Nina Gribetz is an experienced mathematics educator and department head at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School, where she introduces innovative pedagogical tools. Nina Gribetz has presented a master class on number talks at the EL Education National Conference.
Number talks are a way of getting students to think flexibly about numbers and to perform mental calculations. The teacher presents a basic problem and challenges the students to think of as many ways of solving the problem as possible. A strong thinking process and clear communication of ideas, rather than speed and correct answers, are the primary goals of the exercise.
Initially, a number talk involves an individual exercise. Each student thinks about the question presented and subtly shows, using fingers against the chest, how many ways he or she has found to solve the problem. This allows all students to think carefully and prevents them from feeling pressure to keep up with the fastest students.
Once everyone or almost everyone has come up with at least one solution, the teacher asks students to share their ideas. The teacher writes down all solutions and then invites students to share how they got their answer. Students then discuss the different approaches and determine the correct answer as a group.
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