bridge
Transforming Teacher Learning to Student Learning
Sue Lampkin - Mountain View, California - Kenneth E. Slater Elementary School
What first grade teachers need to know

Addition and Subtraction
Problem Solving
Applying math knowledge to teaching practice

Looking closely at student learning

Faculty learning in collaboration

 


Sue Lampkin and Slater School

Reflecting about Teaching and Learning


Resources

Standards


Video Archive


Site Map

 

 

 

 

Case Development: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

View clips of two colleagues also teaching problem solving at Slater School...

Video of conversations
with these teachers
Scaffolding problem solving, First Grade

This series are clips are examples of what is involved when attempting to build understanding among students who were initially confused by a problem.


Clip 1:
Create a visual model of the problem

Sometimes more than one diagram can fit a given situation. One person might think of a situation as parts-and-total while another person might see the same situation as change. Don't be too inflexible about which diagram is the most appropriate for a given situation, and remember that many situations are not suitable for any diagram.

Matt Ellinger
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin

Using "5 steps" to problem solve, Second Grade

This series are clips are examples of how a second grade teacher solves a word problem with her class using each step of the QDPA√ system.

Clip 1:
Agreeing upon the Question: What it is that we want to find out

 

The class determines the actual question embedded in this "fat pig" problem.

Katharine Wilson
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 2:
Make the solving method an observable action
Matt Ellinger
Most problems can be solved in more than one way. A change-to-more, for example, might be solved by addition, by counting up mentally or on a number grid, by acting out with counters, by drawing pictures, or in any number of other ways.
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 2:
Listing the Data: The information (often numbers) provided in the problem

Katharine Wilson

Then they find and list the data.
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 3:
Reiterate and/or check the sensibility of the answer
Try to keep the context of the problem as a constant thread during a problem solving session. If the problem is about two students and who has more cookies, use the names of the children, the terms more and less, and include the main points of the question throughout as well as the unit (that would be cookies in this case).
Matt Ellinger
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 3:
Developing a Plan: What we need to do with the data to solve
They discuss and attempt a plan, choosing subtraction.
Katharine Wilson
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 4:
Attach an equation to the problem
Matt Ellinger
The equation (or number model) need not reflect how the problem was solved: A child might write "8 + 3 = 11" for a change-to-more problem that she solved by using counters. Often several number model can fir a single situation. Connecting number models to situations can help children undersatnd the arithmetic operations and the symbols for those operations.
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 4:
Determining an Answer: The outcome of the plan
Katharine Wilson
Feeling uncertain about the answer at first, they keep working and finally settle on the outcome.
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 5:
Bridge newly accomplished work to easily confused related content
Often there are golden opportunities when it seems that a particular situation and math concept become clear to students. Always ask yourself as a teacher, "What is this similar to?" "What can I compare this to in order to build understanding?" or "How can make sure that I can refer back to this moment in my class later when the kids are confused?"
Matt Ellinger
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Clip 5:
Checking our work: Looking carefully to see if the answer is correct
The class identifies a computation error while checking their work.
Katharine Wilson
play
Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin

teacher to teacher

Teacher to teacher conversations....

Katharine Wilson agrees to trade videos of lessons and discuss how I can best prepare my first graders for her second grade math program.
play

Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin
Matt Ellinger and I really get into the nitty gritty of comparison. We address the question of which kind of comparison problem is best when in first grade? And also, why use two-step problems with comparison?
play

Quicktime Player
highlow

get plugin
Windows Media
highlow

get plugin