April 16 Readings

I realized that this week's readings seemed to focus more on discussion and mathematical thinking than anything else. I found the article in particular to be extremely interesting. After the CGI book, I figured that discussion could be helpful to children's mathematical development, but I never realized the extent. I realized that the discussion process is just as important as the discussion itself. This article taught me about how important it is to have children make mathematical arguments. In order to do this, we as teachers, must set standards and expectations beforehand so that our students have a safe place to share ideas. I found it interesting that from revisiting their own thinking, "The student not only develops a through understanding of the ideas that she is grappling with, but she may also construct new understandings" (Whitenack, 525). I do worry personally about teaching these processes though. I do realize that children naturally question and form their big ideas and strategies, but I always find myself asking "what if?". The teacher in the article, "...focused on different aspects of the students' reasoning and continued conversations with different students in different ways" (Whitenack, 526). From this, I ask myself, what if I miss opportunities with children or are not able to recognize gateways to these conversations. I suppose this is something I will hopefully learn in experience.