I am linking up again this week for the Guided Math book Study! This chapter is about conferring with students. I love this chapter and I am so excited about it because I just strated my other book study on the book Guided Math Conferences written by Laney Sammons. She is the same author who wrote the book we have been discussing during this book study!!!
We have conferenced in our rooms for reading and for writing but how many of us have really conferenced for math. Be honest!!
Well, Laney Sammons does an amazing job explaining and outlining the Guided Math Conference. As with reading and writing conferences, the guided math conference is the heart and soul of your instruction. It is through these conversations that you get to see what the student actually understands and what they need to work on.
It is so often that we give a math test, look at the results and tailor our instruction as well as create our groups. This is such an unfair action. A math test which is multiple choice does not show the whole child. it does not portray what the child actually knows. You can have a student who guessed and git the answers correct but does not understand how to get the answer or you could have a child undrstand how to get the answer but they made a mistake with the computation.
Guided math conferences allow us to see what the child knows. We get to see what they understand. This is what will create successful mathematicians.
A math conference should:
* Research student understanding- we are looking for mathematical understanding and if they can apply what they know
* Decide what is needed- identify what the student is doing well and what can you teach them to move them forward
* Teach to students needs- use three methods:
*guided practice- students are actively involved- practice what is being taught
*demonstration
*explaining and showing an example
* Link to the future- to give students strategies they will use later
Always remember to take notes! Records are a great reflection tool. These notes can provide you vital information about the standards being taught, the instructional goals of both you and your students, what needs to be worked on and what has been mastered. You can use any method that is comfortable for you. Some use spiral notebooks, some use binders, others use notecards and some carry clipboards. It is up to you how you take notes and organize them. The notes that you keep can be a valuable tool for:
1. Planning for future conferences
2. Recognizing the strengths in your students
3. Discover future teaching options
4. Broaden the scope of conferences
5. Follow up on conference teaching points
These can be found on page 212 in the Guided Reading Book.
The most important part of the Guided Math Module is the conferencing. Here is where we gain vital insight into our little mathematicians and their strengths and weaknesses. This is where we get the information needed to guide our instruction in order for all students to be successful!
Here is a goal sheet I created to use during conferencing with my little mathematicians:
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