Clip 12/24: Proportions Problem 3 - Part C

Linda probes a girl (Claire) for her thoughts because the boy (Andrew) seems to be doing all of the talking. What I find interesting about this today, is that I know the two students as sixth graders in my own class now. Andrew is a confident and capable student who is respected by his classmates. Claire, I’ve discovered, isn’t shy, nor does she let others answer for her. She just needs the right partner, or maybe just cameras out of the room! I asked Deborah to call on another student when she couldn’t answer a question. I do this a lot in my own class. It gives the student a feeling of ownership of the answer, even though it didn’t all come from them.







We had hoped that students would be able to see the logic in this answer and be able point out where the answer could have been found, although I was prepared to guide them there if necessary. When they were discussing the solution as a whole group, they weren’t taking that step, so I lied. I told them that I heard several students say what I was looking for. It worked! Although several of the students responded, Ashank and Andrew were able to explain it most clearly. Don’t tell the class, but this time lying helped!