I am glad to have read the Smith and Stein article, as I know have a set of guidelines to check the level of thinking involved with a given problem. This article highlighted the importance of task selection. It made me more aware that there are different levels of thinking involved with different types of questions. However after reading the article I still have a few questions. The concluding paragraph of the article says, “in this article we shared our findings concerning the importance of beginning with a task that has the potential to engage students at a high level…” I wonder what they mean by beginning? The beginning of a class period? Homework assignment? Unit? Lesson? The answer is probably all of the above. But then I ask, when are low-level thinking questions relevant?
In the Kabiri and Smith article I learned how important it is to base instruction of problems with different solution approaches and many levels of the solution. It promotes higher-level thinking for the whole class and an equal opportunity for all students to succeed. It was very helpful to see examples of how to turn a traditional problem into an open-ended problem. Specifically, the algebra problem reminded me an assignment that I was given in my high school algebra class. Each student was assigned five numbers, for example 5, 5, 3, 6, 7, and was asked to use any combination of operations and parentheses to compute the numbers 0-100. The problem was open ended and allowed students to be creative with a multitude of solutions. I specifically remember feeling extremely proud of myself at the end of the assignment.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Smith and Stein piece, I could definitly get behind what Sara had to say. I thought that one of the most interesting parts was the ways to access of problem. Drawing upon the students prior knowledge and their classroom norms is something that I had never considered when deciding how to build a math assessment. Putting so much thought and effort into the assessments would probably result in the students doing much better on the exam, something that would reflect well on the teacher and the students.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the 4 categories of cognitive demand were a useful thing to think about. When being a teacher and designing assessments it is important to vary the questions so that a deeper level of understanding is assessed. I believe that these articles have definitely been beneficial to my expanding knowledge.
After reading the articles and Sarah's post, I feel like she brings up a real good question of how to determine what the beginning is. The article really doesn't give a determining factor of what beginning to start with a high level. I also feel that she brings up a good point in where to bring up low level relevant questions.
ReplyDeleteWhen comparing the Kabiri and Smith article to the movies we had to watch for class, I feel like having multiple ways for answers is important. Like what Sarah commented on, making problems more open ended instead of traditional is important as well. I feel like having problems that we can see different ways of getting a solution is beneficial as well. Being able to understand and assess is very important.