I think it is very important to think about the math goals prior to beginning a discussion rather than just seeing where the discussion goes. One reason is that I hope if I as the teacher have a clear focus and goal in mind then the students would hopefully see that I am trying to emphasize certain areas and they can focus on that as well. It will also be good practice for when they do small group discussions so hopefully they can realize what being on task looks like as well.
I also know that if I were to let them go off and take the discussion into a different direction it will be harder to get them back on track. I also think it would benefit myself to decide on goals ahead of time so I am prepared and it will help keep me on track too and clearly know my goals for the lesson.
Something I would need to work on and practice and get more experience with determining when a discussion getting off task. There was a couple times in the lesson I observed last week where I thought the lesson was getting kind of off from the overall goal of the lesson and my CT has very good strategies for getting the students to regroup and grab their attention. Kids can get so caught up in their personal stories that I know in my class before we start a discussion and call on kids we remind them if they have a question or a comment or if they actually just have a story to tell that may not be relevant to the discussion. It also discussed in chapter nine due to lack of time it is important to make the most out of your lessons and knowing the goals ahead of time will help in that aspect as well.
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