Dyad Partners

As part of our school-wide math initiative and continued work around problem-solving and conceptual math thinking, our first grade mathematicians learned how to effectively share their math thinking with their dyad partners. A dyad partnership is a structured math grouping of two students, who not only work together, but also share their math thinking together. While the students still work as a class and rotate through our regular math stations, they now also have the time to check in and reflect on their own math thinking with their dyad partner. Another name for a dyad math partner could be "Math Buddy". For example, the students have learned that when two friends share ideas, we allow "Private Think Time" to our partners so they can think through what they wish to share. We have also learned that dyad partners give each other eye contact and pay attention to what is being said or shown (if, for example, the task was a more collaborative hands-on activity). Lastly, the students also learned that when we work in dyad math partnerships, we always "back up" our thinking. This is called justifying and the students are very effective justifying their own thinking mathematically.
It is amazing to see the collaboration and sharing that takes place in our classroom during math time! I am so proud of them.