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Strategies for building mathematical communication in the middle school

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CIMLE Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12

Strategies for Building Mathematical Communication in the

Middle School Classroom: Modeled in Professional Development,
Implemented in the Classroom
Karen K. Clark
University of Colorado at Denver
and Health Sciences Center
Je n n i f e r Ja c o b s Mar y Ellen Pittman Hilda Borko
University of Colorado University of Colorado University of Colorado
at Boulder at Boulder at Boulder

Abstract
The mathematics education literature stresses the importance of establishing mathematics discourse
communities in mathematics classrooms and sug gests a number of specific strategies teachers can draw
on to foster student communication (Chazan & Ball, 1999; NCTM, 2000; Silver & Smith, 1997).
We p r e s e n t f o u r o f t h e s e s t r a t e g i e s i n d e t a i l : ( 1 ) p o s i n g r i c h t a s k s , ( 2 ) c r e a t i n g a s a f e e n v i r o n m e n t , ( 3 )
a s k i n g s t u d e n t s t o e x p l a i n a n d j u s t i f y s o l u t i o n s , a n d ( 4 ) a c t i v e l y p r o c e s s i n g o n e a n o t h e r ’s i d e a s . We
describe how these strategies were addressed in a professional development program for middle school
mathematics teachers, and we offer a vignette that illustrates how one of the participating teachers
i m p l e m e n t e d t h e m i n h e r e i g h t h - g r a d e c l a s s r o o m . F i n a l l y, w e c o n s i d e r t h e p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t t h a t m o d e l i n g
communication strategies in professional development can have on teachers’ classroom practice.

E ducational researchers and business leaders Effective communication is now seen as

in the United States underscore the need for a skill that middle school students should
students to learn how to effectively communicate demonstrate in all subject areas, not just language
their thinking both orally and in writing (National arts and social science courses (Kist, 2003).
Middle School Association [NMSA], 2004; Indeed, mathematics is increasingly seen as
Secretar y’s Commission on Achieving Necessar y a field in which effective communication is
Skills [SCANS], 1991; National Council of essential as both a learning process and an
Te a ch e r s o f M a t h e m a t i c s [ N C T M ] , 1 9 8 9 , 2 0 0 0 ; outcome. Principles and Standards for School
C o b b, B o u f i , M c C l a i n , & W h i t e n a c k , 1 9 9 7 ) . Mathematics (PSSM), a guide published by
Fo r e x a m p l e , t h e N a t i o n a l M i d d l e S c h o o l the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
position report on middle level education outlining essential components for improving
advocates “learning experiences which use the quality of school mathematics programs,
the full range of communications in purposeful lists communication as one of the five process
contexts” (NMSA, 2004,). In addition, a standards that students will need to function
r e p o r t i s s u e d by t h e U. S. D e p a r t m e n t o f L a b o r, e f f e c t i v e l y i n t h e t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y. T h e
entitled What Work Requires of Schools, specifies PSSM document elaborates that communication
that the workforce will need to be able to is an essential part of mathematics and mathematics
“ c o m m u n i c a t e t h o u g h t s, i d e a s, i n f o r m a t i o n , education because it is a “way of sharing
and messages in writing; and create documents i d e a s a n d c l a r i f y i n g u n d e r s t a n d i n g. T h r o u g h
such as letters … and organize ideas and communication, ideas become objects of reflection,
c o m m u n i c a t e o r a l l y ” ( S C A N S, 1 9 9 1 , p. x v i i i ) . refinement, discussion, and amendment. The
The report urges schools to emphasize the communication process helps build meaning
development of communication skills for and per manence for ideas and makes them
A m e r i c a ’s y o u t h . p u b l i c ” ( N C T M , 2 0 0 0 , p. 6 0 ) .

Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12 1

 In keeping with this emphasis on communication
skills, recent educational research has stressed
the importance of establishing mathematical
d i s c o u r s e c o m mu n i t i e s i n m at h e m a t i c s c l a s s e s.
Discourse communities are those in which
students feel free to express their thinking,
and take responsibility for listening, paraphrasing,
q u e s t i o n i n g , a n d i n t e r p r e t i n g o n e a n o t h e r ’s
ideas in whole-class and small-g roup discussions.
A number of teachers and researchers have
offered sug gestions about how to establish
a n d m a i n t a i n s u c h c o m m u n i t i e s ( e . g. , C h a z a n
& Ball, 1999; Grouws & Cebulla, 2000; Kazemi,
1 9 9 8 ; S i l v e r & S m i t h , 1 9 9 7 ) . C o b b, B o u f i ,
McClain, and Whitenack (1997) noted that
i t i s c r i t i c a l f o r t e a c h e r s t o f o s t e r c h i l d r e n’s
emerging abilities to participate in “reflective”
and “collective” discourse, and to become
s k i l l e d a t s u p p o r t i n g s u ch c o nve r s a t i o n s. T h e y
argued that “children actively construct their
mathematical understandings as they participate
i n c l a s s r o o m s o c i a l p r o c e s s e s ” ( p. 2 6 4 ) a n d
sug gested that teachers guide conversations
such that students play a prominent role in
“stepping back” and making sense of the
mathematical work that has taken place.
Unfortunately, classrooms that are characterized
by mathematical discourse communities are
not yet the norm in the United States (Ball,
1 9 9 1 ; S t i g l e r & H i e b e r t , 1 9 9 9 ) . Fo r e x a m p l e ,
t h e T I M S S 1 9 9 9 V i d e o S t u d y, a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l
s u r v e y o f e i g h t h - g r a d e m a t h e m a t i c s l e s s o n s,
revealed that on average in the United States,
the ratio of teacher-to-student words was
8:1, and 71% of student utterances were fewer
than 5 words (Hiebert et al., 2003).
T h e S TA A R P r o j e c t
A central goal of the professional development
c o m p o n e n t o f t h e “ S u p p o r t i n g t h e Tr a n s i t i o n
from Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning” (STAAR)
Project—the project featured in this article—
was to facilitate teachers’ learning of strategies
for fostering mathematical communication
in their mid dle school classr ooms. In par ticular
we focused on four strategies that appear
Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
to be fundamental to creating a mathematical
discourse community: (1) rich tasks, (2) safe
environments, (3) students’ explanations and
j u s t i f i c a t i o n s, a n d ( 4 ) p r o c e s s i n g o f i d e a s.
Facilitators modeled these strategies in a content-
focused professional development summer institute.
The next section of the article discusses
some of the literature on these four strategies
for building a discourse community. We describe
the STAAR professional development program
and briefly discuss how the four strategies
were modeled during the summer institute.
We t h e n u s e a v i g n e t t e t o i l l u s t r a t e a n d a n a l y z e
how one teacher carried out these strategies
in her classroom.
We r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e s e f o u r s t r a t e g i e s
are inextricably inter twined. Fur ther more,
teachers’ instructional moves and communication
decisions are naturally driven by the demands
of specific contexts and cannot be prescribed
or scripted. However, our intention is to
promote awareness of particular communication
strategies and provide images and interpretations
of their enactment in a middle school classroom.
Thus, for analytical purposes, we address
e a c h s t r a t e g y s e p a r a t e l y.
Strategies for Establishing and Maintaining Mathematical
Discourse Communities
Strateg y 1: Posing rich tasks that promote
discussion. Rich mathematical tasks are key
ingredients in classrooms that have communication
as a central goal (NCTM, 2000). Open-ended
and challenging tasks that build on students’
prior knowledge are conducive to discussions
because they encourage students to think collaboratively
a n d b u i l d u p o n o n e a n o t h e r ’s i d e a s ( S t e i n ,
S m i t h , H e n n i n g s e n , & S i l v e r , 2 0 0 0 ) . Ta s k s
should have multiple levels of access to enable
students with different levels of background
knowledge and mathematical abilities to work
on them and to collaborate as they move
through the solution process (Cohen, 1984).
It is also desirable for tasks to have multiple
exit points, so that students can complete
2
the problem with varying degrees of sophistication
( Fo s n o t & D o l k , 2 0 0 1 ) . S u c h t a s k s e n a b l e
students, guided by the teacher, to make connections
between various solutions and solution strategies,
and to learn both important mathematical
c o n t e n t a n d v a l u a b l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s.
The manner in which mathematical tasks
are posed and problem-solving activities are
structured also impacts how students solve
the tasks and how they communicate their
ideas about the solution (Stein et al., 2000).
Teachers sometimes turn rich, complex problems
into simpler ones for their students, and thereby
remove opportunities for the students to discover
mathematical solutions on their own (Stein,
Grover, & Henningsen, 1996). One strateg y
that encourages students to work on and discuss
challenging problems is to break them into
s m a l l e r p i e c e s. Fo r e x a m p l e , s t u d e n t s c a n
work individually or in groups to tackle one
component of a complex task, and then convene
as a whole class to discuss that specific component
before moving back to individual or group
work to continue the problem. This process
of dividing the task into manageable chunks
enables students to be responsible for much
of the mathematical work on challenging problems
for which a larger amount of teacher guidance
might otherwise be needed.
Strateg y 2: Establishing and maintaining a
safe environment. A safe environment for communication
is vital to a successful mathematical discourse
community (Lampert, 2001). An environment
that is conducive to the sharing of ideas will
enhance the quality and quantity of discussion,
debate, and ideas that are publicly exchanged
in a classroom (Brown & Campione, 1994).
Of particular importance is establishing student
talk as a classroom nor m, both in small groups
and during public sharing of ideas (Silver &
Smith, 1997). Communication in small groups
can be stimulated by purposeful grouping
of students, continual encouragement to work
and talk together, and reinforcement of the
i m p o r t a n c e o f e a c h s t u d e n t ’s c o n t r i b u t i o n s
( B r o p h y, 1 9 9 9 ) . D u r i n g w h o l e - c l a s s w o r k ,
calling on str ug gling students or eliciting incorrect
Current Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
ideas can help to promote a feeling of safety
in the classroom, as students come to understand
that the teacher is not just looking for the
correct answer but for students to justify
and explain their methods for solving the
t a s k ( M c C l a i n & C o b b, 2 0 0 1 ) . I n c o r r e c t i d e a s
often can be particularly instructive because
they offer the opportunity to explicitly discuss
misconceptions and build on intuitive understandings.
Strateg y 3: Asking students to explain and
justify their thinking. The PSSM document calls
on teachers to support their students’ learning
by encouraging students to explain and justify
their mathematical thinking to their peers
and teachers in a coherent and clear manner
(NCTM, 2000). Establishing this type of inquiry
environment in the mathematics classroom
involves inviting students to share their strategies,
p o s e q u e s t i o n s, a n d “ t h i n k o u t l o u d ” ( C o b b,
Wo o d , Ya c k e l , & M c N e a l , 1 9 9 2 ; G r o u w s &
Cebulla, 2000). By making their thinking public,
students may have to negotiate the meaning
of mathematical ideas with others, and to
defend and justify their reasoning so that
they can convince others of the legitimacy
of their ideas. Through this process of negotiation
and justification, students are often motivated
to think more deeply about their own ideas
and the ideas of their classmates (Bauersfeld,
1 9 9 5 ; Ya c k e l & C o b b, 1 9 9 6 ) .
Strateg y 4: Encouraging students to actively
pr ocess one another’s ideas. Effective and meaningful
discourse requires that students listen closely
to the thinking of others, and that they process
a n d u n d e r s t a n d o n e a n o t h e r ’s i d e a s ( B r o w n
& Campione, 1994). As Davis (1992) noted,
“If we invite students to think, we have the
o b l i g a t i o n t o t a k e t h e i r i d e a s s e r i o u s l y ” ( p.
349). One aspect of taking students’ ideas
seriously is ensuring that their classmates attend
to the ideas and work to understand them.
Classroom activities should be structured
to ensure that students have ample time and
encouragement to process others’ ideas, for
example, by discussing them with the whole
class or considering them in small groups
(Grouws & Cebulla, 2000).
3
 Modeling Communication Strategies in
Professional Development
The STAAR Professional Development Program
Professional development programs that
model and engage middle school teachers
in thinking about effective communication
strategies can play a central role in helping
teachers learn to establish and maintain mathematical
d i s c o u r s e c o m m u n i t i e s i n t h e i r c l a s s r o o m s.
Our own experience with the STAAR professional
development program leads us to conjecture that
when teachers learn mathematical content effectively
in a professional development context, and when
they identify the mathematical discourse community
within the program as a major factor in their
learning, they are eager to establish similar communication
practices in their own classrooms.
As one component of the STAAR Project,
we conducted a professional development
program for middle school mathematics teachers
d u r i n g t h e 2 0 0 3 – 2 0 0 4 a c a d e m i c y e a r. O u r
goals for this professional development program
included (a) supporting the development of
teachers’ knowledge of algebra, (b) supporting
the development of teachers’ knowledge about
the teaching of algebra, (c) creating a professional
l e a r n i n g c o m m u n i t y, a n d ( d ) p r o v i d i n g a n
opportunity for teachers to learn mathematics
in a refor m-oriented setting (Borko et al.,
2 0 0 5 ) . We d e s i g n e d t h e S T A A R p r o f e s s i o n a l
development program to include three complementary
components: a summer algebra institute, ongoing
m o n t h l y work s h o p s, a n d m o n t h l y o b s e r va t i o n s
i n e a c h t e a c h e r ’s c l a s s r o o m .
Sixteen teachers enrolled in the two-week
summer algebra institute entitled “Facing the
U n k n o w n ,” w h i c h m e t f o r a t o t a l o f 6 0 h o u r s
during July 2003. The institute was jointly
delivered by the School of Education and
the Applied Mathematics Department at a
l a r g e s t a t e u n ive rs i t y. T hr o u g h o u t t h e i n s t i t u t e
the instructors encouraged the teachers to
reflect on their learning experiences and on
the types of instructional strategies and discourse
patterns that were being modeled. Eight of
Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
the 16 participants attended seven professional
development workshops during the 2003–
2 0 0 4 s c h o o l y e a r. 1 T h e p r i m a r y f o c u s o f t h e
workshops shifted during the school year
from algebraic content to mathematics-specific
p e d a g o g y i n m i d d l e s c h o o l c l a s s r o o m s. I n
both components the facilitators modeled
strategies for fostering communication and
promoting mathematical reasoning, and the
teachers were expected to share their mathematical
ideas in whole-group and small-group discussions.
The facilitators started the first day of
the institute with a problem that had multiple
entry points and was challenging enough to
e n c o u r ag e p a r t i c i p a n t s t o wor k c o l l a b o r ative l y.
They chunked the problem into several; sections
in order to ensure access for learners with
different levels of mathematical expertise
and to scaffold the learning experience. The
facilitators established a safe environment
for discourse and set expectations for communication
p a t t e r n s. Fo r i n s t a n c e , t h e y h a d t h e t e a c h e r s
work in small groups from the outset, intentionally
establishing a climate in which teachers were
expected to look to their colleagues for assistance
r a t h e r t h a n t o t h e f a c i l i t a t o r.
T h r o u g h o u t t h e p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g a c t i v i t y,
the facilitators demonstrated that the teachers’
explanations and justifications could ser ve
as key entry points for more extensive communication.
T h e y u s e d o p e n i n g s s u c h a s “ L e t ’s t a l k a b o u t
this” and “What do you think?” to initiate
whole-group conversations that focused on
the mathematical ideas and provided an invitation
for wide participation. They asked increasingly
specific questions to highlight the importance
o f m a t h e m a t i c a l r e a s o n i n g. T h e f a c i l i t a t o r s
also used several strategies to encourage teachers
t o l i s t e n t o a n d p r o c e s s o n e a n o t h e r ’s i d e a s.
They called upon teachers to share both correct
and incorrect mathematical conceptions, and
they encouraged them to explore, question,
and clarify one another’s ideas.. These characteristics
were carefully documented through the collection
and analysis of data in the STAAR professional
development activities and in the teachers’
o w n c l a s s r o o m s.
4
Data Collection and Analysis
An extensive set of data was collected
during all three components of the STAAR
p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t p i l o t p r o g r a m . We
videotaped the entire summer institute and
e a c h m o n t h l y w o r k s h o p, u s i n g a t l e a s t t w o
c a m e r a s a t a l l t i m e s. M u l t i p l e c a m e r a s e n a b l e d
us to focus simultaneously on the facilitator
and on the participating teachers during whole-
g r o u p a c t i v i t i e s. D u r i n g s m a l l - g r o u p w o r k ,
one camera followed the lead facilitator as
she or he moved from group to group; additional
cameras were trained on each of the small
g r o u p s. T h i s a p p r o a c h e n a b l e d u s t o c a p t u r e
the facilitators’ use of strategies to promote
discourse, and participants’ communication
patterns during small-group and whole-class
a c t i v i t i e s.
T h e t e a ch e r s we r e o b s e r ve d a n d v i d e o t a p e d
in their mathematics classrooms on a monthly
b a s i s t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r. D a t a c o l l e c t e d
during classroom observations included videotapes,
instructional materials, and copies of students’
w o r k . We u s e d t wo c a m e r a s w h e n v i d e o t a p i n g
in the classrooms, documenting both the teachers’
instructional moves and the student interactions
d u r i n g w h o l e c l a s s a n d s m a l l - g r o u p a c t i v i t i e s.
In addition to providing rich sources of data
about the teachers’ learning, these records
of practice for med a basis for discussion
during the monthly workshops, and for teachers’
individual reflections on their teaching and
their personal goal(s) for improving classroom
practice. The classroom activity featured in
this article occurred during one of these observations.
In addition to obser vational data, we collected
written reflections from the teachers throughout
t h e s u m m e r i n s t i t u t e a n d m o n t h l y wo r k s h o p s.
Te a c h e r s u s e d t h e s e r e f l e c t i o n s t o d e s c r i b e
their experiences during the professional development
program and to consider the impact of these
e x p e r i e n c e s o n t h e i r i n s t r u c t i o n a l p r a c t i c e s.
We also conducted inter views with the participating
teachers several times during the program.
I n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s a d d r e s s e d va r i o u s a s p e c t s
of the participants’ experiences during the
professional development program, including
their thoughts and practices regarding mathematical
discourse.
Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
We c h o s e t o u s e v i g n e t t e a n a l y s i s f o r t h i s
paper in order to carefully examine and portray
the ways in which a mathematical discourse
community was established in one middle
school teacher’s classroom. To identify a teaching
episode that was representative of the teachers’
efforts to enact the discourse strategies modeled
in the professional development program,
the STAAR research team met and discussed
the video records from the teachers’ monthly
o b s e r va t i o n s. We s e l e c t e d a t e a ch e r w h o m a d e
a substantial effort to foster a discourse community
w i t h i n h e r c l a s s r o o m . We t h e n i d e n t i f i e d a
teaching episode that provided evidence of
her efforts and wrote a corresponding vignette.
The goal of the vignette was to capture specific
f e a t u r e s o f t h i s t e a ch e r ’s p e d a g o g i c a l p r a c t i c e
in detail, while preserving the complexity
and richness of the teaching episode and
the classroom context in which it occurred
( M i l e s & H u b e r m a n , 1 9 9 4 ) . We p r e s e n t t h e
vignette followed by an analysis of the discourse
s t r a t e g i e s i t i l l u s t r a t e s. O u r a n a l y s i s d r a w s
o n t h e v i d e o t a p e d l e s s o n , a s we l l a s i n t e r v i e w s
conducted with the teacher, her written reflections,
and her final paper for the summer institute.
It focuses on the four strategies described
in the beginning of this article.
O n e Te a c h e r ’ s M o v e m e n t To w a r d
Establishing a
Discourse Community in a Middle
School Mathematics Classroom
Many of the teachers who participated
in the STAAR professional development program
commented in inter views and written ref lections
that they hoped to establish discourse norms
in their classrooms that were similar to those
modeled in the summer institute. During our
monthly obser vations of a subset of these
teachers in the school year that followed the
institute, we saw many attempts to create
and maintain mathematical discourse communities.
In this section, we introduce Pam Marsten
(a pseudonym), a middle school mathematics
teacher who took part in the STAAR professional
d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m . We d e s c r i b e P a m ’s
teaching and professional de velopment histor y,
her reflections on the STAAR summer institute,
5
and one of her lessons that illustrates her
efforts to implement many of the recommended
d i s c o u r s e s t r a t e g i e s.
At the onset of the 2003–2004 academic
year, Pam had taught for 27 years as a secondary
s c h o o l t e a c h e r. Pa m t a u g h t m a t h e m a t i c s i n
a “mountain” school whose student population
consisted of just under 800 sixth through
eighth graders, mostly Caucasian and middle
class. Students’ scores on the state’s standardized
test corresponded roughly to the state average.
Pam was the most experienced classroom
teacher in our project. She participated in
all three components of the STAAR professional
development program. She attended the summer
algebra institute and all seven monthly workshops,
and she was obser ved seven times in one of
her eighth-grade pre-algebra classrooms over
t h e c o u r s e o f t h e s c h o o l y e a r.
We d o n o t c l a i m t h a t Pa m l e a r n e d t h e
discourse strategies exhibited in her classroom
entirely from the STAAR project. Rather,
these are strategies Pam has been developing
for a considerable length of time, with assistance
f r o m m u l t i p l e s o u r c e s. H o w e v e r , Pa m w a s
quite articulate about the impact the summer
institute had on her, particularly with respect
t o t h e s e e f f o r t s. S h e w r o t e t h e f o l l o w i n g i n
her final paper:
After spending many days talking to my
peers in class about my ideas and theirs,
i t i s g l a r i n g t h a t j u s t i f y i n g o n e ’s a n s w e r
and being able to convince someone else
of its validity is part of the stuff [of
which] good mathematics is made….. Conversations
about math bring it alive…. As I saw so
clearly during my ten days in this class
… it is my responsibility as a math facilitator
to create an environment where math ‘talk’
or conversations take place.
In inter views during the school year following
the sum m er inst it u t e , Pam c o nt inu e d t o d i s c u s s
its enduring influence and the changes that
she experienced both in her beliefs and in
her teaching practices. Specifically, Pam commented
on the importance of student-driven communication
in the classroom which, she believed, could
be fostered by creating opportunities for
small-group work prior to whole-class discussions.
Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
Not only did Pam experience the powerful
impact of peer collaboration firsthand in
the summer institute, but she thought deeply
about how to bring some of these same communication
structures into her own middle school classroom.
In one inter view she commented,
I really loved the small groups in the summer
c o u r s e … We j u s t t a l k e d t o s o m e o n e n e x t
to us or across from us…. I found that I
was more likely to want to defend what
I was thinking because I didn’t feel threatened….
It also helped me get unstuck much of
the time…. I found that to be really powerful
a n d I t h o u g h t , y o u k n o w, t h a t w o r k s w i t h
kids as well. Just talking about their thinking
is a powerful technique.
Pam noted that the STAAR professional
development program was instrumental in
challenging her to reflect continually about
and take risks with respect to the communication
style in her classroom. In workshops and
inter views throughout the school year, she
commented that she used more small-group
work and provided more effective facilitation
of groups than she had done in previous
y e a r s. I n p a r t i c u l a r , s h e b e l i e v e d t h a t s h e
asked more targeted questions of the groups,
and gave them more time to think and talk
on their own before moving to large-group
discussions and for mal writing tasks. Statements
s u c h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g c a p t u r e Pa m ’s g e n e r a l
appraisal of the influence of the summer
institute: “My classroom teaching has been
so positively impacted by everything that I
learned and everything that we did in the
s u m m e r c l a s s.”
In the vignette below we highlight one
o f P a m ’s l e s s o n s, i n w h i c h s h e s u c c e s s f u l l y
put into practice many of the strategies recommended
by the literature and modeled in the STAAR
professional development program.
T h e Pa i n t e d C u b e s P r o b l e m : A V i g n e t t e
In one of the STAAR monthly professional
development workshops we asked teachers
to solve collaboratively the “Painted Cubes”
p r o b l e m , a d a p t e d f r o m D r i s c o l l ’s ( 1 9 9 9 ) b o o k
Fo s t e r i n g A l g eb r a i c T h i n k i n g : A G u i d e f o r Te a c h e r s,
6
Grades 6-10. The “Painted Cubes” problem
reads as follows:
A cube with edges of length 2 centimeters
i s b u i l t f r o m c e n t i m e t e r c u b e s. I f y o u
paint the faces of this cube and then break
it into centimeter cubes, how many cubes
will be painted on three faces? How many
will be painted on two faces? On one
face? How many will be unpainted? What
if the edge has a length different from
2? What if the length of the large cube is
3 c m ? 5 0 c m ? n c m ? ( p. 1 0 8 )
D u r i n g t h i s w o r k s h o p, h e l d i n Ja n u a r y
2004, the teachers solved the Painted Cubes
problem and discussed how they might teach
i t t o t h e i r o w n s t u d e n t s. I n t h e m o n t h t h a t
followed, all the teachers implemented the
problem in their own classrooms, and we
v i d e o t a p e d t h o s e l e s s o n s. B y c o i n c i d e n c e ,
shortly after the problem was introduced in
our January workshop and before Pam taught
the lesson, a version of the Painted Cubes
problem was discussed in another professional
development workshop Pam attended (a monthly
“problem-solving group” composed of mathematics
teachers from across the state).
The Painted Cubes problem consumed
t h r e e m a t h e m a t i c s l e s s o n s f o r Pa m ’s e i g h t h -
g r a d e p r e - a l g e b r a c l a s s. Tw o o f t h e s e l e s s o n s
were block periods (90 minutes) and one
was a 60-minute period. The following vignette
is drawn from the first 90-minute lesson,
which contained clear examples of each of
the discourse strategies advocated and modeled
in our professional development program.
Pa m a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t t h e Pa i n t e d C u b e s p r o bl e m
was going to be a difficult problem for her students.
She also knew that they would be easily frustrated
b y t h e d a y ’s p l a n n e d a c t i v i t y . I n o r d e r f o r t h e
Pa i n t e d C u b e s p r o b l e m t o w o r k t h e w a y s h e w a n t e d ,
Pa m h a d t o m a k e s u r e t h e s t u d e n t s u n d e r s t o o d t h e
type of classroom environment she wanted to see.
“I’m going to ask you to do two things,” she
said. “I’m going to ask you not to depend on a
neighbor to do your listening and your focusing
f o r y o u . Yo u a l l n e e d t o l i s t e n b e c a u s e w e ’v e d o n e
p r o b l e m s o l v i n g a n d w e ’v e d o n e g r o u p w o r k a l o t
this year, but it is even more important today for
Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
you to be focused as an individual so that when
y o u ’r e c o l l a b o r a t i n g a s a g r o u p , y o u ’l l b e a b l e t o
give your full attention to that because you have
paid attention to what was being said beforehand
when I was laying the gr oundw ork. Does e ver ybody
understand that part?”
Pa m s t o p p e d t o b r e a t h e a n d l o o k e d a r o u n d t h e
r o o m . T h e s t u d e n t s n o d d e d . “ O k a y, a n d t h e n t h e
second thing is I want you to have lots of stick-
t o - i t - n e s s t o d a y . ” Pa m e y e d t h e f r o n t r o w o f s i l e n t ,
s t i l l - n o d d i n g s t u d e n t s . “I’d like for you to know
that the activity that we’r e going to go thr ough is going
to take a little bit of stick-to-it-ness and a lot of self-
talk about ‘don’t get frustrated,’ ‘don’t give up.’ Okay?
And ever ybody’s going to help each other.”
The students nodded again, looking at one another
a n d a t Pa m . Ju s t w h a t w e r e t h e y g o i n g t o b e d o i n g ?
Pa m t h e n p r e s e n t e d t h e f i r s t p a r t o f t h e p r o b l e m
by holding up two 3x3x3 cubes, each made from
blocks (Unifix® cubes) using four different colors,
and noted that the cubes were color coded. She
asked the students to work in groups and build a
similar 3x3x3 cube that was color coded using
four different colors. After briefly reviewing that
a c u b e h a s s i x s i d e s o f e q u a l l e n g t h , Pa m i n s t r u c t e d
her students to begin constructing their 3x3x3
cubes. She then walked from group to group, showing
(but not discussing) her 3x3x3 cube. Although
Pa m p r o v i d e d a r e l a t i v e l y l i m i t e d e x p l a n a t i o n a n d
only minimal guidance, all groups were able to
begin building a cube.
After about 10 minutes, Pam dir ected the students’
attention to a “cube patterns” worksheet. She
explained that the worksheet asked for a definition
of where each color would be placed in any size of
c u b e . S h e s a i d , “ Yo u h a v e t o a g r e e a s a t a b l e o r
as a group what is going to be color 1, what is
g o i n g t o b e c o l o r 2 , 3 , a n d 4 . A n d wh a t I ’d a p p r e c i a t e
not hearing when I walk around to the groups is
that some people are saying one thing and other
p e o p l e a r e s a y i n g a n o t h e r t h i n g a n d t h e r e ’s n o
agreement.” The students had stopped working
a n d w e r e l i s t e n i n g . “ Yo u r e a l l y h a v e t o d i s c u s s
this before writing. W hen you reach consensus at
your table, then and only then should you write up
a definition of color placement.”
Pa m c a u t i o n e d t h a t t h e g r o u p s ’ d e f i n i t i o n s m u s t
be precise and clear enough such that they could
7
explain to someone over the phone how to construct of the color placements on a 3x3x3 cube.
the cube. Students again worked in groups for As the students extended these understandings
a p p r ox i m a t e l y 1 0 m i n u t e s, w i t h Pa m wa l k i n g a r o u n d to a variety of different-sized cubes they
the room providing encouragement and guidance. were able to identify the changing patterns
O n e s t u d e n t , Jo e , a n n o u n c e d h i s r a t h e r c o l o r f u l and communicate about them, building on
realization that a 2x2x2 cube is composed of one t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n s a b o u t t h e c o l o r c o d e s. T h e s e
c o l o r : “ s t i n k i n ’ ” r e d . Pa m e n c o u r a g e d Jo e t o e x p l a i n conversations about patterns eventually led
his obser vation. “W hy do you say that a 2x2x2 to the development of for mulas of var ying
i s g o i n g t o b e a l l s t i n k i n ’ r e d ? ” s h e a s k e d . Jo e levels of sophistication. Throughout this process
laughed and responded, “Because ever y corner is Pam continued to help her students communicate
red.” mathematically as they justified and explained
Pa m t h e n d e c i d e d t o s t o p t h e c l a s s f o r a m i n u t e their for mulas to one another and explored
a n d s h a r e t h i s i d e a . A t h e r p r o m p t i n g , Jo e h e l d t h e i r c o n n e c t i o n s.
up his cube and told his classmates, “The 2x2x2 The Painted Cubes problem was not a
i s a l l s t i n k i n ’ r e d s . ” Pa m c o n t i n u e d , “ N o w, w h a t p a r t o f P a m ’s n o r m a l c u r r i c u l u m , n o r h a d
I ’ m c h a l l e n g i n g Jo e t o d i s c u s s w i t h h i s g r o u p i s , she taught it before. She was enthusiastic
why would a 2x2x2 have nothing but ‘stinkin’ about trying it, however, believing that it
red’ as its color.” Mouths opened and hands shot would provide a good opportunity for her
u p , b u t Pa m s a i d , “ N o w, d o n ’t s a y a n y t h i n g o u t students to work on their discourse skills,
loud, but why would that be?” The students quieted. p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h i n t h e i r s m a l l g r o u p s. A s t h e
Pa m a d v i s e d t h e c l a s s t o b u i l d 2 x 2 x 2 a n d f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n i n d i c a t e s, Pa m ’s l e s s o n
4x4x4 cubes in their groups. After another 5 incorporated all four of the discourse strategies
minutes, she brought the class together to discuss described in this paper as recommended by
o n e g r o u p ’s 4 x 4 x 4 c u b e . Pa m h e l d u p t h e i r c u b e the literature and modeled in the STAAR
for ever yone to see, and pointed out that it was summer institute.
appropriately color coded. However, she noted that Posing rich tasks that promote discussion. The
many groups were having difficulty coming up with Painted Cubes problem was described in both
the vocabular y to accurately describe the placement of the professional development programs
of their four colors and were using words like that Pam participated in as rich and challenging,
“ c e n t e r o f t h e c u b e ” t h a t w e r e t o o v a g u e . Pa m and she was encouraged by both programs
could see that several of the students who had to experiment with it in her classroom. Pam
been laughing earlier were starting to disengage was concerned that the problem was so complex
i n f r u s t r a t i o n . T h i s w a s n ’t a s e a s y a s i t l o o k e d , that her students might disengage. In particular,
a n d Pa m h a d t o ke e p t h e m i n t e r e s t e d . S h e e n c o u r a g e d she worried that the complexity in the wording
the students to stay focused despite their frustration, of the problem might throw students off
and gave them a short break before explaining track. She used several strategies to mitigate
the next part of the worksheet. this complexity while maintaining the richness
of the problem and providing an appropriate
T h e Pa i n t e d C u b e s P r o b l e m : A n a l y s i s o f D i s c o u r s e l e v e l o f c h a l l e n g e f o r h e r s t u d e n t s. T h e s e
Strategies strategies included breaking the problem down
into more manageable components and continuously
Pam’s emphasis on effective communication shifting between small-group and whole-group
as both a process and an outcome was evident discussions as they worked on the different
throughout her lesson. As students developed c o m p o n e n t s. To f u r t h e r e n s u r e t h a t s t u d e n t s
the definitions of their color codes, Pam with different ability levels would be able
emphasized the importance of creating a consensus. to progress successfully through the task,
This consensus led to a greater shared understanding Pa m a l l o w e d f o r m u l t i p l e e x i t p o i n t s. Fo r

Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12 8

example, she worked to ensure that by the
end of the lesson all students understood at
least one color pattern related to the corners
of a cube, and that they could relate this pattern
to a more abstract generalization (i.e., cubes always
have eight corners). She encouraged groups that
were more advanced to find additional patter ns.
A n o t h e r s t r a t e g y Pa m u s e d w a s t o h a v e
students begin solving the problem by using
concrete objects (Unifix® cubes). She believed
that it was critical for students to become
adept at building cubes, and that familiarity
with the physical representation would enable
t h e m t o s h i f t t o m o r e a b s t r a c t t h i n k i n g. Pa m
also ensured that the students would write
down their thoughts in an organized fashion
by providing specific questions for them to
answer and encouraging them to create tables
t o d i s p l a y t h e i r r e s u l t s.
Establishing and maintaining a safe environment.
T h e s t u d e n t s i n Pa m ’s m a t h e m a t i c s c l a s s w e r e
seated in small groups and were accustomed
to frequent small-group work. However, throughout
the Painted Cubes lessons, Pam continually
reestablished classroom norms regarding collaborative
group work. In her introduction to the lesson,
she clearly articulated her expectations for
how students should work on the problem,
including what they needed to do as individuals
and what they needed to talk through and
a g r e e u p o n a s a g r o u p. Pa m r e m i n d e d h e r
s t u d e n t s t h a t t h e y w e r e p a r t o f a c o m m u n i t y,
but that each student was also individually
responsible and accountable. She warned the
students they might get frustrated because
this was a challenging problem, and she encouraged
them to look to their peers for assistance.
On numerous occasions, Pam provided
encouragement to individual students and
g r o u p s t h a t w e r e s t r u g g l i n g. S h e u s e d t h e s e
occasions as opportunities not only to create
an environment in which it was acceptable
to make mistakes, but also to show students
how their str ug gling could be helpful and
infor mative. In one case, a student said his
group “screwed up” when they were making
their cube. Pam sat down with the group
and told them, “I like when people screw
t h i n g s u p, a n d I ’ l l t e l l y o u w h y … . T h a t ’s t h e
Current Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
w a y w e l e a r n . Yo u ’r e g o i n g t o p i c k t h a t u p
n o w a n d y o u ’r e g o i n g t o t r y a n d d e c i d e a s a
group how you can solve that.… That might
be a really good mistake that you made ‘cause
y o u ’r e g o n n a l e a r n f r o m i t .”
Asking students to explain and justify their
thinking. Pam frequently asked her students
to explain and justify their thinking, both to
t h e i r s m a l l g r o u p a n d t o t h e w h o l e c l a s s.
She pressed students to talk through their
ideas, not only when they were fully developed
but also while they were still in the for mative
s t a g e . Fo r e x a m p l e , a s s h e l o o k e d o v e r a
s t u d e n t ’s wo r k s h e e t d u r i n g s m a l l - g r o u p wo r k ,
she challenged him, “Math is communication.
You have to be able to communicate the concepts.
Yo u h a v e t o b e a b l e t o c o m m u n i c a t e y o u r
thinking…. Numbers aren’t enough for me.
Numbers aren’t enough for any good mathematician.
Yo u h a v e t o p r o v e i t . Yo u h a v e t o c o n v i n c e
me.” A few moments later, Pam described
this conversation to the whole class in an
attempt to encourage other students to similarly
t h i n k t h r o u g h a n d e x p l a i n t h e i r a n s w e r s.
Towa r d t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n Pa m p r ov i d e d
an extended opportunity for students to share,
describe, and prove their ideas with one another.
During the final whole-class discussion of
the problem, Pam pushed students to reason
about the corners of a cube. With her prompting,
they were able to provide relatively elaborate
r e s p o n s e s a n d j u s t i f i c a t i o n s. Fo r e x a m p l e ,
they noticed that (a) a 2x2x2 cube was all
one color, owing to the fact that it was composed
entirely of corners; (b) the corners of a 3x3x3
cube were the same color as the 2x2x2 cube;
and (c) there were always eight corners in a
cube. All these ideas came directly from the
s t u d e n t s. O n e o f Pa m ’s m a i n s t r a t e g i e s f o r
eliciting the ideas was to call on multiple
students to clarify and extend the comments
o f o t h e r s. E v e n a f t e r o n e s t u d e n t e s p o u s e d
a mathematically correct idea, Pam prompted
the rest of the class to continue talking and
thinking, and in doing so she was able to
push the group further along mathematically
without stepping in and telling them herself.
Encouraging students to actively process one
a n o t h e r ’s i d e a s . Pa m n o t o n l y m a d e s t u d e n t s ’
9
ideas a prominent part of the Painted Cubes
lesson, but she also provided the time and
structure for students to actively process these
i d e a s. O n e way s h e d i d t h i s wa s by h i g h l i g h t i n g
ideas and solution methods she obser ved
d u r i n g s m a l l - g r o u p w o r k . Fo r e x a m p l e , a f t e r
one group realized that their 2x2x2 cube was
built from blocks that were all the same color,
Pam shared this realization with the entire
c l a s s. Ye t e ve n a f t e r s h e d i d s o, a n o t h e r g r o u p
still strug gled to build a 3x3x3 cube with a
clear color pattern. Pam continued to push
that group to process their classmates’ ideas
i n o r d e r t o f u r t h e r t h e i r o w n t h i n k i n g. S h e
encouraged them to build a 2x2x2 cube and
reminded them that all the blocks would be
t h e s a m e c o l o r. U s i n g t h e s a m e l a n g u a g e a s
t h e g r o u p t h a t o r i g i n a l l y m a d e t h i s d i s c o v e r y,
Pa m t o l d t h e s t r u g g l i n g g r o u p, “ W h a t Jo e
said is true. They all have to be ‘stinkin’ red’
in a 2x2x2 [cube]. Figure out why.” T he students
soon noticed that their 2x2x2 cube was composed
entirely of corners, and this understanding
prompted them to redesign their 3x3x3 cube
using a designated color pattern. By attributing
a key idea to a classmate, Pam used that student’s
a u t h o r i t y, r a t h e r t h a n h e r o w n , t o m o t i v a t e
t h e s e s t r u g g l i n g s t u d e n t s t o d e l ve d e e p e r i n t o
the task and ultimately take ownership of
t h e i d e a s f o r t h e m s e l v e s.
Discussion
Participation in a professional development
program with an emphasis on the creation
of a discourse community can be a powerful
learning experience for teachers (Putnam &
Borko, 2000). By reflecting on their own lear ning
and the strategies that support this learning,
teachers can gain valuable new pedagogical
insights (Bar nett, 1998; Far mer, Ger retson,
& Lassak, 2003). The STAAR professional
development program’s summer institute provided
rich opportunities for participating teachers
to learn algebraic content within a mathematical
discourse community. Teachers had the experience
of being both mathematics learners and reflective
practitioners, and many became inspired to
Cur rent Issues in Middle Level Education (2005) 11(2), 1-12
implement strategies similar to those modeled
in the summer institute in their own classrooms..
During the following school year, as the teachers
attended monthly professional development
workshops and had their classrooms videotaped,
they continued to refine their pedagogical
practices and become more versed in the
art of reflection,
The STAAR professional development program
demonstrates the powerful impact that facilitators
can have when they are viewed as role models
b y t h e p a r t i c i p a t i n g t e a ch e r s. T h e p e d a g o g i c a l
strategies that facilitators use may have an
especially strong influence if the facilitators
explicitly point out these strategies and the
teachers have an opportunity to reflect carefully
o n t h e i r l e a r n i n g. I n d a i l y r e f l e c t i o n s w r i t t e n
during the summer institute, teachers commented
on the mathematics they were learning and
specific features of the environment within
w h i ch t h i s l e a r n i n g t o o k p l a c e. M a n y, i n c l u d i n g
Pam, commented on the ways in which the
facilitators’ use of communication strategies
contributed to their learning (Borko et al.,
2005). If the implementation of such strategies
is an explicit goal of the professional development,
our experiences sug g est that critical ing redients
include active involvement, adequate reflection
time, and the continued support of peers as
w e l l a s p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t p r o v i d e r s.
As the vignette from Pam’s “Painted Cubes”
lesson illustrates, it is possible to put into
practice many of the recommended strategies
for establishing a discourse community in a
middle school mathematics classroom. Pam
worked hard to pose a rich task, create a
safe environment, have her students explain
and justify their solutions, and actively process
o n e a n o t h e r ’s i d e a s. Pa m ’s s u c c e s s w i t h t h i s
lesson was evidenced by the learning her students
demonstrated with respect to the mathematical
properties of cubes. Students’ written reflections
included statements such as “We initially thought
that it was only possible to make our cube
pattern on cubes with odd numbered measurements.
We l e a r n e d t h a t w e n e e d e d t o t h i n k o u t s i d e
t h e b o x a n d b e m o r e o p e n t o n e w i d e a s.”
As this quote sug gests, Pam’s lesson did challenge
10
her students “to think outside the box” and
ultimately they were able to communicate
c o m p l e x m a t h e m a t i c a l i d e a s. I n w o r k s h e e t s
completed by the end of the three days spent
o n t h i s p r o b l e m , a l m o s t a l l o f Pam’s students
were able to successfully write generalizable patterns
for cubes with 3, 2, 1, or no faces painted.
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