Hi John,

I love this reframing of math as "art" with these two important questions! In my work as a high school science teacher, I talk sometimes about how "research" can be bigger, too -- how quantitative data is important, but qualitative data is what often helps us make sense of the numbers, or where to go next.

One thing I've been thinking more about this fall is how to prime students for what they notice and what they wonder, particularly about equity- and access-related data. I'm curious about how where else these two questions have felt particularly powerful in your teaching practice.

Thanks so much for this video -- and for the fun-looking task!

:) Kirstin

Thank you for sharing your efforts to spread this awesome routine John!

John, 

I loved the idea of color patterns with the math. Could you share the activity with me so I can share it with my math teachers? NJSTOY2023@gmail.com

I agree, John. I've asked these two questions in science with observations and data visualizations (graphs, charts, etc.) and the students' responses always amazes me. It is humbling to see responses that I haven't thought of and to learn from. I've also used these two questions with educators when looking at school data and have found them to be more inquiry-based and "inviting" for educators to digest.

Some things I (think internally) struggle with when posing these two questions:

• process-time: Should learners come up with 3 notice and wonders? Or should I give 1 minute? But if I give only 1 minute, how would a student feel if they only come with 2 notice & wonderings and others have 5?
• share-time: How can we ensure the quiet voices are heard? Should all learners share within small groups before sharing out? Should all groups share out?

Do you have these struggles? How do you combat these struggles?

I love the idea of asking them questions that they connect to and can reflect on.  How do you guide the questions to be relevant- deeper/analytical questions and not "what is your favorite..."?

By owning the thought process, it sounds like students will definitely be more engaged at the personalized approach.

Hi, John! I'd love to know if you have any additional resources for the "best places" for teachers to insert these questions -- certainly they could be asked at any time, but I also anticipate that there are "better" times (such as at the beginning of a new unit, after some kind of demonstration, or perhaps when approaching a particularly difficult problem). I'd love to see if you have additional examples!

Thank you for the reminder that everything I am already doing with those two amazing questions can also be applied to Math!  Math is art, and yet a language that is understood around the globe.  Understanding it this way, as a lesson in inquiry, taps into true number sense.

This video and concept are simple and powerful.  I love the simplicity of this approach to math, a topic that is so fraught with stress for so many students.  I am curious how you take these questions and convert them into lessons for students ranging from pre-K to 12.  Is this a systemic approach?  Are the teachers well versed in encouraging students to ask and answer these questions as well as moving from the answers to the more complex content.

Thank you for sharing this!

Dear John,

This is such a creative way to get kids excited about Math! I apply open-ended questions all the time but never thought of using them for Math with preschoolers and kindergarteners. I will research some more on this approach but I would appreciate so much if you could also lead me to some resources for a younger audience. 

Thanks again!

~Cassia 

I love the simple approach of making math something we can be curious about! Thank you!