Some Baseline Data

PROBLEM: My kids struggle to explain and justify their thinking and reasoning in maths.

WONDERING: How can I develop the mathematical dialogic discourse ability of my children?

This week I recorded my target kids collectively solving a problem. My goal was to capture and measure their ability to explain their thinking and inquire about other's. I noted done each time each child used any of the phrases, or similar phrases below. The kids worked on the problem for 15 minutes and this is their results.It's worth noting that two of the target group were not there that day. Their row has been marked with a -. 

It's interesting to see that the children did try to express what they are thinking however it often wasn't backed up with a reason. The word 'because' was seldom used and the others were left to infer the mathematica thinking and process from what was said e.g "You add 20 to 100 and then you....". Equally interesting is that only one child asked for further information/explanation from others as they expressed their thinking.

This married up with what I have been seeing anecdotally so it's nice to have some actual data. We clearly have a long way to go in developing a community where kids can confidently express their thinking and inquire of others. My next steps involve explicitly teaching the kids how to express and justify their mathematical thinking. My kids need to view each other as both a learner and teacher. They need to connect with the idea that they can learn from their peers and that what their peers have to say is valuable.