Making Meaningful Connections

“Making mental connections is our most crucial learning tool, the essence of human intelligence; to forge links; to go beyond the given; to see patterns, relationships, context.”  Marilyn Ferguson

Connections are an incredible tool for learning.  Once our students see the value of making connections, they are usually ready to put them to use.  They cannot wait to share what they know, but it is often difficult for our young learners to distinguish between what is relevant and what is not.  So, how can we help students discriminate?

Visual reminders are great tools to help students stay focused on the task at hand.  In Building Mathematical Understanding,  Laney Sammons suggests using a Circle of Connections chart to help students zero in on the mathematical focus of the task.  In these charts, students make math-to-self, math-to-math, and math-to-world connections.  The focus is on the connections that help us understand math.

A Math Connections Chart can also remind students to focus on pertinent connections.   Sammons suggests creating a chart with three headings:  My Connections, Important to Me, and Important to Understanding Math.  Students record their connections and then check their importance in the corresponding columns.  These charts help students distinguish between their connections and also provide some formative assessment information for us.

Another tool to help students hone in on useful strategies is the teacher think-aloud.  For example, working through a problem:   A class of 25 students is ordering ice cream.  A container of ice cream holds 12 scoops.  Each student wants to get 3 scoops.  How many containers should they order?  

Teacher thinks-aloud:  “I love ice cream.  I would order strawberry.  Oh, that is a connection I need to ignore because instead of focusing on the problem, I was thinking about the kind of ice cream I like.  I need to think about about the important information I have for a math connection.  I know there are 25 students and they want 3 scoops each.  I know that 25 times 3 scoops equals 75 scoops . . . continue to talk through the steps for solving the problem.  Remind students that when you are making connections, you need to stay focused on what things distract and what things work to solve the problem.

Teaching students how to filter through their connections helps them to self-monitor and focus on the real goal of the mathematical task at hand.  Through modeling and practice, we can help our students see themselves as competent mathematicians and independent problem solvers.

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