Using “Rich Tasks” in teaching is a way to ensure that all
students are able to start the process of math on whatever level they are
comfortable with. A rich task is a question that is open in order to allow them
to relate to it in their own capacities.
They look similar to this:
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| McEachren, P.Problem 7.September, 2016 |
As we can see, this task has an open beginning, in that it
does not require the students to use any one coin, and open-ended in that it
never asks them for one correct answer. It allows students to work within their
own understanding of money and monetary amounts. While one student may work
with pennies, while other students may be working with toonies, loonies,
quarters, dimes or nickels. Although all answers will be different, if the math
is done correctly, they will all be accurate.
For a task to be considered a rich task, it has to:
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Be accessible to all learners in the classroom:
all learners should be able to start with something.
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Be a real-life task: something that students are
able to relate to, or is a situation that has actually happened, or they can
imagine happening.
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Be open to multiple approaches and
representations: task should have multiple ways of solving, or many strategies
that could be used.
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Foster engagement, curiosity and creativity:
engage students in discussion with each other about math, and ways in which
they can complete the task.
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Be equitable: vocabulary and social justice
issues should be treated with respect (i.e don’t assume that a family consists
of a mother and a father etc.).
In class, we brainstormed several elements of a rich task,
and I have since added some of my own:
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| Laman, A. What is Rich Task. September, 2016 |
A rich task has a strong focus on the student’s ability to
learn through questioning and curiosity, rather than memorization or book
knowledge. There is a huge emphasis on a student’s ability to answer the
questions that relate to them personally.
Regardless of the answer, however, rich tasks are intended
to promote discussion among students and with the teacher. The question
provided may lead to discussions about what coins are acceptable or not, and
how answers that are equally correct, may not be the same answer. I enjoy rich
tasks for this reason. I like the idea of math being social, and explainable
rather than individual and unattainable. I believe that students who engage in
open-ended tasks will receive instruction that is more personalized, because
they are guided into asking questions that are relevant to themselves and their
own lives.
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed learning about rich tasks, and how rich task can change the math experience from isolated/ individual, to social and open ended. I agree with you that math should be social subject. Math is apart of our everyday lives and experiences, why not create an environment, where students can explore and witness that in action, and engage in conversation about it. One big take away from this weeks lesson, is that every task that is presented in the math classroom should be accessible to all students. There is not reason why everyone should not be able to participate and work through a given problem, regardless of their level. Providing an opportunity for students to share, discuses and question in math fosters the environment where all students are able to contribute and participate in some way shape or form. Great post!
Hello Anna,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you included the bullet on social justice issues. It is easy to forget this or assume our own viewpoints when creating questions for a math classroom. Therefore, I agree that it is important to take a step back and assess how the students in our classroom would interpret the problems. Students need to see themselves reflected in the questions and if we have students with two fathers, they need to see themselves represented to help create a safe classroom environment. I also agree with your statement that open-ended tasks help to personalize the learning. They do help to differentiate instruction among learners, with no learner feeling left out based on their abilities. In a way, this is personalizing the learning for each student, as they feel comfortable and safe in a math classroom.
Thank you for sharing your insights in your blog post.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy keeping up with your blog. Your point about how math should be social rather than individual is important for both teacher and student to know. It is not just about students completing rich tasks, but also about the discussion peers have about the different strategies they used.
I also enjoy your hand-draw diagrams each week. Keep up the good work!
Hello Anna,
ReplyDeleteThanks again for another great blog post! I am a visual-list learner and I really appreciate the component where you identify what is needed in order to build a rich task. I have to say that the most important aspect of a rich task to myself is the connection to real-life. This way you can engage them with an opening story, but than proceed into the identification of what is being asked. I think that this is most effective to me because when I had been teaching math in my placement, many students questioned the connection to "real-life." What might you find to be the most effective component in a rich task?
Hi Anna!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post this week on the topic of rich tasks, it's definitely refreshing to see a lot of teacher candidates talking about the importance of having these types of questions in their classroom and how much of an influence they can make on students. I know personally that these types of questions in math class would have definitely made me feel more engaged when I was learning, and I can only imagine some other students would feel the same. Again, great post this week. You did a great overview of how significant rich tasks are, and I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future!
- Elysse