For about a year now, I’ve positioned my desks in groups of four. This trimester, my largest class is 35 students, but I was determined to make the groups fit.  I think I nailed it.

My room isn’t really this big. This is a panoramic photo.

For a lot of students, group work has consisted of a couple of things:

1. We compare answers, but  when in doubt, write down what the smart kid has.
2. We work in close proximity to one another, but for the most part, individually.

I’ve been reading Jo Boaler’s new book Mathematical Mindsets which address productive group work and have also read Strength in Numbers by Ilana Horn which surrounds similar issues. (Ilana has blogged on status in math class here) Both texts highlight the importance of addressing status in the mathematics classroom.  Because today was the first day of the new trimester, I thought it was a great opportunity to model and discuss what great group work looks like in order to level out the social status of students in my class.

1 – 100 Group Task (adapted from Sara Vanderwerf)

• Make sure students are in groups of 4.  Groups of 3 or less should join another group and partner with another member of that group.
• Give students highlighters or markers.  Make sure each group member has a different color.
• Distribute one handout per group face down.
• Have students decide who will go first and then continue in a clockwise direction.
• First student will highlight or cross off the number 1.  The next student will cross off number 2.  The following student 3 and so on.
• Give students a fixed amount of time (I did 2 minutes) to get as far as they can.

While students are feverishly crossing off numbers, discretely walk around and take pictures of each group as they work.  Be sure to capture models of group work you would like to highlight. For example, note students helping one another find numbers.  Also, include students all looking at the paper no matter whose desk it is on.

When time has elapsed, have groups make note of where they left off.  I asked, “if I had you discuss strategies, would you be able to improve the number you were able to cross off?”  Most will (obviously) agree, but then I give them a minute or two to examine their paper and discuss some strategies.  If your students are paying close enough attention, they should notice that the numbers are divided into quadrants.

Redistribute a new sheet, face down and start the time again for 2 minutes.  Again, circulate and take pictures, this time capturing the increased determination represented by putting their heads together and keeping the paper on one desk.  For fun you may want them to record their new number.  I had students record their number for the first round compared to the second round.  We then discussed how we could rank the groups based on the results which ended in a nice conversation about rate of change.  If I were more savvy, I might take the data from all three of my classes and put them on a scatterplot in Desmos to see if there is a relationship between their first round score and their second round score.  Alas, that was not to be.  Afterall, the purpose of the activity was not to “win.” It was to talk about what great group work looks like.

I revealed to them that while they were working I was taking pictures.  I had them predict what we would see on the pictures that would demonstrate a productive group.  We made sure to clarify that groups won’t always physically put their heads together to work. But that the idea of all group members focusing on the same task at hand was essential.  This allowed us to lay the foundation for future meaningful group work so that the students benefit from it.

Link to PDF of handouts

We are starting to gear up for TMC16, which will be at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN (map is here) from July 16-19, 2016. We are looking forward to a great event! Part of what makes TMC special is the wonderful presentations we have from math teachers who are facing the same challenges that we all are.

To get an idea of what the community is interested in hearing about and/or learning about we set up a Google Doc (http://bit.ly/TMC16-1). It’s a GDoc for people to list their interests and someone who might be good to present that topic. The form is still open for editing, so if you have an idea of what you’d like to see someone else present as you’re writing your own proposal, feel free to add it!

This conference is by teachers, for teachers. That means we need you to present. Yes, you! In the past everyone who submitted on time was accepted, however, this year we cannot guarantee that everyone who submits a proposal will be accepted. We do know that we need 10-12 morning sessions (these sessions are held 3 consecutive mornings for 2 hours each morning) and 12 sessions at each afternoon slot (12 half hour sessions that will be on Saturday, July 16 and 48 one hour sessions that will be either Saturday, July 16, Sunday, July 17, or Monday, July 18). That means we are looking for somewhere around 70 sessions for TMC16.

What can you share that you do in your classroom that others can learn from? Presentations can be anything from a strategy you use to how you organize your entire curriculum. Anything someone has ever asked you about is something worth sharing. And that thing that no one has asked about but you wish they would? That’s worth sharing too. Once you’ve decided on a topic, come up with a title and description and submit the form. The description you submit now is the one that will go into the program, so make sure it is clear and enticing. Please make sure that people can tell the difference between your session and one that may be similar. For example, is your session an Intro to Desmos session or one for power users? This helps us build a better schedule and helps you pick the sessions that will be most helpful to you!

If you have an idea for something short (between 5 and 15 minutes) to share, plan on doing a My Favorite. Those will be submitted at a later date.

The deadline for submitting your TMC Speaker Proposal is January 18, 2016 at 11:59 pm Eastern time. This is a firm deadline since we will reserve spots for all presenters before we begin to open registration on February 1st.

Thank you for your interest!

Team TMC – Lisa Henry, Lead Organizer, Mary Bourassa, Tina Cardone, James Cleveland, Cortni Muir, Jami Packer, Megan Schmidt, Sam Shah, Christopher Smith, and Glenn Waddell