Consolidation Strategies

Never say anything a student can say.  Increasing student voice shows that you value your students as mathematical contributors and encourages students to look to one another as sources of knowledge.

Rather than asking students to explain their own work, ask other students to interpret and explain the work you'd like to discuss.  This accomplishes several things.  It forces students to do even more thinking by decoding what another group was thinking.  It encourages students to clearly communicate their thinking knowing that others may be asked to interpret it later. It also detaches ownership from the work, making it more about the mathematical ideas than who's work it is.

 A guided gallery walk should have students on their feet and moving as much as possible.  This increases engagement in the learning process.  As soon as students sit, they feel anonymous and are much more likely to disengage.  

Draw boxes around student work you want to discuss and ask the authors to not erase it. You might also consider numbering the boxes, which might make it easier for you to organize your consolidation discussion.  

If a strategy you were hoping to see doesn't come up, consider dropping hints in one or two groups.   

Use a different colour marker to add any notations to student work.  If you see errors or misconceptions, it's a good idea to discuss them, but leave them on the board.  Don't erase student work during consolidation, as it devalues their contribution.