Based on the feedback I received during my first number talk in response to a question I raised about assuming what number of dots my students saw, I struggled with collecting my students’ answers. As seen in the video, my failure to collect my students’ answers and write them on the board hindered the flow and pacing of my first number talk. Because I did not keep track of the different answers they got for a problem, I often had to interrupt my students’ explanation to ask what their answer was. Indeed, this clip of my interaction with Mia shows how I had to interrupt her to ask if her answer was six dots. When I interrupted Mia, I undermined my attempts to deconstruct the traditional power dynamics in a classroom by reasserting myself as the dominant and authoritative voice. I could also be seen as “leading” or “filling in” for Mia with this interaction as it may point her and my other students to the correct answer based on how I asked about and focused on six dots. Thus, while a critical aspect of number talks, I struggled with collecting my students’ answers and had much room for improvement.
While I did struggle with collecting my students’ answers during the first number talk, I improved significantly in this area during the semester. Indeed, as seen in my third number talk, I collected my students’ answers more effectively and intentionally. Firstly and importantly, I deliberately tried to take a survey of the different answers my students had gotten for the problem 7+3 and I wrote them down on the board to keep track of them. Because I kept track of their answers, I could more strategically call on students who could further my pedagogical aim for the number talk. In this instance, I focused on students who had gotten the right answer, asking, “someone who got ten, can they raise their hand to explain their answer.” In this manner, I could highlight the different and flexible strategies my students could use in mathematics to reach the correct answer while not explicitly telling them that ten was the correct answer for this problem.
