DMIC Observation 14.06.19

The Problem: 18 children were in the purple group at swimming and 13 more joined. How many altogether?

Big Ideas Involved: 

* Count on to add 

* Count all to add

* Part / part / whole thinking

* Notation + = 

Communication Focus: We have been working on restating the problem, and checking our buddy can do the same. We have also been working on making sure our friend understands and asking our buddy "Can you show me another way?" if we do not understand their strategy. 

Students worked in familiar pairs, with some changes due to children being away. 

I noticed: 

* Students actually seemed to work more collaboratively (i.e. equal talking, showed greater confidence in tackling the problem) when with a friend. 

* Most students drew dots to show the swimmers, and counted all. Two pairs out of the seven counted on, using a hundreds board or their fingers for support. 

* One pair broke the numbers up, i.e. 10 + 10 + 8 + 3

* I asked one pair who counted all to share back to the group, and one group who counted on. By the time sharing back occurred, many students were disengaged and unfocused. I asked the observer how I could resolve this. 

* During the sharing time, we shared counting all, counting on and then focused on starting from the biggest number to count on. Students were unsure as to whether the numbers could be swapped    

i.e.  2 + 8 = 8 +2, so we did 2-3 examples to show this.

Feedback: 

* Keep children on the floor in a circle to allow for easier / speedier roaming 

* Avoid talking or explaining to pairs...prompt/suggest and then quickly move on

* Give students only 4 minutes to solve the first problem, then come back, do a quick share, and then provide a second, harder problem so children do not go distracted. 

* In the first sharing back, focus on only the most advanced strategy (i.e. count on) - do not feel you have to share all strategies. We want to push the kids on to the most advanced ways of solving problems. 

* When I asked re: how I could include children (not present) working in the 0-10 range and who previously had been withdrawing/shutting down during DMIC, the observer advised including them in the intro but allowing them to move on to individual work (i.e. having an individual box set up for them to go to) when they wanted. Praise the involvement they do show though, along with individual work. Also, buddy them with a friend or peer they feel confident with.