coaching Lens

Jun 8, 2020 |

Before becoming building principals, we were instructional coaches, each of us having coached either mathematics or ELA. Instruction was always the focus of our coaching work. After several years as principals, we realized that though supporting teaching and learning was a component of our work, it was no longer the focus. Once we came to that realization, we knew that we needed to make some changes.

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Implementing Accountable Talk® discussions in math

Implementing Accountable Talk® discussions in math

Aug 25, 2019 |

“It definitely makes my heart smile when I hear a teacher say, ‘I just stopped what I was doing because the student knew more than I did and just took over!’ or ‘I began to feel frustrated because we were not able to work through the content the way that I originally planned, but I learned so much about what they know and have experienced by re-framing some of my questioning and allowing them to create the questions too.

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Conferring with Teachers & Coaches Requires Setting Clear Learning Goals

Conferring with Teachers & Coaches Requires Setting Clear Learning Goals

Aug 25, 2019 |

Conferring with teachers in advance of observing a lesson is a critical component of the Content-Focused Coaching® (CFC) cycle. These “pre-conferences” are opportunities for the coach and the teacher to reflect together about a teacher’s lesson plan, and thus are a rich opportunity for teacher learning. Lesson planning is specifically important for facilitating rigorous Accountable Talk® classroom discussions.

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Increasing High-Quality Student Talk

Increasing High-Quality Student Talk

Aug 25, 2019 |

The Institute for Learning (IFL) and Schenectady City School District have worked collaboratively for several years, and this year, we continued our ongoing partnership with a focus on using improvement science methodology to “get better at getting better.” District-wide, there is a focus on using improvement science to work on persistent problems of practice.

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Using Accountable Talk® Practices to Build the Mind

Using Accountable Talk® Practices to Build the Mind

Aug 25, 2019 |

Children are born with the innate capacity to reason beginning at a very young age (Carey, 2009; Gopnik and Wellman, 2012; Spelke and Kinzler, 2007). Very young children build explanatory systems—implicit theories—that organize their knowledge. These theories enable children to predict, explain, and reason about relevant phenomena and, in some cases, intervene to change them.

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