Maximizing Math Talk in the Classroom

Low-stakes, high-reward discussion practices you can bring to your math classroom.  

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DR. CRISTINA COMPTON
Director of Program Development
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Most teachers I know recognize the importance of discussion in their classrooms, but often struggle with how to best facilitate student-to-student discussions, particularly in a content area classroom like math.

As a former elementary educator, I was responsible for teaching all subject areas — Reading, Writing, Math, Science and Social Studies. Math was always my most reluctant subject. When it came time to teach math, I was guilty of sitting in front of the whiteboard, doing practice problem after practice problem with my students, asking if they had any questions, and then sending them off to their desks to do more practice problems in their workbooks. I could tell they were bored (heck, I was bored), but I was unsure how to shift my teaching to make it more engaging and student-centered.

I was compelled by the idea that practice makes perfect, right? So the more problems they practice, the more likely they’d be to get it. But the drill and kill approach is not adequate, especially in classrooms today, and as we think about the necessary skills of students in the 21st century. We know they need much more to acquire skills and knowledge that will serve them in real life. They need to be able to talk about math, reflect on their processes, and collaboratively problem-solve.    

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What is Math Talk? 

​One of my recent areas of focus and interest is helping math teachers incorporate more discussion in their classrooms and move away from the often well-intentioned chalk and talk approach.  

“Math Talk,” while a rather new term, is gaining in popularity, as research suggests that when students talk more about their math thinking, they are more motivated to learn and they learn more. It is one of the mathematical practices of the NGS that supports students in clarifying their thinking and understanding, constructing mathematical arguments, developing language to express math ideas, and increasing opportunities to see things from different perspectives.

How can teachers promote this challenging yet crucial mathematical practice in their classrooms? What I share below are three simple, yet effective strategies that can promote math talk in meaningful and manageable ways.

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Turn and Talks

Turn and talks are a well-known and commonly used strategy. They support oral language, speaking, and listening skills in a low-stakes way. Math can often promote a lot of fear, and fear of getting it wrong. But because students are talking to a partner, there is often less hesitation than if they had to speak to a larger group. Turn and talks can be a great entry point to promoting discussion. 

​Let’s consider an example:
Turn and talks can take place as part of a Do Now. In many of the math classrooms I’ve visited, the Do Now consists of 2-3 problems, most often review problems intended to be prior knowledge assessments that students are asked to solve. After a set period of time, the teacher then solves the problem, asking for input from students who volunteer, and then encourages the rest of the students to check their answers to ensure they match with what’s on the board. Using a turn and talk can be a powerful alternative to the teacher doing the work. Partners can discuss and compare their answers, share their processes, and address any mistakes. Furthermore, one of these partnerships can volunteer to come to the board to solve the problem.

A twist:
Turn and talks can also build up to “making four.” After one partnership has had a chance to connect and engage in conversation, they can join with another partnership to make a group of four and expand the discussion to include more voices and perspectives.

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Gallery Walks

Gallery walks are another simple yet meaningful technique to support discussion. These support students in being actively engaged as they walk throughout the classroom, and they can be highly effective in problem-solving within a math classroom. 

Similar to a turn and talk, a gallery walk could be the focus of the Do Now, as part of guided practice in preparation for independent work, or it can serve as the independent work after some explicit instruction. 

Let’s look at how it can be done:
Identify 5-6 spaces around the room where students will work (the number of stations can vary based upon the total number of students). Many of the math classrooms I’ve visited more recently have had whiteboards on all the walls of the room. This would be ideal! But if you don’t have whiteboards, you can certainly use chart paper, or even a notebook placed in the center of a table. 

Group the students in teams of 3-5. You don’t want the groups to be bigger than that, because the idea is to maximize discussion within a small group. 

Pose a problem to the students — this could be a word problem, equation, or mathematical expression you want them to solve. The group can identify a recorder to capture the group's work. 

After each group has finished, have the groups rotate around the room (usually in a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion to make it easier) to another group's poster/whiteboard. This group should now read and discuss the work of their peers as well as add any thoughts, comments, or questions. They might even compare their problem-solving to see what’s similar and/or different. 

When each station has been visited, the students go back to their poster, read, and then reflect on the comments left by their peers. You can then facilitate a whole group discussion to share what was learned, and what the process was like. 

A twist:
Another iteration of this can involve completing a gallery walk silently. Silent discussions are also powerful. Instead of moving around the room in a group, students can move around independently, leaving individual comments on each poster with a particular color marker, and then coming back together to share their noticings.  

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Think - Pair - Share

Think-Pair-Share can support students in working together to increase understanding and explore multiple perspectives. Like turn and talks, it is a partner strategy that can be a nice entry point to promoting discussion as its low-stakes and a bit easier for the teacher to manage participation of students. It can be done as part of a Do Now, to review a particular skill, to assess work that is already completed, or as part of independent practice as students apply what they’ve learned. 

Let’s look at an example:
Let’s say you are working on dividing fractions. A way to implement Think-Pair-Share could involve posing a similar division problem to each pair of students. Each student will solve the problem independently and then exchange their papers with their peers. Together, the pair reviews and discusses the various strategies used and identifies any missteps or misunderstandings. In doing so, they are learning how to explain their thinking, as well as critique the work of others, and engage in meaningful math talk about the larger skill of dividing fractions. After the pairs have come to a consensus, the teacher can facilitate a whole class discussion, where pairs will be asked to share their experiences, and how, if at all, they solved the problem differently and what they learned.  

A twist:
You can turn the pairs into small groups to incorporate more voices and expand the conversation. 

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By no means do I consider myself a math expert; however, I do have extensive experience in promoting discussion in all disciplines. While these strategies are not new or revolutionary, I have witnessed how even small moves can shift instruction to allow for more student interaction and application. I hope you find them helpful as you consider how you can maximize discussion in your classroom, and remember that any of these can be a starting place — as you boost your confidence and experience success, I encourage you to consider your own twists and share them with others. 

ENCOURAGING ENGAGEMENT

STRATEGIC GROUPING

INCREASING IN-CLASS INTERACTIONS