Number Talks

As an entire school, Winfield Elementary has seen drastic decrease in their mathematics standardized test scores. In hopes of finding strategies and techniques to help increase the scores, the school has decided to implement Number Talks school wide.

                The teachers were given the Number Talks text and asked to read the introduction chapters as well as viewed parts of the classroom videos during faculty meetings in the morning. To begin the process of implementation, I was asked to provide a professional development to the teachers, providing more insight and understanding in how to implement number talks, how to understand number talks, and to explain the need and value in using number talks.

                I found the professional development presentation to go very well. I feel the teachers responded very positively to the idea of number talks and through the presentation gained insight as to the value and power number talks can and will have on students and mathematical understanding. Throughout my presentation, I saw a lot of teachers nodding in agreement, some sharing their own stories and thoughts in agreement to the need for number talks, and I heard great conversations among the teachers. I found that by the end of the presentation, the majority if not all, agreed number talks need to be an integral part of mathematics instruction. That teaching the “standard algorithm” is not enough.   

I received all positive feedback on my evaluation sheets and received praise from teachers.  Hearing teachers, who have been in the profession for many years acknowledge not only my understanding of number talks, but also the need, was very rewarding. One of the most touching praises I received was from a teacher who I had volunteered with while in high school; she said: “Your passion for teaching and for number talks was truly evident through that presentation. Not only was it evident, but contagious, thank you”.

While planning for the individual number talks in all the classrooms, I was a little nervous. I had only previously done a number talk in a first grade classroom, I was apprehensive with how the students would respond to number talks at the various levels. I was pleasantly surprised to find that overall, all students in all grades, seemed to enjoy the number talks. Many of the number talks ended with students asking if I was coming tomorrow to do them again. I found number talks in kindergarten went exceptionally well. The students, despite their age, were able to articulate their thought process very well, some in fact, better than the older students. I wonder if this ability to articulate thoughts becomes “cloudy” in the older grades because they are blinded by the “standard algorithm” and are unsure how to communicate their method effectively.

Through implementing the number talks in all the classrooms I began to realize how powerful of a tool it really is when used properly. It allowed me to see student misconceptions, student understanding of mathematical content and mathematical flexibility, and allowed me to learn new techniques too! I found throughout all the grade levels a large amount of students were reverting to the standard algorithm in their head. Even when shown that it is hard to do your head and even when majority of who chose this method got the wrong answer, when I asked what strategy students would try again for the same problem, they all still responded with doing it vertically. I wonder if over time and practice, if students would begin to see how inefficient that strategy is and begin to search out and try the different strategies shared by their peers.

Overall, I think the most telling component of implementing number talks occurred when I spent the day in fourth grade. On this day, I did a second number talk with the students that morning, then taught a science lesson in the afternoon, with co-teaching with their teacher in between. At the end of the day, their teacher was going to begin a new chapter book for a read aloud. I saw one little girl raise her hand and when her teacher called on her, I almost couldn’t believe what came out of her mouth. She said, “Mrs. Payne, do you think instead of a read aloud that maybe Miss Dill could do another number talk with us?”. Quickly, the majority of the students joined in, saying “yes, please, please, please!” And sure enough, the students ended their day doing another number talk with myself.