Share your findings about the nature and extent of the student challenge. Make sure it is clear what evidence from your inquiry supports each finding.
The challenge for my students this year is to make accelerated shift in Maths by being able to talk about their learning in thinking groups, explain it on their blogs and create comment threads that invite others to respond by talking/writing about their learning in maths.
Accessing content vocabulary continues to be one of the obstacles that seems to limit assessed student achievement. Our students are not confident when using maths vocabulary out of context. As a school we have been inquiring over the last few years into ways we can help our students to see that learning used in one area can be transferred to another - linked to vocabulary, instruction and strategy. With teachers being transparent in their inquiries we can see what is working and what we can build on. Building on from the year before is the direction we are all heading this year. In 2020 we were successful in using our blogs to encourage our learners to share their learning, ask questions and talk about their learning.
Fast forward to 2021 and we have all got new students in front of us. For many the simple transition between rooms is a challenge for many of our learners as they leave behind the known when they walk through the new doors of the unknown. The students who were with me last year, for the most part, are able to talk confidently about their learning when asked. This is because this is embedded into our classroom culture. However for many others being asked to talk about their learning is a huge challenge. Low self efficacy and a limited knowledge of vocabulary means these students find the 'talk' component to be overwhelming. Student voice collected earlier in the term identified shyness as one of our biggest obstacles and shows what I have stated above to be an accurate observation. It is from this data that I now realise the more able students find it frustrating that others in their group rely on them for the answers. The fear of 'getting it wrong' or having their ideas overlooked are other factors at play here.
I know from previous inquiries that if students are not able to use their words to explain their thinking, their connection to the task become compromised. I want all my learners this year is to create comment threads on blogs that help strengthen their connections and the connections others are making to the learning. I want them to refer to the learning intention and confidently use content specific language when giving feedback and feed forward. I also want questions to be asked that provide opportunities for those receiving the comments to justify their thinking. If this is to become the norm and be a successful intervention I need to provide a scaffolded framework so that opportunities to use content specific vocabulary in context, are not seen as safe learning opportunities and not overwhelming and scary situations.
I need to help my learners understand what a learning conversation is and realise 'talk' has a valid place in our class strategy toolbox as it helps us unpack and reflect on our learning. So the question I am asking is 'will using Talk Moves in maths accelerate student confidence and capability to use spoken and written maths vocabulary and language?'
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