Knowledge may be viewed to three levels of understanding :

Level 1 : Knowledge as Information

Includes the set of facts , information or content which are
accumulated and
stored internally as mental images
This can be measured through paper-and-pencil test items
Level 2 : Knowledge as Relationship
Focuses on the relationships between mental constructs and experiences
Students are able to generate justifications and explanations for their mental
images This can be assessed effectively in an activity-driven performance
Level 3 : Knowledge as Metacognition
Challenges the boundaries of the learner’s mental images and experiences
Through inquiry, students are able to think about their own thinking, critique
what
they know and generate new questions that reach beyond the
knowledge they already possess

Unifying Concepts and Processes of Math and Science :

a. systems, orders and organization

b. evidence, models and explanations
c. constancy, change and measurement
d. evolution and equilibrium
e. form and function

Science Process Skills

a. observation - use of one or more of the senses to identify properties of

objects and
natural phenomena
b. classification - system for arranging or distributing objects, events or
information
c. making inferences - giving explanations for an observation or conclusions
based on
logic and reasoning
d. prediction - forecasting future events or conditions
e. measurement - making quantitative observations by comparing an object,
event or
other phenomenon to a conventional or nonconventional
standard
f. using numbers - counting and creating categories, applying
mathematical rules or
formulae to quantities
g. creating models - using two or three-dimensional graphic illustrations or
other multi-
sensory representations to communicate ideas or
concepts
 h. defining operationally - naming or defining objects, events or phenomena
on the
basis of their functions and / or identified characteristics
i. identifying variables - recognizing factors or events that are likely to
change under
certain conditions
j. formulating hypotheses - making statements that are tentative and testable
; a special type of prediction that suggests
relationships between variables
k. recording and interpreting data - collecting, storing ( through writing,
drawing, audio
or visual display, etc) and analyzing information that
has been obtained through the senses
l. drawing conclusions - making summary statements that follow logically
from data
collected throughout an experience or experiences

Complex Thinking Skills

a. comparing - describing objects and events by their properties and
determining how
things are alike and how they are different
b. creating representations - generalizing a pattern of information and
representing it in
another way such as through the use of graphic
organizers
c. making analogies - designing and describing ways that objects and events
are alike to
illustrate an understanding
d. reasoning - drawing inferences or conclusions from known or assumed
facts
e. problem solving - designing and explaining a possible solution or
solutions when
given a set of conditions or circumstances
f. inventing - designing a product or process that shows a deeper
understanding or
applying a concept
g. meta-cognition - reflecting on one’s own thinking. Carefully crafted
units of
instruction include questions for discussion, reflection
and interpreting meaning

Vision for Mathematics

a. mathematical literacy - having an appreciation of the value and beauty of
mathematics and being able and inclined to appraise and use
quantitative information
b. mathematical power - ability to do purposeful and worthwhile work, such
as
exploring and using logical reasoning. It is also the ability to use a
variety of mathematical methods effectively to solve non-routine
problems and to possess the self-confidence and disposition to do so.
 The new vision for mathematics includes an emphasis on efficiently and
effectively solving problems.
The new vision for mathematics also encompasses the use of diagrams, tables,
charts and other concrete materials to assist in solving problems

Scientific habits of mind or Mathematical disposition

- A set of attitudes and disposition which relate to how student views

knowledge and
learning. This can be practiced through inquiry-based science and
math instruction
- Disposition such as curiosity, honesty, integrity, open-mindedness,
respect for life ,
willingness to suspend judgment and respect for data can be developed
through an inquiry-based program
Vision for Language Literacy

Three-fold Process
a. meaning-making
b. comprehending the meaning
c. communicating the meaning to others

Students should actively reflect on the meanings that they are developing
which are more accurate and comprehensible by providing a variety of symbols for
expressing and clarifying meaning. ( students can draw, create graphs, sing songs,
write poetry and even use their bodies to express concepts that sometimes cannot be
expressed in narrative form.

Students grow as language users by building knowledge of content and a

repertoire of strategies such as predicting, synthesizing, reflecting, identifying words
and their meanings
 Encouraging Mathematical Thinking

Teachers should engage students in mathematical thinking. One of those

strategies is the use of discourse in the classroom. It is the use of questioning,
listening, writing, and reflection as a means of encouraging reciprocal conversation --
the kind of teaching that allows every person to have a voice in creating mathematical
understanding.

Resnick (1988) suggests that in order for students to learn mathematics, we

need to teach mathematics as if it were an ill-structured discipline: a domain in which
multiple interpretations, argument, and debate are called for and natural. When
students first start to express their mathematical thinking in words, however, they
often do not use very precise language. Learning to think mathematically requires
some mediating processes in order to bridge the gap between students' ordinary
language and the language of mathematics.

Interventions : Approaches

Teachers use many approaches with students to help them develop their
mathematical thinking and take ownership of their learning. These form a continuum,
ranging from:
a. more direct approaches in which the teacher provides an answer,
: introduces students to resources
: the teacher can act as an expert member of a collaborative learning
community, one
who has resources to bring to bear on an inquiry.
b. a demonstration,
c. or a leading question,
d. to less direct approaches that encourage students to articulate their
thinking or to reflect
inwardly on their questions and insights.
d.1. non-leading questions that respond to student ideas,
d.2. paraphrasing a student's answer to help him or her look carefully
at what was
just said;
d.3. summarizing a discussion that covered many questions,
connecting ideas, and
problem-solving steps to be taken;
d.4. and the use of wait-time, in which a teacher poses a question and
provides time
for the student to think through and explain his or her
reasoning.

Each of these interventions has the potential to help students discover that they have
the capacity for logic, and that they too can think mathematically.

Responsiveness is a key to fostering discourse. When students are conducting an

inquiry, the teacher can be a sounding board and confidence builder.
 a. identifying students' misconceptions based on the questions they ask.
The teacher might give an answer, but the more useful response may be a
follow-up
question that probes the assumptions or conclusions that led to the
misguided question
This strategy has two purposes:
(a) it gives the involved students a chance to reflect on their own thinking, and
(b) it refers responsibility for a question back to the person who asked it.
Students need to learn to answer, "Why did you ask that question?"
- shift authority from the book or the teacher to the student.

One norm in the classroom that can be made explicit is the expectation that students
are responsible
for improving their problem-solving and we will regularly ask them questions
about their decision-making. Some examples of questions that teachers might ask
are:
 What (exactly) are you doing? (Can you describe it precisely?)
 Why are you doing it? (How does it fit into the solution?)
 How does it help you? (What will you do with the outcome when you obtain
it?)

Asking students to be responsible for these questions and then holding them
accountable helps students begin to identify gaps and needs in their work with
problems.

The process of questioning can help students recognize

a. what they understand and
b. what they still need to figure out,

It can we also make the students to become responsible for identifying and posing
their own questions.
In posing questions, the teachers should think of themselves as enabling students to
express what they do not understand. The teachers should also think of thenselves as
modeling how they might pose mathematical questions.

Teachers should find it useful to distinguish between leading and non-leading

questions. This classification is borrowed from the legal profession because the way it
is used in the courtroom clarifies our use of such questions in the classroom, with the
goal of facilitating students' abilities to do their own thinking.

Interventions : Leading Questions

Lawyer uses leading questions to induce a witness to change the subject, and on
cross-examination to test the knowledge, understanding, and experience of a witness,

Teacher may use leading questions to begin a lesson, to probe the depth of student
understanding, to elicit content, to help a student clarify and extend his or her thinking,
and to provide focus.
Some teachers use leading questions to focus a class or to model a line of thinking
they would like their students to develop. In such an instance, the teacher has a clear
idea of where the discussion needs to lead, and does not use open-ended questions
such as "What happened?" or "What did you think?" Teacher uses questions to review
key concepts and to prepare her students for the investigation they are about to start.

These leading questions differ from questions that enable students to pursue their own
line of thinking. Such questions are more open-ended, in the sense that they support
student thinking without suggesting an answer. They are responsive to the student,
rather than being prescriptive.

Interventions : Non-Leading Questions

Non-leading questions leave the field completely open and invite student participation
in the conversation. They put the responsibility for thinking clearly in the hands of the
students.

The emphasis is on facilitating student thinking, rather than simply extracting

information

More typically, non-leading questions look like these:

"How did you get it?"
"What are you thinking?"
"Why are you asking that question?"
"Can you explain why you did it this way?"
"Why does this work?"

Interventions : Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing indicates to students that they have been heard; used poorly, however, it
can distort the student's meaning and refocus attention on figuring out what the
teacher is thinking.

The objective of paraphrasing should be to help students hear each other's points or to
organize their thoughts. In addition, using standard mathematical language to state a
student's point can provide a means of introducing mathematics terms to students.

Paraphrasing can also provide an opportunity to link students' use of everyday

language and mathematical terms.

In our use of paraphrasing, the teacher should be mindful that it might derail a
student's thinking. Again, the return to the idea of being responsive rather than
prescriptive. If the teacher's goal is to paraphrase in order to redirect the conversation,
we expect a different outcome than if we are attempting to draw attention to and
encourage the student's thinking. For the latter objective, we commonly hear phrasing
such as, "What I hear you saying is...," followed by a close rendering of the student's
original statement.

Interventions : Summarizing
Means of facilitating student thinking:
a. brief restatements of main points,
b. summarizing,

Summarizing can serve several purposes:

a. it can help to bring a sense of temporary closure to a discussion by letting
the class take
stock of where it has been in the preceding conversation
b. it can also be used to distill, clarify, and/or illuminate ideas that students
have raised,
particularly when a discussion has covered many concepts and
questions.

If summarizing is to support inquiry, it helps when a teacher remembers to

acknowledge those whose ideas are being summarized, and reflects the language and
flow of the conversation as it took place. The goal is to provide students with a
compact record of their thinking that is easily used and returned to. The more the
summary connects to their experience of the conversation and hooks into embedded
meanings and memories of the situation, the easier it will be to make a useful
transition to the next area of study.

Acknowledgement also affirms students' ideas and participation, reinforcing their

roles in the conversation.

Interventions : Listening

If one of the teacher’s guiding concerns is to be responsive to student thinking, it

follows that teachers must listen to students carefully.

All of the ideas discussed above are derived from this essential element:
good questioning requires good listening to what has gone before.

The accuracy of paraphrasing depends on listening closely to a student's language. To

summarize effectively, the teacher must catch the rhythms and punctuation of the
conversation. For students to learn how to ask good questions, they must listen to each
other, to the teacher, and to themselves.
By emphasizing that everyone has something worthwhile to contribute to the class,
and by actively modeling this behavior, the teacher should encourage the students
to listen to themselves as well as to the teacher and each other.

Listening is key if students are to recognize that voice within themselves.

In listening, teacher recognizes that a student's mathematical actions or explanations

are reasonable from his or her point of view, even if the reason is not immediately
apparent to the teacher

It is the students' sense-making that is their mathematical thinking.

Teachers need a "bifocal perspective," where the teacher is "perceiving the
mathematics through the mind of the learner while perceiving the mind of the learner
through the mathematics". In this way the teacher can gain insight into new
approaches to concepts, while thinking about the support the student needs in order to
make the next move. In this sense, listening is also part of the broader effort to learn
about students' strengths and needs, and to think about when and which intervention
to employ

Decision Making

Several elements that influence the teacher’s decision-making on the intervention /

strategy to use or when :
a. balance,
b. wait-time, and
c. classroom norms.
Balance

Teachers must continually balance students' pursuit of their own questions with the
imperatives of the curriculum. Consciously or not, teachers are always trying to
accommodate competing needs:
(a) individual thinking and learning with a collective search for knowledge,
(b) a student's individual needs with the needs of the group,
(c) allowing time for student discovery and conversation with covering a body
of knowledge, (d) encouraging divergent ideas with moving toward a
particular method or concept, and
(e) leading the class while responding to student ideas about direction.

There should be a balance between covering the curriculum and supporting the
development of students' understanding.

Wait-Time

Wait-time includes :
a. providing time for students to generate their own solutions to problems,
b. waiting for a student to find the words for an explanation, and
c. listening patiently as students try to put their questions into words.

In addition, teachers should also realize the importance of giving themselves

wait-time -- time to weigh options before deciding what to do next.

When the teacher waits for several students to respond to a question, or when the
teacher accepts different solutions to a problem before the respond to any one of them,
the teacher finds out that she/he is providing the students with the opportunity to
evaluate and help each other with their responses.

The teacher needs to resist the temptation to answer all of the students' questions, or
to tell them what to do next. If the teacher intervenes too much, the students may
become dependent on the teacher and, more importantly, may not be able to
cultivate the power of their own thinking. Waiting after posing a question sends a
message that students can explore their ideas without help from the teacher,
increasing their confidence.

Teacher may repeat a student's question in order to focus attention on the question
asked and on the student's ownership of the question, rather than on herself

When the teacher provides students with time to think, and enable them to face the
moments of uncertainty in problem-solving, the teacher shows her/his confidence in
their abilities. Given enough time, students can develop the confidence to begin
posing their own questions, and can seek resources to find answers for themselves.

In a supportive classroom students do learn to think together, helping each other to

address their questions. One student may correct another as the teacher merely
restates the proposed definition. This sort of experience provides students with
evidence that thinking with others is an important tool in mathematics, and may give
them confidence in their ability to guide each other.
Much can happen as a result of the mere expectation that the student has more to say.
Whether the teacher waits silently or ask questions, he /she creates space for the
student to figure out a way forward.

The teacher can ask for a description of what the problem asks. He/she can involve
other students in explaining what they understand. He/she can ask a question like,
"What part do you understand?" instead of, "What don't you understand?"
We can help students articulate which parts of a problem make sense, in order to help
them move from "I don't get it" to "I know this much, but I'm stuck on this part."
When students start from what is already known, they are no longer totally lost

Classroom Norms

It is important to state explicitly in class that respect for one another's ideas is
mandatory. Few students will ask a question or risk attempting to solve a problem
unless they feel they are safe

In addition to establishing clear expectations for student behavior, teachers can model
mathematical thinking that includes resolving their own confusion. This practice
legitimizes such confusion, and identifies it as an important part of the process of
problem-solving. In addition, the teacher can pose problems that allow for multiple
paths to a solution.

In pointing out that there are different approaches to finding an answer, a teacher
suggests that there is not just one right way to answer a problem.

By encouraging students to take risks, a teacher both acknowledges their feelings

about publicly engaging math, and encourages them to engage so that they can learn.

By suggesting that students are able to revise their answers, a teacher implies that an
answer does not have to be final, and that continuing to revisit it is useful practice.
When students come to expect that there may be more than one answer, they place
more value on finding different methods for solving the same problem, and are better
able to analyze and work with problems

ACTIVITY

Make a detailed lesson plan that shows encouragement in mathematical thinking.

Highlight and identify the various intervention present in the lesson plan.