Tasks, Tasks, Tasks. What are they anyway?

1. Tasks, Tasks, Tasks.What are they anyway? NUCC Elementary Summer Institute August 5, 2013

2. What is a task? • The dictionary says: A piece of work to be done or undertaken

3. Math Word Problems • Who shudders at the thought? • Why? • What are they?

4. So, what is the difference? • Compare a math task to a “word problem” • VENN Diagram style, compare a math task to a math word problem (3 to 5 min.) • Share some of the main ideas

5. Do you ever want your message/lesson to stick? • The first problem in communicating is getting people’s attention • (Karen Wood, flight attendant story) • The second is keeping it.

6. Do you ever want your message/lesson to stick? • The first problem in communicating is getting people’s attention • (Karen Wood, flight attendant story) • The second is keeping it. • “Humans adapt incredibly quickly to consistent patterns. Consistent sensory stimulation makes us tune out.” like the hum or a car engine on the freeway, air conditioner running, etc. • (Enclave minivan story) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtBTUUWQN2Q

7. Emotions • Anger prepares us to fight • Fear prepares us to flee • Surprise jolts us to attention – it is triggered when our schemas fail, and it prepares us to understand why the failure occurred.” The pattern we expected or predicted does not play out and we want to know why. • “Unexpected ideas are more likely to stick because surprise makes us pay attention and think.”

8. Break it – Fix it (Huh?? – Aha!!) • “If you want your ideas to be stickier, you’ve got to break someone’s guessing machine and then fix it.” • Then, to avoid gimmickry, make sure you target an aspect of your audience’s guessing machine that relates to your core message. (Where have you heard or seen this today?)

9. Process for making your ideas stickier • 1) identify the central message you need to communicate – find the core (lesson objective?) • 2) figure out what is counterintuitive about the message – i.e., What are the unexpected implications of your core message? Why isn’t it already happening naturally? (possible student errors or misconceptions, possible reasons for those errors or misconceptions) • 3) Communicate your message in a way that breaks your audience’s guessing machines along the critical counterintuitive dimension. (task introductions)

10. “Nordies” • How does this relate to elementary school teaching, students?

11. Journalism 101 story • So, what does today’s lesson mean and why does it matter?

12. Why use tasks in teaching mathematics? • A student can go back and fill in the different topics if their understanding of a topic is deep enough to solve problems. Application of knowledge is more important than acquiring additional superficial knowledge, which is easy in today’s day and age with technology. Read more: http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/features/the-value-of-mistakes-should-it-matter-how-long-a-student-take-to-learn/#ixzz2CIrnCaU9

13. Why use tasks? (continued) • “. . . Instead of praising kids for trying hard, teachers typically praise them for their innate intelligence. . . . This type of encouragement actually backfires, since it leads students to see mistakes as signs of stupidity and not as the building blocks of knowledge.”-LehrerRead more: http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/features/the-value-of-mistakes-should-it-matter-how-long-a-student-take-to-learn/#ixzz2CItEprx6

14. Why use tasks? (continued) • Acceptmistakes as part of the learning process.  Half the battle is realizing that errors can be used as learning tools.  The other half is learning to use them correctly. Mistakes can work to our advantage.  Some students resort to memorization, rather than risk making errors.  But something is lost if education does not allow students time to try things on their own.  Many teachers steer away from this model because mistakes take away valuable instructional time.  But some new proponents argue there may be something wrong with this model.  Perhaps we must reconsider why we aren’t letting students make their own mistakes. Read more: http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/features/the-value-of-mistakes-should-it-matter-how-long-a-student-take-to-learn/#ixzz2CItdryT2

15. Why use tasks? (continued) • We might allow extra time for class problem solving or focus on more challenging examples. Errors often result in increased knowledge. Controlling where and how these errors occur is an option. Frustration can result if no resolution and feedback are given after errors are made. A positive classroom environment that encourages students may also provide a good groundwork for allowing this type of learning.Read more: http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/features/the-value-of-mistakes-should-it-matter-how-long-a-student-take-to-learn/#ixzz2CIsvzow9

16. Why use tasks? (continued) • Focus on self-paced learning strategies whenever possible.  Media can be used to incorporate self-paced learning in the classroom, where students complete lectures at home, and “homework” examples in school.  This saves classroom time and switches the focus of learning to problem solving.  Students learn general information at home and practice examples in class. Allowing students to make errors in the classroom, rather than at home is beneficial.  At home, there is no teacher or at times, support may be absent to guide students who may give up and not ask a teacher the next day. Salman Khan compares achieving mastery through experimentation to learning to ride a bike.  The gaps must be bridged before students can move on to the next skill.  You cannot ride a bike without achieving balance firstRead more: http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/features/the-value-of-mistakes-should-it-matter-how-long-a-student-take-to-learn/#ixzz2CIusFg3I

17. Cognitive Demand • 4 levels of cognitive demand – • Memorization Task • Procedures without Connections Tasks • Procedures with Connections Tasks • Doing Mathematics Tasks Stein, Smith, Henningsen, and Silver. (2009).

18. Classroom expectations for a problem solving environment • Start slow and simple • Concentrate on procedures • L.E.D. – student focus (we will discuss this more in a minute) • Post objective • Clear work space • Assign jobs, as needed • Signal for time to gather • How do you do group work in your class? What does that look like? Sound like?

19. Launch • Listen & be able to explain • Question for understanding • Know where supplies are and what is available

20. Explore • Work in given team • Work within time parameter • Stay on task • Prepare to share • Struggle or allow others to struggle, as needed

21. Discuss • Listen well enough to: • Repeat back in your own words • Ask relevant questions • Make connections to prior examples, your own work, other math content • Find similarities and differences to other examples, including your own • Journal: • New ideas • Definitions • Connections • Explanations • Etc. • Recognize applications of math content

22. Where do I find tasks to use? • Text books – Dan Meyer style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWUFjb8w9Ps • U.E.N. (Utah Educators Network) – web site • My own life experiences • Where do you find them?

23. Journalism 101 story • So, what does today’s lesson mean and why does it matter?

24. Reference Materials Used • Heath, Chip; Heath, Dan. (2008). Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Made to Stick. New York; Random House Inc. • Stein, Mary Kay; Smith, Margaret; Henningsen, Marjorie; Silver, Edward. (2009). Implementing Standard-based Mathematics Instruction. New York, NY; Teachers College Press • http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWUFjb8w9Ps