Read Stein and Smiths (1998) article about the cognitive demand of math tasks. Pay particular attention to the four levels of cognitive demand: memorization, procedures without connections,
research & summaries writing question
Required Readings:
 Stein & Smith (1998)
 Smith (2004)
Task 1:
 Read Stein and Smiths (1998) article about the cognitive demand of math tasks.
Pay particular attention to the four levels of cognitive demand: memorization,
procedures without connections, procedures with connections, and doing
mathematics.
 Complete the Task Sorting Activity. Based on how you understand the four
categories presented in the above article, sort Tasks A-P in Appendix C, High
School into the four categories. Appendix C starts on p. 68 (or 24 of 28), but the
first page is the answer key. Please SKIP the answer key and go to the next page
and start sorting.
 After sorting the activities, please check the agreement between you and the
answer key. Select three tasks that your classification disagreed with that of Stein,
Smith, and colleagues OR that you found particularly hard to classify even if your
final classification did agree with the authors. Provide a short discussion (2-3
sentences) about why you think each of the three tasks you chose was difficult for
you to classify.
 Finally, answer the following question: Is there a difference between “level of
cognitive demand” and “difficulty”? In what ways are they similar? In what ways
are they different?
Task 2:
 Selecting worthwhile tasks (usually of high cognitive demand) is only the first
step. The execution of the tasks, in other words, how to orchestrate classroom
discourse through worthwhile tasks, is also extremely important.
 Read Smith (2004) and then respond to the following questions:
o How would you rank the prom dress task and the gumball task according
to Smith & Steins four levels of cognitive demand? Provide a brief
justification.
o What are some of the key differences in terms of the ways Mrs. Jones and
Mrs. Hamada carried out/implemented the tasks?
Keep your answer to EACH of the above within one-page, single-spaced. However, your
answer to EACH should not be significantly shorter than a full paragraph (5-6 sentences)
Task 3 Math Challenge (bonus: extra 10 points, will be added to your final score):
 Solve Task A on the sorting activity for high school (Appendix C).
 Fully justify your solution. Simply providing a number, regardless of correctness,
will receive 0 credit
Requirements: 2 pages
Levels	of	DemandsLower-level	demands(memorization):reproducing	previously	learned	facts,	rules,	formulas,	definitions	or	committing	them	to	memoryCannot	be	solved	with	a	procedureHave	no	connection	to	concepts	or	meaning	that	underlie	the	facts	rules,	formulas,	or	definitionsHigher-level	demands(procedures	with	connections):use	procedure	for	deeper	understanding	of	conceptsbroad	procedures	connected	to	ideas	instead	narrow	algorithmsusually	represented	in	different	waysrequire	some	degree	of	cognitive	effort;	procedures	may	be	used	but	not	mindlesslyLower-level	demands	(procedures	without	connections):are	algorithmicrequire	limited	cognitive	demandhave	no	connection	to	the	concepts	or	meaning	that	underlie	the	procedurefocus	on	producing	correct	answers	instead	of	understandingrequire	no	explanationsHigher-level	demands(doing	mathematics):require	complex	non-algorithmic	thinkingrequire	students	to	explore	and	understand	the	mathematicsdemand	self-monitoring	of	ones	cognitive	processrequire	considerable	cognitive	effort	and	may	involve	some	level	of	anxiety	b/csolution	path	isnt	clearLeinwand,	S.,	D.	Brahier,	and	D.	Huinker.	Principles	to	Action.	Reston,	VA:National	Council	of	Teachers	of	Mathematics,	2014	(pg	18)
Strategies for Modifying Tasks  Increasing the cognitive demands of tasks.   Ask students to create real-world stories for naked number? problems.  Include a prompt that asks students to represent the information another way (with a picture, in a table, a graph, an equation, with a context).  Use a task out of sequence? before students have memorized a rule or have practiced a procedure that can be routinely applied.  Eliminate components of the task that confine student thinking or provide too much scaffolding.  Create opportunities for repeated reasoning or pattern finding  Create a prompt that asks students to write about the meaning of the mathematics concept.   Add a prompt that asks students to make note of a pattern or to make a mathematical conjecture and to test their conjecture.   Include a prompt that requires students to make a generalization.  Include a prompt that requires students to compare solution paths or mathematical relationships and write about the relationship between strategies or concepts.  Select numbers carefully so students are more inclined to note relationships between quantities (e.g., two tables can be used to think about the solutions to the four, six, or eight tables).  
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