aboutlearning

Blog Week of 10/22

A teacher is working on the following math standard for her third grade class.

Data analysis, Statistics and Probability: Represent and interpret data in real-world and mathematical problems: 1. Read and interpret data from circle graphs using hales thirds, and quarter. 2. Collect data using observations or surveys and represent the data with pictographs and line plots with appropriate title and key. 3. Explore the basic concept of probability.—Minnesota state standards for 3rd grade math.

As she thinks about how she will get her youngsters excited about learning this standard, she first asks herself, “Why do these children need to know this?”

She comes up with several answers. (1) these are important math concepts and they will be taught at higher and higher levels as students move up the grades, so they need a solid grounding. (2) children need to know how to measure things for themselves, irrespective of school requirements, and (3) it will definitely be on the test and I will be judged by their ability to do this.

So she turns to an examination of the concept. What is the concept inherent in this standard? Is is measurement or is it observation, hunching and prediction, or all of these? Can she choose the concept to design the unit based on the needs of her particular kids? For example, would predicting appeal to these kids more than measurement? Might her choice change with a different group of kids, or is there some conceptual rigor that should dominate her choice regardless of her kids? And so she must keep both the students and the “Why?” in mind when choosing a concept that engages the students to learn more about this standard.

Next she begins formulating how they will practice doing it? What work will she ask of them? What real life issues do eight-nine year olds have that collecting and interpreting data will solve or help to solve? Are there such issues? Can she create such meaningful issues for them? What if they discover data that is contradictory would that enlarge meaning for them? What practice will she set up so they all get to acceptable expertise with their different approaches to learning and their difference backgrounds? What graphic skills in data representation will she include?

Finally she asks, if she is successful in teaching this standard to all her students, every single one of them, what will they be able to do at the end of the unit/lesson? And how will she know she is successful? What assessment plan will flow from this? Should she require some performance or some lessor requirement or will a simple paper and pencil test do?

And so the 4MAT process goes. At first look, is seems complicated, but in reality it is an eminently simple template that encompasses best practices and improves the odds of learning for all the kids. The secret is the teacher’s use of the process.

In order to create an engaging unit around this or any worthwhile standard, the teacher must create her own answers to all four questions: “Why?” “What?” “How?’ and “If?” She must engage herself in the entire learning act If she is to tap into her students’ need to know “Why?” The entire 4MAT Cycle is encompassed in the “Why?” she chooses.

To create an engaging, rigorous 4MAT unit with differentiated practice and performance-enabling results, she must travel the cycle herself.

The other three questions flow from her true answer to her students’ “Why?”.  Her choice will reveal the essence of the “What?”, lead on to the “How?”, defining the most important work for the students to do, and result in performance-empowered kids.

That’s why our kids need to know “Why?”