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In this cycle, novices engage in a True/False Equation activity as learners and examine orienting students to one another’s thinking in the context of discussion. They prepare for, teach, and video record a True/False Equation discussion with children to analyze their own orienting practices.

This set of activities is meant to extend prior work on leading discussion in mathematics. Each activity focuses on an area of work in the decomposition, allowing novices to build skill in each area. These materials focus on in class activities, but we encourage you to supplement these with opportunities for novices to lead discussion with students.
In this three to four class session unit, novices learn to implement norms for mathematical explanations inside of group discussions. They examine a decomposition of the practice, use video to analyze practice, rehearse, and reflect. The unit aims to prepare novices both to make discourses of power explicit and to engage children in authentic mathematical discourse.
Select a quadrant below to view related activities:
Introduce
Novices engage as learners of mathematics in a True/False Equations activity to develop content knowledge and analyze a video to examine the work of orienting students to one another's thinking.
Prepare
Novices plan True/False Equations activities in small grade-level groups and then engage in a coached rehearsal targeting work on orienting while leading a group discussion.
Enact
Novices conduct and video record a True/False Equation discussion with students focused on orienting students' to one another's thinking.
Analyze
Novices independently analyze their teaching videos, writing a formal reflection focused on patterns in their orienting students to one another's thinking while attending to student status and positioning.

For more information about the learning cycle

Lampert, M., Franke, M. L., Kazemi, E., Ghousseini, H., Turrou, A. C., Beasley, H., Cunard, A., & Crowe, K. (2013). Keeping it complex: Using rehearsals to support novice teacher learning of ambitious teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(3), 226-243.

McDonald, M., Kazemi, E., & Kavanagh, S. S. (2013). Core practices and pedagogies of teacher education: A call for a common language and collective activity. Journal of Teacher Education64(5), 378-386.

Teacher Education by Design. (2014). University of Washington College of Education.