4 Tips to Engage students in Virtual Math Discussions

Anyone else feel like they are teaching a live virtual class to… no one? With student’s cameras off and hesitations to turn their mics on I often feel like talking to myself and my zoom screen. Believe me I get it, it is hard to get students to have a virtual discussion, let alone a full blown virtual math discussion. In fact, when they do finally turn on their mics it seems to be at the exact second as someone else turns on their mic.

I’m right there with you, virtual teaching is hard. Virtual math discussions feel nearly impossible most days between tech issues and student participation.

However, In my 9 months of virtual teaching I have found 4 tips to make virtual math discussions do about. These tips will help engage your students in math discussions virtually!

Tip #1 Choose the right tech tool for Virtual Math Discussions

Tech tools matter when having a virtual math discussion. Read about my top 3 favorite tech tools here!

I have found when I have multiple ways for my students to engage in the virtual math discussion they are more likely to participate.

Here are the ways they can participate in the virtual math discussion:

• in the chat
• with signals on video (I agree, head nods, etc.)
• by turning on their mic
• by accompanying their work with typed explanation.

When I have a tech tool that allows for all these types of participation students are more likely to participate.

When my students are successfully able to complete the work we are discussing they are more likely to “pop on their mic” and participate in our math discussion. Can you imagine not being able to do the assignment and then being graded on how you participate in talking about the assignment you couldn’t complete? 

Math Discussion prompts and sentence stems are always helpful when having a virtual math discussion. Consider using 2-3 to start and build your class’ bank of sentence stems to refer back to. Here are a few more tips on using discussion prompts.

#2 Choose the Right Math Task for Virtual Math Discussions

We know that when students are engaged in the work it is difficult to keep them from talking. In my class our math discussions are much richer when students are excited about the work we are discussing.

Choose a math task that is relevant for your students. It could be as simple as a word problem about the people in your class or a task involving their favorite video game.

Remember, the best math tasks have a “low floor” or an easy first step to get engaged in the problem. They also have a “high ceiling” or multiple ways to extend the problem and explore the math deeply. Choose a task that engages your students and your math discussions will be more robust!

#3 Use Breakout Rooms in your Virtual Math Discussions

Many of my students have told me they don’t want to talk on the virtual whole group math discussion. So, as we continue to build our classroom culture to be supportive and inclusive so students feel safe participating in math discussions, I find ways to ensure all students are able to participate.

I use break out rooms for ways to engage all my learners in math discussions.
First, I use them for use turn and talks. Turn and talks are a math discussion instructional move- used for brief partner shares with a clear talking task.

Also, we use break out rooms for small group shares. In groups of 3-4 students can share their math thinking and reasoning for a “mini math discussion”.

Another way I use break out rooms is to conference with students and “listen in” just like I would while conferencing in person. I use this time to honor students thinking by observing, asking probing questions to truly understand their thinking. 

Breakout rooms allow me to be flexible in the way I structure of math discussions to boost engagement and ensure all students are doing deep math thinking.

#4 Make Models Visible for the Whole Group Share.

We always come back together as a whole class to have a synthesis math discussion. During this time 2-3 students share their strategies & models.

I draw out what my students are sharing. Students can definitely show their work, but it is also key to draw out what the student is describing in the math discussion. Drawing out their thinking provides a visual model to follow how the solver went through each step. Then, you have a record that students can refer back to while during the virtual math discussion.

I use a document camera that I screen share directly to zoom. However, if you don’t have a document camera you can use your phone on a stand to project. There are multiple ways to project your devices on live meeting and I find it to be very help in engaging my students in talking about the actual models and strategies of their peers.

It’s not forever, but it is for right now

This type of teaching isn’t forever, but building our students virtual math discussion skills can only benefit them in the future. In fact, all the technological skills our students are learning is preparing them to be our future leaders in this field and life.

So, if we’re going to have to teach virtually, why not make it as engaging as possible. We are all starved for discussions with new people and missing our friends. So what better time than to embrace the virtual math discussion.

So, I urge you to give virtual math discussions a try. It might not work, it definitely will come with challenges, but it sure is better than teaching to crickets!

The post Virtual Math Discussion – 4 Ways to Make it Work! appeared first on Mona Math.

Are you virtually teaching? I am going to assume your inbox has been inundated with emails from every tech company that has ever made an education tool. The onset of virtual teaching in March of 2020 opened the flood gates on technology tools for education. Let’s be honest, it is overwhelming. 

I’ve been 100% virtually teaching since March 15, 2020 and I’ve learned a lot about what works and what surely does not. Number 1 is…

if you’re not invested, it’s not going to work. But that doesn’t just apply to technology that literally applies to anything about teaching… or life.

So, here is what IS working for me teaching virtually math. If you’re here you’re struggling to find the right tech tools to teach virtually hopefully seeing what works for me will help you!

I created a quick criteria list that I was looking for in each tech tool. I hope these will help you decide which tools will fit your needs.

#1) Padlet for Virtually Teaching Math

Pros for Padlet:

1. Easy to use. Students can easily access this tool. I drop the link in the chat, they click it and we get started.
2. Open Ended- There are so many possibilities with Padlet because it is so basic and open ended. However, you can add background images, Titles, Headings, etc.
3. Interaction Tools. When you create the Padlet you can add an interaction tool for each post. You can include a “love” button, a rating, thumbs up or down, 1-5 star rating, and more. This allows students to engage with posts without having to write a comment. I have noticed an increase in engagement when I include the reaction feature.
4. Easy to share photos. Padlet is the easiest platform I’ve found to add a picture. That’s it. It’s simple.
5. Great for discussions. Padlet offers different types of formats for the posts. This allows for different types of discussions. I truly love this tool the best for getting an online discussion going. 

Cons for Padlet:

1. No Drawing Tool. For most of my text tools I’m looking for a way for students to draw on the slide or page. However, since I’ve mostly used Padlet for discussion, this really isn’t that big of a deal.
2. Logging in can be challenging. If students are logged into their google account their name will pop up when they access the link. If not, they will appear as anonymous. I combat this by asking students to start each post with their first name.

Notes for Padlet:

Everyone can see everything– This a pro & a con. It makes it very easy to monitor student’s participation, but no privacy limits student participation. I have noticed students take less risks in putting their work “out there” when everyone can see it.

Voice Recorder– I love that students can also record their voice to leave their response. Really gives the “discussion feel” to their posts.

#2) Nearpod: For teaching Math Virtually

Nearpod is my go to for making my slides accessible for students. I have found their free version gives teachers the best value. The other tools that are similar (PearDeck) tool’s free version doesn’t give as many functionalities.

Pros for Nearpod for Virtually Teaching:

Cons for Nearpod.

1. Time Consuming. It can take a while to convert your slides. It does add another step to your lesson planning, after you have created your slides to convert them to Nearpod. However, I think it is worth it for the benefits Nearpod offers.
2. Logging in. Definitely takes time to log in and teach students how. You can share a direct link, which I think is the best method. You can also share a code that students can enter at their website.
3. Limited Storage. On the free version you are limited in the amount of storage you have. However, I have not yet met my storage limit.

Notes about NearPod.

Monitoring & Sharing student Work. The teacher dashboard is truly BEAUTIFUL. You can see the students working on their slide in a tiled grid view or a large view of each students slide. You can also select “share with class” button to show the whole class one student’s work. I use this to get our discussions going by asking students to share their work.

Teacher Reports. After your live class you get a report that shows the students’ engagement, all of the responses to each type of questions, and more. This is really hugely helpful and all available on the FREE version. 

#3) Jamboard for Virtually Teaching Math

Pros for using Jamboard to teach virtually.

1. Drawing. Hands down best part of Jamboard is the options for drawing.
2. Google Product. We know it, we love it. Google makes things simple and Jamboard is SIMPLE. Easy to use and easy to access.
3. Open Ended. As stated above, Jamboard is simple and simple to use making its possibilities endless.
4. Very Easy to Use. Yep. Very easy.
5. Post it Feature. The sticky notes allow students to not only draw but type! Type, then move your typed comment anywhere.

Cons for Jamboard for Teaching Virtually

1. Sometimes Lags. With a lot of people logged onto the same Jamboard something it will lag. This has made using Jamboard frustrating for my students.
2. Students can edit all the slides. This is problematic when students start editing others’ work or slides. With older kids this is less of an issue, but definitely know that anything on the Jamboard can be edited by anyone.
3. Put your name on you paper! There is no way to track who did what on the Jamboard, so students my “tag” their work with their name. I’ve found that if you assign one board for each student that seems to help… but they still have to put their name on it.

Notes on Jamboard

Update! You will soon be able to upload your own background. This will make it more similar to Nearpod, where you could upload a worksheet and students could complete with the drawing feature.

Everyone can see everything. This sometimes limits what students are willing to do or put out there. Some privacy helps students build confidence and willingness to take risks. Something to consider as you’re building your community up to use this tool.

Now it’s your turn… 

I hope you have found something here that will help you choose the virtual teaching tools that will work best for virtually teaching math.

I would love to hear from you about the tools you are using and how it is going. Leave a comment below! 

If you have any questions or want to connect to learn more about how I’m using these tools please feel free to reach out, any time! LocalLearnersAndCo@Gmail.com.

If you’d like to try out the Math Warm Ups I use Virtually Teaching grab them here by leaving your email in the sidebar.

The post Virtually Teaching Math? 3 Tech Tool Reviews! appeared first on Mona Math.