https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd Describe your experience implementing Number Talks. What surprised you? Have you noticed a change in your students' beliefs about math or in their confidence? How has this changed your math instruction? en-us 2017-10-15 22:07:46 UTC 2025-09-29 07:45:47 UTC hello@padlet.com lawillis1 https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/207345195 I started co-teaching Number Talks with Cathy Ruedinger's class this fall. Our goal was to increase number sense with students by encouraging them to think flexibly, demonstrate productive struggle, and communicate their thinking. We started with the dot images and quickly realized how creative the students were! The students often came up with more than 7 strategies to solve the dot images. We then moved into addition problems and now we are tackling fractions, It is amazing to watch students who only had 1 way to solve a problem regularly use multiple strategies and even apply them to their own math classes. I have been so impressed with the students' solutions and ideas! I love Number Talks and think that all students can benefit from them at the start of each math class!]]> 2017-11-15 17:58:39 UTC https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/207345195 https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/208125082 I like how Number Talks makes each individual think about their own strategy. The students get an opportunity to share their strategy and learn different strategies from other students. Students can apply the strategies they learn to so many other types of problems. It has been neat to see productive struggle as they try to figure out answers, especially the fraction problems.]]> 2017-11-17 14:44:56 UTC https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/208125082 jecoenen https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/208687675 I started doing Number Talks in each of my hours after talking about it with our coach, Laura Willis. I found that the students were hesitant at first trying to find different strategies to solve the same problems. Once we had started doing it a few times, they really got into finding different ways to solve problems. One class got 15 different ways to solve 1 problem! I have seen students start to think more flexible about how to solve problems. I am planning to continue using Number Talks in all my classes and try different types of problems (like fractions, multiplying, etc).]]> 2017-11-20 13:17:29 UTC https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/208687675 https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/208693634 I started doing number talks with Laura during our co-taught math class.  The students like it and we get lots of interaction from many students who don't normally participate.  We've seen students flex their thinking and build off each other's ideas.  We're trying to get the students to apply their number sense to our "regular" daily problems.
I have done number talks in my other classes, but I have yet to do it regularly so it becomes a routine part of our day or week.

]]> 2017-11-20 13:31:42 UTC https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/208693634 https://padlet.com/lawillis1/8w5ls9953avd/wish/255749907 October 2017
Carol Lucido came to Kellogg and modeled a number talk with my morning classes. The students had so many different ways of doing one math problem. The kids that did not volunteer their strategy were so interested and engaged in listening to their peers. You could see the light bulbs coming on. 
I continued to try number talks during the first quarter. The most challenging part of implementing these are feeling like you have enough time in a day! 
Also, I would love to have a cohort of middle school teachers that get together monthly to share and discuss number talks. Not a book study per say, but a resource and sharing time.

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