That "I believe in you" as he walked away from the table was so wholesome!
Zander seemed to be sharing a table with a very "checked-in" student who raised her hand immediately when asked for volunteers, so I can imagine Colin wanted to make Zander feel validated with the value of his story, and not intimidated by the fact that his peer probably had a great story herself. As someone who was pretty quiet in class through school, that was always my biggest fear ("I have nothing to contribute here, the smart kids have better stuff to share")
I really appreciate the pace and structure of this discussion protocol that Campbell is using. By listening to the groups, engaging particularly with Zander, validating his story with emphasis ("That is a huge cake"), then having others in the class engage with Zander's idea ("How many of you guys have baked before?"), Campbell creates a positive, socio-emotionally engaged classroom that leads to deeper thinking.
Asking the class to visualize Zander's story had to be validating for Zander, definitely, but "visualize" is the kind of concrete and sensory verb that can draw in students who aren't yet ready to abstract and formalize a context.
1. The way Colin interacts with Zander is really good. He is listening and showing interest by commenting on the size of the cake. As a student, if a teacher listens to you and becomes interested in what you are saying, it is a great encouragement. It uplifts the student's mindset.
2. When Zander reads the story, Colin is asking the class to visualize the story. That is also a good approach. Others are not passively listening when they visualize it. I think next time when they encounter a similar problem, they'll be able to recall this story or the stories.
AI can replicate the verbal interaction easily, but the real connection that Colin is developing with a student cannot come from AI (at least as of now).
> AI can replicate the verbal interaction easily, but the real connection that Colin is developing with a student cannot come from AI (at least as of now).
Colin did a great job interacting with his students. It is obvious that the routine has been established and the students know what to do and have ownership, a great environment to work in. There is a personal relationship between Colin and his students, and each one is given time to get the work done and asking for help is expected and ok. Colin also validates his student with conversation and comments, that acknowledge the students' work and helps create a visual model for everyone to understand. Working in short spurts, and then repeating the process, so students who did not finish, still have the opportunity to construct their story. Great lesson for leaning and understanding. Definitely builds perseverance and teaches the student to revisit and share their work. Critical communications skills, with feedback.
Great post as usual. Saving time does not improve the teaching profession... we're solving for day to day survival, not enhancing teaching and learning.
All great comments and lots of positives about this interaction and activity. One thing that stood out to me was helping the students understand what a cup measures. This happens individually when Zander responds that he'll be making two wedding cakes after the teacher helps him understand that 12 cups is a lot, and in the group context, when students are asked to visualize how much 1 cup is. Too often, students do not have a sense of how much a measure is in real-life whether it's distance, volume, or something else even when they can "solve" a problem. I appreciate seeing a teacher try to make this connection.
The thing that stands out to me is using student-created stories to explore math concepts. While the verbal content of those stories might be similar to a traditional word problem, students are likely to be more engaged and develop a deeper understanding when they are the ones coming up with the stories.
This approach also creates an opportunity for the teacher to learn more about the students. For example, I would be curious to know whether Zander thought about cake because he's interested in cooking/baking. That could be a window into understanding more about who he is as a person. (Of course, maybe he just likes cake!)
I'm coming at this from an Australian perspective (I've been thinking about Prof Chris Matthews and the Goompi model recently) so your comment about Zander and his baking interest really resonated. That is, there is a whole cultural perspective here that comes from a personal interaction between Zander and Colin. Given the documented cultural biases of AI it is just another layer that stands between students and success. The story was such a cool technique.
Plus really really loved the understanding of 12 divided by 1/3 equals 36.
I want AI to do what the tech folks claim - I want it to be able to provide individualised learning for all the student so that everyone can access Maths.
The teacher asks the students to put the "math" in a real world context by creating a story and sharing those stories with others. What a wonderful (and quick!) opportunity for students to make cognitive connections.
That "I believe in you" as he walked away from the table was so wholesome!
Zander seemed to be sharing a table with a very "checked-in" student who raised her hand immediately when asked for volunteers, so I can imagine Colin wanted to make Zander feel validated with the value of his story, and not intimidated by the fact that his peer probably had a great story herself. As someone who was pretty quiet in class through school, that was always my biggest fear ("I have nothing to contribute here, the smart kids have better stuff to share")
"I believe in you" sounded like a rich history between Campbell & Zander.
I really appreciate the pace and structure of this discussion protocol that Campbell is using. By listening to the groups, engaging particularly with Zander, validating his story with emphasis ("That is a huge cake"), then having others in the class engage with Zander's idea ("How many of you guys have baked before?"), Campbell creates a positive, socio-emotionally engaged classroom that leads to deeper thinking.
1. He kept things moving.
2. He encouraged shared ownership of ideas.
3. He actually listened to Zander. He gave him a heads up that he was going to ask him to share with the class.
4. He validated Zander's story for the class BY helping the group visualize and connect to the context of Zander's story.
Asking the class to visualize Zander's story had to be validating for Zander, definitely, but "visualize" is the kind of concrete and sensory verb that can draw in students who aren't yet ready to abstract and formalize a context.
1. The way Colin interacts with Zander is really good. He is listening and showing interest by commenting on the size of the cake. As a student, if a teacher listens to you and becomes interested in what you are saying, it is a great encouragement. It uplifts the student's mindset.
2. When Zander reads the story, Colin is asking the class to visualize the story. That is also a good approach. Others are not passively listening when they visualize it. I think next time when they encounter a similar problem, they'll be able to recall this story or the stories.
AI can replicate the verbal interaction easily, but the real connection that Colin is developing with a student cannot come from AI (at least as of now).
Extremely clutch observation:
> AI can replicate the verbal interaction easily, but the real connection that Colin is developing with a student cannot come from AI (at least as of now).
Colin did a great job interacting with his students. It is obvious that the routine has been established and the students know what to do and have ownership, a great environment to work in. There is a personal relationship between Colin and his students, and each one is given time to get the work done and asking for help is expected and ok. Colin also validates his student with conversation and comments, that acknowledge the students' work and helps create a visual model for everyone to understand. Working in short spurts, and then repeating the process, so students who did not finish, still have the opportunity to construct their story. Great lesson for leaning and understanding. Definitely builds perseverance and teaches the student to revisit and share their work. Critical communications skills, with feedback.
Great post as usual. Saving time does not improve the teaching profession... we're solving for day to day survival, not enhancing teaching and learning.
All great comments and lots of positives about this interaction and activity. One thing that stood out to me was helping the students understand what a cup measures. This happens individually when Zander responds that he'll be making two wedding cakes after the teacher helps him understand that 12 cups is a lot, and in the group context, when students are asked to visualize how much 1 cup is. Too often, students do not have a sense of how much a measure is in real-life whether it's distance, volume, or something else even when they can "solve" a problem. I appreciate seeing a teacher try to make this connection.
1. An excellent ability to walk backwards through a sea of chair legs without falling over.
2. Quick thinking/humor/sense of scale: “that’s a big cake!”
3. Boosting self-esteem before student speaks to the class, “I believe in you.”
4. Gesturing to help conjure an image of the large bowl.
5. The story itself, excellent example for why 12/(1/3)=36.
When Colin said "I believe in you."
The thing that stands out to me is using student-created stories to explore math concepts. While the verbal content of those stories might be similar to a traditional word problem, students are likely to be more engaged and develop a deeper understanding when they are the ones coming up with the stories.
This approach also creates an opportunity for the teacher to learn more about the students. For example, I would be curious to know whether Zander thought about cake because he's interested in cooking/baking. That could be a window into understanding more about who he is as a person. (Of course, maybe he just likes cake!)
I'm coming at this from an Australian perspective (I've been thinking about Prof Chris Matthews and the Goompi model recently) so your comment about Zander and his baking interest really resonated. That is, there is a whole cultural perspective here that comes from a personal interaction between Zander and Colin. Given the documented cultural biases of AI it is just another layer that stands between students and success. The story was such a cool technique.
Plus really really loved the understanding of 12 divided by 1/3 equals 36.
I want AI to do what the tech folks claim - I want it to be able to provide individualised learning for all the student so that everyone can access Maths.
The teacher asks the students to put the "math" in a real world context by creating a story and sharing those stories with others. What a wonderful (and quick!) opportunity for students to make cognitive connections.