This video clip takes place in a fifth-grade class. The Metamorphosis coach has not worked with this teacher or class previously and she is new to talk moves. Before the lesson, the Metamorphosis coach met with the classroom teacher and her colleagues. They worked through the lesson together. 

The video segment you will see is part of a minilesson introduced to the whole class in preparation for the students to tackle a rich math problem individually and in pairs later in the lesson. If you watched our video from last week, you will note the difference in the communication skills of the students. This is literally the first time the students in this class are being asked to seriously engage with one another in relation to a math problem as a community of learners. The students were new to listening carefully to one another and to building on one another’s ideas. The teacher is new to these teaching techniques. 

The teacher’s goal in this video is to develop more student thinking and discussion, and that is what we agree to work on together. The teacher and several of her colleagues are observing the lesson and taking notes based on the focus we set during our pre-conference—namely, how to generate and facilitate student discourse. We crafted a mini-lesson designed to help students develop their capacity to reason mathematically, to articulate their own thinking, and to make sense of their classmates’ thinking so that the coach could demonstrate several talk moves. The ­­­­­clip shows one way to get started when a class is new to the practice.

Seating Arrangements and Listening Expectations

The coach asked the teacher to allow students to sit in a horseshoe format facing the board. This was a new arrangement for her class and required moving some furniture out of the way. It is essential for students to sit in a way that they can engage in authentic conversation. They need to see the person who is speaking, look at the person when he or she is talking, and listen attentively to restate what was said. You cannot agree with, disagree with, or build on what someone else is saying if you don’t know what was said. This format also reduces distractions because there are no desks to hide behind or objects to fiddle with.

In this clip, look for and listen to what the coach is doing and saying to establish a learning environment. How does she work to make sure that every student is engaged? Refer to the talk moves in our previous blogs and see if you can name some of the moves. How well do your Students Listen To Each Other?

Video: 5^th Grade: Seating Arrangements and Listening Expectations

Further Reading:

–10 Clues That Say it’s Time to Get Students Talking

-Looking for Last Minute Tips in Preparation for the State Test?

–Adding Talk to The Equation, by Lucy West.