Math Observation Checklist and Tool: SERP 5×8 Card

Seven vital student classroom actions identified as critical by the Common Core State Standards, Standards for Mathematical Practice (CCSS-M SMPs).

This is a math observation tool that focuses observers’ attention on what students are saying and doing during math activities that involve some student discussion, whether whole-class, group, or in pairs.

The tool was originally designed with principals in mind to help them gain awareness of what goes on in classrooms and attend to students’ thinking as they guide standards-based instructional changes at their schools. The card’s name stems from the developers’ commitment to providing principals with useful guidance that would fit on a 5×8 Card.

This tool was developed as the Common Core State Standards were first being adopted across the United States. School district leaders, working in collaboration with Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) Institute partners, recognized that the shifts demanded by the CCSS-M SMPs would require considerable learning from teachers and students. They also recognized that mathematics classroom changes would need to be led by site principals ultimately responsible for what goes on in classrooms. They wanted an observation tool that would be accessible to, and easily used by, principals.

The 5×8 Card identifies seven important principles for high-quality and equitable math instruction aligned to the CCSS-M SMPs. The 5×8 Card also provides a brief rationale for why each principle is included, a short descriptive heading for the principle, hints about what evidence a principal might look for during a classroom observation (referred to as student “vital actions”), and information about which SMPs are associated with each vital action.

For example, one of the principles focuses on the idea that “logic connects sentences.” The rationale for this principle focuses on the importance of students using mathematical reasoning to construct and defend an argument (“this is what I did and why it makes sense”). The rationale goes on to clarify that “brief single-sentence student utterances are generally insufficient for a viable argument” (SERP Institute, 2021). The evidence hint for this principle suggests that observers attend to the vital action of whether students say a second sentence to extend and explain their thinking. The 5×8 Card also provides the additional information about which SMPs are connected to the vital action (in this case SMPs 1, 2, 3, and 6).

The 5×8 Card was not designed as a teacher evaluation tool, but as a “tool that focuses observers’ attention on what students are saying and doing so that their work (their thinking) can be at the center of educators’ discussions” (SERP Institute, 2021). The tool is intended to be educative, helping observers “learn a great deal about good instructional practice simply through focused observation” (SERP Institute, 2021). Strategically, the 5×8 Card focuses observers’ attention on students’ actions — rather than the actions of the teacher — to reinforce the use of the tool for learning rather than for teacher-evaluation purposes.

SERP partners have used the 5×8 Card to organize professional development for teachers, assistant principals, and principals. In those settings, the 5×8 Card provided a framework for gathering evidence of student thinking during classroom observations carried out between meetings. The observations were then discussed and action plans to stimulate the practices were put into place.

Unspecified

An observation using the SERP 5×8 Card should be scheduled for a lesson in which discussion plays an important role.

Regular use of the observation tool by principals or other classroom observers could: (a) improve users’ ability to observe math classroom instruction and understand what evidence might point to high-quality math teaching and learning, and (b) generate information about students’ vital actions to inform subsequent teaching moves and student growth.

Both users we spoke with indicated that the measure did not facilitate aggregate data collection well. However, it did support conversations about practice.

That said, we could imagine at least two analysis scenarios. One scenario might be to compare observation results gathered from multiple lessons. An observer could document which vital actions were observed during classroom observations. Results for individual classrooms could be compared across multiple periods, supporting a discussion about what was happening during the observation periods that might have produced the evidence gathered. Similarly, using the observation tool in multiple classes implementing the same lesson might also spark a discussion about the features of the lesson that provided more or fewer opportunities for the student vital actions to occur.

A second scenario might focus on comparing the evidence gathered by multiple different observers watching the same lesson. Analysis might focus on the nature of the evidence gathered by the different observers for each vital action, providing an opportunity for observers to learn from what their colleagues noticed.

• Familiarity with the SMPs
• It may be useful to bring together observers who are more and less experienced with and knowledgeable about mathematics classroom instruction and the CCSS-M to conduct shared observations. This may support their professional development and their “professional noticing.” Time built in for discussion after a collaborative observation may enable the less experienced observers to learn from the observations of those with more experience, and vice versa.

• SERP’s online 5×8 Card documentation emphasizes the importance of creating math classroom cultures that are conducive to the vital actions. If a supportive classroom culture is not in place, there may be limited opportunity to observe evidence of the vital actions.

SERP online resources include a page describing the Seven Vital Actions. Each action shows the associated principles and rationale, with additional citations to related research.

A related resource, the Deck Behind the 5×8 Card, suggests teaching moves that could be used by educators to increase the prevalence of the observed student vital actions.

A series of professional learning videos with Phil Daro (one of the CCSS-M authors) describes the principles associated with the 5×8 Card and the Common Core State Standards more generally.