Three Student Protocol

Introducing the 3 Student Protocol

One of the joys of teaching comes in knowing my students. I also know that the only way students can get what they need and grow as thinkers, and as people, is if I know them deeply. To that end, I need to know them both as mathematical thinkers as well as human beings. As human beings, there are a multitude of ways that I can know them and their experiences. I might come to know a lot about their home life, or their non-academic school life, or their interests, or even their pets. As mathematical thinkers I try to find out who they are, and what they will need to grow in these areas:

• Mathematical efficacy and risk-taking: What do you believe about yourself as a mathematician, and what kind of a mathematical risk taker are you based on those beliefs?

• Mathematical Decision Making: How capable and confident are you as a mathematical decision maker?

• State of Your Mathematical Toolbox: What is the state of your mathematical toolbox, including past experiences in math classes and mathematical background knowledge and skills? 

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AND, Trying to focus on 30 students at once seems overwhelming

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So I began to pick out three representative students. I encourage you to create your own cast of characters for each of your classes. For my purposes here, these three were not all in the same class, but they will help me tease out each piece of our math classroom through them as a thread.