Have Them Explain Their Thinking

One of the critical components of math involves students being able to explain their thinking.  Finding the solution and computing correctly are obviously important, but being able to share their thoughts is essential.  Why are we asking students to explain their thought process?

1.  Talking about math requires students to think more deeply about the mathematics.  Students need to clarify their thinking.  Writing or talking about a new math idea often ensures understanding or leads to new understandings.  
2.  Explaining encourages reflection and self-monitoring.  Students must revisit their ideas, confirm their strategies and double-check answers.  Students often recognize confusions when they talk or write about math. 
3. It builds responsibility in students for making sense of the mathematics.
4. It provides students with a way to get feedback on their problem-solving process or their understanding of a concept.  When feedback, either from parents or teachers, is only focused on the correctness of an answer, the student’s thinking about a problem stops. 
5. It exposes children to multiple strategies -- often strategies that they may not have considered but can use later with new problems.  
6. It involves students in developing and using mathematical vocabulary to express ideas.    


The next time you are checking in on homework, consider asking one of the following questions:

Can you re-state the problem in your own words?

How did you solve this problem?

What strategy did you use to solve this problem?

Is there another way to solve this problem?

Can we use a different strategy to solve this problem?

Spending a few minutes a week discussing their approach, solutions and thoughts about math can help greatly.