Making Sense of Operations (MSO) focuses on the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) for whole and rational numbers. Number Talks (Parrish, 2010) are implemented to help students build mental math and computation strategies.
Big Ideas:
- Standard algorithms for computation with the four operations rely on decomposing numbers.
- The Common Core Standards distinguish computation strategies from computation algorithms.
- Teaching for understanding requires student-centered, problem-based instruction.
- Understanding computation is far more than getting the right answer.
- Number Talks are classroom conversations around purposefully crafted computation problems that are solved mentally.
Course Goals
Participants will:
- Deepen their knowledge of the operations through composing and decomposing numbers and gain number sense by using operations.
- Distinguish between computation strategies and computation algorithms.
- Understand that teaching for understanding requires student-centered, problem-based instruction.
- Lead number talks that are classroom conversations around purposefully crafted computation problems that are solved mentally.
- Understand that computation is far more than getting the right answer.
- Recognize key mathematical ideas with which students grapple and learn to appreciate the power and complexity of student thinking.
- Identify essential characteristics, concepts, and skills from the Common Core.
- Learn questioning techniques that will help students learn to use multiple representations.
- Notice, articulate, and prove generalizations about the behavior of operations throughout the math activities in the course.
- Learn to notice opportunities to bring students’ attention to generalizations about operations in their classrooms.
- Use number talks to support their work with students around algebraic thinking and operations.