Have you ever had that moment where you walk up to a student to have an effective math conference with them with all the best of intentions of letting them describe their thinking, finding out what they know and understand… only for it to go something like this…
“What are you up to?” BLANK STARE
“Can you show me what you’re doing to solve the problem?” BLANK STARE
“What are you doing right here?” BLANK STARE
The silence is killing you and you’re just not sure why this normally fine, talkative student is now mute.
You try a different approach by describing the work you see on their desk. “I see you used the manipulatives to make an array of 12 rows with 4 in each. Is that right?”
Student responds, “uh huh”
It’s pulling teeth to get students to talk during a conference sometimes, isn’t it? I’ve been there SO many times.
It feels like a complete waste of time because you know there are students that will talk and describe their thinking and this conference feels like it’s going no where.
So, if you’re anything like me you usually do this next…
“Okay, so what you did was you made the 12 rows because in the problem it said there were 12 groups of students? With four students in each group? So you made four in each row? This shows the groups of students. Is that right?”
Student… “uh.. Yeah….”
You start describing their thinking for them just to fill the awkward silence.
I totally understand. I’ve been there, done that and regretted it later.
Walking away from a math conference like that I know I didn’t do my best to push the student to develop as a mathematician, but instead I pushed them to agree with me. They had some good work on their desk and paper, but for some reason my questions just weren’t getting through to them.
I have a few ideas for how to make sure your conferences in math class are productive and empowering to students.
In a student centered math class we want our students to do the majority of the talking, figuring out, problem solving, and thinking. Right? So, we have to have a detailed plan of support. That means when we enter a conference we have to be ready with some tactics to get students talking and participating in the conference.
Before I share the blueprint I use for conferences I want to recommend one of my favorite books called, “In the Moment, Conferring in the Elementary Math Classroom” by Jen Munson. This book is a practical read that is full of ideas to help you get even more ideas of what types of things you can address with students in conferences.
Okay, now let’s get to the steps to an effective math conference.
Step 1
Observe – The first thing I like to always do is observe. Doesn’t matter if it’s on the playground, during math, or when I see a conflict bubbling… I always observe first. “Seek first to understand” is kind the motto. Before I make an assumption about what is going on I like to observe and non-judgmentally observe what is happening. Things I’m thinking are, “What is the student doing?” Are they just sitting and thinking, writing something down, if they are drawing or writing what is it and is it helping them solve?
Step 2
Ask “Tell me what you’re up to.” – Then its time to move in and ask my first question. This question is alway very very open ended and doesn’t imply anything. I try not to even imply that students should be solving the problem, but instead I just want them to tell me what they are doing/thinking.. .so I always ask something like, “What are you up to?” It allows students to describe whatever is currently on their mind or that they are doing in the moment. I do this because not every student is thinking about the math or has a workable strategy. Sometimes they are lost in the sauce and struggling. I want to normalize that. It is also way easier to answer your teachers question”What are you up to?” with “I am totally lost” or “I don’t know what I’m doing”. Then if the teacher asked, “Show me how you’re solving?” it would be difficult to respond with “Well… I am not solving.” This lessens the blow to students ego a bit and allows for a more open ended way of starting the conversation.
Step 3
Prompt for more to fully understand their thinking- Once students have started talking I prompt them for more information. I really use two prompts.
- Show/Tell me more about that (insert thing I want to know more about)
- Why did you do that? Variations include: What in the story told you to do that?
Step 4
Decide to extend or support- This is where I decide if I should give the student a nudge or nugget of information to support or extend their thinking. Sometimes its the right time and other times it is not. I use my intuition and forecasting guide of the strategies I anticipated to help me determine this.
Step 5
Walk away- Yep. I walk away. Why? Because it is way easier to apply a new idea or do as the teacher tells you when you don’t have an audience. I don’t want to pressure students into implementing my idea, but instead I want them to choose to use it if they think it fits. Often times if the teacher stands there it’s almost like we’re waiting for students to do as they’re told and because students want to please their teacher… most will try to do what you prompted them with even if they don’t understand it fully or aren’t sure it’s the best next move. That leads to the dreaded mimicking behaviors in a classroom where we are promoting thinking and sense making, not follow the leader.
Commonly Asked Questions about Effective Math Conferences
Once I share this blueprint with teachers they are usually wondering…
How Many Math Conferences Can You Realistically Do in a Day?
Not many. And that’s okay. Eventually over the course of a week we will get to everyone. And it is important to establish a system for who you talk to and when. I use the forecasting guide as a way to anticipate which students have the highest needs for particular topics and problem type. Then, I check in with those students first. These students might be in need to extensions, support, or clarification. The needs vary, but I keep track through my planning.
Is that actually enough conferencing?
When I hear a question like this I hear the teachers deep sense of concern for meeting their students needs. We deeply want our students to be successful and that often means we think more is more. However, I really believe in quality over quantity. For example, quality time with a child for just 5 undivided minutes of listening and engaging is better than FULLY being engaged with them all the time– which is impossible. But also unrealistic. Kids have a lot of things they need to do and build in school and one of the most important skills is productive struggle and independent problem solving… so, yes. Whatever you can do to conference with students is enough.
Will some students need more support? Of course! We know that our students vary in needs and sometimes the just in time support in a conference isn’t enough and they might need to come to the small group table with a few peers to problem solve a few other problems together. My favorite book for this is Making Sense of Mathematics for Teaching the Small Group by Juli Dixion Lisa A. Brooks (Author), Melissa R. Carli
So, as you are thinking about maximizing the final weeks of school give this strategy a try and start to get a feel for how you can use math conferences to maximize the support you give your students. Then, make a plan to implement for next year!
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