Large Group• If talking and sharing come naturally to use

as social beings, why do students in traditional classrooms spend so much time in silent learning or in individual activities?

• What can teachers do to encourage brainstorming and discourage criticism in the classroom?

• How do the six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning domains apply to instruction and brainstorming?

Large Group Bloom’s Debrief

• Which one was the easiest to write?• Which level(s) are most difficult to

address in your lessons?• Which levels engage the learner?

Why?• Which levels are the hardest to

prepare for?

Brainstorming• Brainstorming and discussion use verbal

linguistic intelligence and engage the auditory learning style.

• They reinforce active learning and allow students to solve and explore problems in collaborative groups.

• Learning increases when students have the opportunity to talk about it in their own words.

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Acrobats, Grandmas, and Ivan

Reproduced with permission (pending) from M. Burns, 50 Problem-Solving Lessons: Grades 1-6: The Best From 10 Years of Math Solutions Newsletters (Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications, 1996), p. 133.

5Reproduced with permission (pending) from M. Burns, 50 Problem-Solving Lessons: Grades 1-6: The Best From 10 Years of Math Solutions Newsletters (Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications, 1996), p. 134.

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Problem Solving with Acrobats, Grandmas, and Ivan

• How did the activity involve you in problem solving?

• How might this be a worthwhile activity for students?

Brainstorm Math Talks• How is learning enhanced when you let

students discuss the different ways they solved a problem?

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Why Are We Dealing With This?

• Students need to explore problem solving situations in order to develop personal strategies and become mathematically literate. They must realize that it is acceptable to solve problems in a variety of ways and that a variety of solutions may be acceptable.

» Alberta Education, p.2

Application• Think about 3 ways you might integrate

brainstorming and discussion into your daily lessons.