When a whiteboard can be game-changing in the mathematics classroom …

🔢 Middle school mathematicians have been working with percentage problems, learning all the different ways they are used and calculated. In the past two weeks, they’ve adopted a new strategy, based on the Thinking Classroom model, that puts student thinking in the driver’s seat.

In randomized peer groups, students are given a series of problems and asked to solve them together on the whiteboard, rather than isolated at their desks. Each group is given one marker to share, and most of the information is provided verbally. Together, the students then wrestle with their thinking, trying various approaches and assessing their results.

Working on a vertical non-permanent surface like a whiteboard (as opposed to at a desk) has been shown to increase student thinking, engagement and risk taking, leading to more dynamic conversations and problem-solving. Students are free to try things out, assess, erase, try again, rework and rethink. Already, we’ve seen math confidence and risk-taking increase dramatically in just a few lessons.

This collaborative, experimentation-centric strategy has been a game-changer for these math thinkers. As opposed to listening to a lesson, they are relying on themselves, each other, and their resources to think through math problems actively. During problem solving sessions, we’re hearing students reflecting, comparing, questioning and supporting the thinking of their peers as they take turns with the single marker.

The increase in active math thinking has been nothing short of mind-blowing. Many thanks to Peter Liljedahl and his fourteen point framework for Building Thinking Classrooms. @btcthinks

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