Increasing the cognitive demand in the classroom
Rachel Linney
Aoife Kelly
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What to reflect on?
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Classroom management?
Questioning?
Student participation?
Pitch of the lesson?
Understanding of concepts?
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Focus on tasks
Opportunities for student learning are not created simply by putting
students into groups, by placing manipulatives in front of them, or by
handing them a calculator. Rather, it is the level and kind of thinking in
which students engage that determines what they will learn.
The point is not that one type of task is better than another; rather, it is
important to know the potential of a task so that it can be appropriately
mapped on to the goals for students' learning. (Smith and Stein 2001)
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Does it matter?
Research into the impact of Project Maths 2013
• Students need to be regularly given high quality tasks that require them
to engage with the processes promoted by the revised syllabuses,
including: problem solving; drawing out connections between
mathematics topics; communicating more effectively in written form;
and justifying and providing evidence for their answers.
Review of Textbooks 2011
• No one textbook deals with problem-solving satisfactorily.
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Task Sorting Activity
TASK A – M
High Level/Low level
Adapted from Stein and Smyth 2001
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TASK
HIGH-LEVEL
LOW-LEVEL
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
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Task-analysis framework
LOW- LEVEL DEMANDS
HIGH LEVEL DEMANDS
Recall or memorization of formulas and
definitions
Require critical analysis of the task and
solution
No explanations or explanations that focus
only on describing the procedure used to
solve
Exact reproduction of previously seen
material and what to do is clearly stated
Require exploration of concepts, processes or
relationships
No connections of formulas or definitions to
concepts underlying understandings
Complex, non, algorithmic thinking
Focus on producing correct answers
Little ambiguity exists about the what needs
to be done or how to do it
Develop deeper understanding of concepts
Multiple representations to develop
understanding and connections
Access and apply prior knowledge and
relevant experiences
May involve anxiety for the student because of
the unpredictable nature of the solution
process.
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Difficulties
Smith, M. (2001)
Implementing High Cognitive Demand
Tasks in Mathematics Classrooms. NCTN
Seminar Series
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A few tips …
Smith, M. (2001)
Implementing High Cognitive Demand
Tasks in Mathematics Classrooms. NCTN
Seminar Series
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Further exploration…
• Analyse the tasks you use in a week
• Analyse text-book tasks and exam questions
• Modify low level tasks
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Thank you!
For a copy of presentation- email
Aoife.Kelly@ncca.ie
Rachel.linney@ncca.ie
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