Capturing Numbers

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"What would be the impact of using pedagogical documentation and questioning, within the inquiry process, on students' conceptual understanding of the big ideas across the curriculum?"

This question forms the basis of teacher planning, goal-setting, and reflection for the Early Primary Collaborative Inquiry working group that I have the pleasure of being a part of this year. 
The Capacity Building Series article "Pedagogical Documentation" offers valuable insight into how making student thinking visible can transform teaching and learning. Pedagogical documentation also allows for shared reflection on the learning process.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_Pedagogical.pdf

This past week I captured a few learning moments within my classroom, using the app Notability.
Our math explorations have centered around numbers.
What is the easiest way to count large collections? 
How can we represent numbers? How do these representations help us compare numbers?
Using Cheerios, we first estimated, then used groups to tell how many. 
By capturing the learning process, we were able to compare the different groupings individuals utilized. 
Later, we used Base 10 blocks and scales to compare numbers. This was a powerful learning moment as students began to recognize place value as how many tens and ones. 

Next week, we will explore how to determine "How much bigger?"

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