Elements of Practice 8

What does the research say?

Math Teaching Practice #8: Elicit and use evidence of student thinking

Effective teaching of mathematics uses evidence of student thinking to assess progress toward mathematical understanding and to adjust instruction continually in ways that support and extend learning.

Teachers using assessment for learning continually look for ways in which they can generate evidence of student learning, and they use this evidence to adapt their instruction to better meet their students’ learning needs.

(Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, & Wiliam, 2005, p. 23)

Caution! Don't over-estimate your own understanding based on these brief descriptions of teaching practice. Professional educators should dig more deeply into NCTM's resources, join study groups and professional networks, and seek out professional development and coaching to ensure high-quality engagement in the practice.

Investigate

ETS - Measuring the Power of Learning

Successful teachers are always curious about what their students know and understand. It’s the kind of curiosity that leads teachers to look at how students are thinking, how that thinking develops over time, and how the student responds to and overcomes instructional obstacles along the way.

Looking for these deeper levels of understanding should not be left to chance. It is the teacher’s responsibility to strategically check in with students during critical moments while they work on high-quality tasks. to plan key questions in advance that focus students on the underlying mathematics and press them to explain their understanding, and to make sense of students’ mathematical representations. A teacher needs to make sense of all this and use that to support the progress students show in their mathematical understanding. Feedback should be focused on students’ understanding of a task and the underlying mathematical ideas, and not be aimed at students’ egos by simply indicating what students have done right or wrong (https://www.cde.state.co.us/comath/mathteachingpractice8)

Reflect

Using the table below, reflect and assess the actions you believe are evident in your practice. Then, think about how students experience learning in your classroom. Are there student actions evident in your practice?