From the goal is getting a single correct answer...
To the goal is to develop a well-reasoned explanation supported with evidence
If we want students to value what they are learning they need to own it. By creating an environment where the goal is to explain phenomena or solve problems through well-reasoned approaches, we can help students understand that there are reasons behind the key ideas in math and science.
If the emphasis is placed too exclusively on students getting the “right answer”, students tend to learn that that reasoning and evidence are not important; thinking stops when they have the answer. This is not to say that accuracy is unimportant – it is, and how students’ reason, use evidence, and develop answers are also important.
Alternatively, if emphasis is placed on reasoning and evidence, students might learn to value these things and develop deeper understanding of target concepts.
It is important to consistently ask students to justify their answers. If we only ask “How did you get that?” or “How do you know you’re right?” when students have wrong answers, they are inclined NOT to explain but erase and correct or, even more problematic, they may just give up and wait to be told. They take teacher questioning as a cue that they have the wrong answer. Instead, we try to create classrooms where all ideas are inspected and examined which is a habit we hope to instill in our students beyond the math and science classroom.
The practices are all about helping us make explicit the modes of thinking and reasoning that underlie our explanations and approaches in math and science. If our classroom is truly engaging students in the practices then it needs to be a place where evidence plays a central role and appeal to authority is limited. In other words, in a classroom where kids are doing math or doing science central ideas should be established because they make sense, not just because the teacher or the book or the computer simulation said it was so.
Always ask student to justify their responses. Using inviting language can promote deeper thinking. Examples include:
1. "Tell me more about your reasoning."
2. "How do we know that _____ is true?"
3. "What are some pieces of evidence that led you to your answer?"
4. "What is it about your solution/answer that makes you confident in it?"
5. "Given what we know about X, why do we come to Y conclusion?”
6. "How might you test your idea?"
Use the “convince yourself, convince a friend, or convince a skeptic” routine: Teach students the value of healthy skepticism by providing sentence frames that help them ask clarifying questions and ask for evidence. Model and provide questions like:
1. "What evidence leads you say that?"
2. "Can you show your solution/reasoning in another way?"
3. "How do you know that is true?"
4. "Can you draw a diagram to show your thinking?"
5. "How might we test that idea?”
Encourage students to build upon or critique the reasoning of peers.
1. “In what ways might you add to this idea?”
2. ”What are some of your thoughts about that idea?”