This week I had the pleasure of meeting with a graduate class of ESOL teachers from Prince Georges County and Montgomery County, and two classes of undergraduates in the elementary education program to explore facilitating math discussions. I want to thank University of Maryland Math Education School Professors Rodrigo Gutierrez, Lisa Bote and Maggie Peterson for inviting me to visit their classes.

Both the undergraduates and the practicing teachers had lots of ideas about what makes it challenging to facilitate classroom math discussions. Some ideas they discussed that stick with me are:

• Students may lack self confidence about their ideas, so be unwilling to share
• Students may not be used to explaining their thinking about math, and feel they don’t know how to express their ideas.
• Students may not be comfortable with math vocabulary.
• Students may have trouble listening to each other.
• Once students start talking, they may have difficulty staying on topic.
• Teachers may worry that they will not understand the ideas of all students and not know how to respond.
• Some students may dominate the discussion.
• Teachers may be in a school where other classes are not encouraging students to learn how to participate in math discussions.

Then we read Hatching Butterflies, where two students gradually learn to share their ideas as partners, and then share those ideas with the class. They go from not understanding each others’ ideas at all, to working together to compare their strategies. We talked about the subtle ways the teacher in the book, Ms. Green, teaches the students how to discuss math and clarifies her expectations about students working together to learn.

Then we talked a great deal about the importance of developing a classroom culture where all students feel comfortable discussing their thinking and taking risks that help them build their self confidence as math learners.

Teachers described how they would like to use Hatching Butterflies with their students to help them reflect on their own use of the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. It was great to hear teachers collaborating on ways to enhance students’ participation in discussions, including thoughts from a 4^th grade teacher who would like to use the books in the beginning of the year to help her develop a positive classroom culture.

Some teachers purchased the Use Your Math Power books not only for themselves but also for their colleagues, as a tool to help them work together to set goals and try new practices. These teachers know the power of working with your colleagues to enhance their practice!  My only regret was that I was so busy listening and sharing that I forgot to take pictures to post!