Asynchronously Teaching Math

 There is a lot of discussion lately about math discourse in the classroom. And I agree with every bit of it, if we can get students to talk about math with each other they can come to develop their own meanings and understandings about math. We could really make strides towards making math less 'scary.'

My classroom is asynchronous though, so how can I develop that discourse? Students work throughout the day and sometimes late into the night, sometimes they are online at the same time, but most likely not.

Using resources like Which one doesn't belong? and Would you rather? I have attempted to create some type of asynchronous discourse. It's not always successful, but as I continue to use it and encourage those around me to use, students get used to it. They are starting to get better at knowing what to do, and engaging with each a bit more as time goes by.

Here is an example of a WODB discussion post. Students were given the following graphic and asked to pick which one they think does not belong and why: 

Here are some of the responses and interactions I found: 

Student 1 says: I believe B is the one that doesn't belong. The others follow a pattern of being multiplied by 10 each time. Meanwhile B doesn't follow that same pattern and gets multiplied by 100 first.

Student 2 says: I think either B or D doesn't belong im honestly not 100 percent sure which one but i strongly believe its B because it goes from a single number automatically jumping to a 3 digit number when everything else goes by tens.

Student responding to student 2: Your the only other person I saw that also thought two didn't belong ut the the two I thought didn't belong are C and B.

Students 1 says: I think D donst belong to the fact that the pattern shown appears to be all numbers in the 1s place. It may still fit the pattern due to the transition into whole numbers but it doesn't appear to fit properly into the diagram.

Student replying to student 1: I agree that the decimal sets C apart.

Student 2 says: I think the one out of place is C. All the boxes have a right triangle shape and pattern while C does not. If not, D also seems sus, dealing in decimals while the other three are all whole numbers.

I love reading these because the students are using their math vocabulary to describe what they are seeing and to explain their reasoning.

There is still work to be done. I need to continue creating a safe space for making mistakes. In the first example, student 2 is unsure about their choice and states that, as a teacher if I can create a safer space for them, this student would just state their choice and reasoning without feeling like they have to back pedal just in case they are wrong.

Also, the student responses are very short and to the point most of the time. I pulled some better examples above, but when I look at the majority of responses to posts students usually just say 'I agree' and never delve into why.

These fun discussions will continue to be used in my classes, and I will continually reflect on how to make it a better and safer experience for students!