Virginia Mathematics Teacher Fall 2016

Figure 2. Solution by tabular and pictorial representation

Figure 5 . Solution by partitioning

Figure 3 . Solution by linear addition

Figure 6 . Solution by comparison strategies

concern, frustration, and fear in their students. One teacher commented that she never realized how emotional the process could be and that she was gaining a new perspective on her students and how she interacts with them. Another teacher wrote that she would use reasoning up and down to help her students focus on what they already know and then guide them in building on that knowledge. Several teachers remarked on the importance of labeling processes so that students have a clear picture of how the concepts tie together; this leads to the development of conceptual understanding and the internalization of concepts and processes for the students. Another teacher reflected, “ I am also starting to think differently about analyzing student work. When problems have the opportunity of yielding a variety of correct answers, it is important to consider what the student is doing and what math they can do and understand ."

Figure 4 . Solution by working backwards

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 43, no. 1

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