Learning to Listen to Our Students’ Voices:
Challenging Our Assumptions
Amanda Jansen, University of Delaware
What do motivated and engaged mathematics learners do?
Your thoughts…
What do motivated and engaged mathematics learners not do?
Your thoughts…
1
Learning to Listen to Our Students’ Voices: Challenging Our Assumptions
Amanda Jansen, University of Delaware
Class Participation: Listening to Students’ Voices
1. What assumption did Cathy Humphreys appear to hold about students’ participation?
2. What did her students share with her that challenged this assumption?
3. What else did you learn about what her students think about participating during whole
class discussions in mathematics classrooms?
4. Did anything surprise you about what Cathy’s students said?
5. If you were Cathy Humphreys, what would you do in the future when leading classroom
discussions to involve and engage these students, now that you have heard their
perspectives?
Learning to Listen to Our Students’ Voices: Challenging Our Assumptions
Amanda Jansen, University of Delaware
Listening to our OWN Students’ Voices
1. What is a dilemma that you are currently facing about students’ motivation,
participation, or engagement in one of your mathematics classrooms? Describe what is
happening and why you think this is a problem.
2. What are your current assumptions about why students are behaving this way or
making these choices? List as many as you can.
Learning to Listen to Our Students’ Voices: Challenging Our Assumptions
Amanda Jansen, University of Delaware
3. What could you ask your students that would allow you to examine your assumptions?
(Write a question that you could either ask the students to reflect upon, as a journal
prompt, or a question that you would pose to the whole class for discussion, or both!)
4. Why does this question have the potential to help you examine your assumptions about
your students? Explain.
5. Imagine what you think your students could say in response to your question that
might surprise you. Brainstorm some student responses to your question.
6. Once you have data from your students, make some decisions about how you could
change your teaching to better support your students. What is one change that you
think that you could make NOW that would make a difference with your dilemma?
Learning to Listen to Our Students’ Voices: Challenging Our Assumptions
Amanda Jansen, University of Delaware
Possible Journal Prompts: Listening to our OWN Students’ Voices
Forced choice items allow for quicker assessment of trends in the group…
7. Do you participate in discussions during mathematics class…
(a) frequently
(b) sometimes
(c) rarely
8. How do you feel about participating in discussions during mathematics class?
(a) interested
(b) indifferent
(c) hesitant
Ask students to think about a specific incident in order to inspire reflection…
9. Can you think about a time when you did not want to talk out loud during a
mathematics class discussion? Why didn’t you want to talk out loud?
10. Can you think about a time when you did participate by talking out loud during a
mathematics class discussion? Why did you end up participating? Did you have any
thoughts about the experience?
Provide a perspective as inspiration so students can compare and contrast their thinking with
the perspective offered.
11. Some people say that they don’t want to participate in whole class discussions about
mathematics because they’re nervous about possibly being wrong in front of people. Do
you feel this way? Why or why not?
Ask for feedback about instruction.
12. Is there anything a mathematics teacher could do to help you, specifically, be more
willing to participate in a whole class discussion? If so, what? Why does that matter to
you?
Relevant reading – assessing students’ perspectives:
Jansen, A. (2011). Listening to mathematics students' voices to assess and build upon their
motivation: Learning in groups. In D. J. Brahier (Ed.), Motivation and Disposition: Pathways
to Learning Mathematics, Seventy-third Yearbook. (pp. 201-214). Reston, VA: NCTM.