Overview
Math Gallery Walk is an interactive strategy where students work in groups to solve a rich problem and create a visual display of their thinking. Then, they rotate around the room to review each other's work, ask questions, and give feedback. This practice encourages students to explain their reasoning, learn from different approaches, and build deeper understanding through discussion. Within this practice students engage in a classroom culture where math talk, collaboration, and curiosity are the norm.
Through this practice you will be able to:
- Gain insight into students' mathematical thinking and reasoning processes.
- Foster a classroom culture that values collaboration, discussion, and diverse problem-solving strategies.
- Identify and address student misconceptions through peer and group dialogue.
- Encourage student ownership of learning and active engagement with mathematical concepts.
Materials
- Printed or Projected Math Task
- Poster Board or Chart Paper
- Markers
- Sticky Notes
Day Before Prep (~35 min)
Choose a Rich Task (10-15 minutes): Select rich, open-ended tasks that allow for multiple solutions, strategies, and/or representations. Explore the task(s) yourself to ensure that you are familiar with multiple methods for solving the problem. As you work through it, ask yourself:
- What strategies might students use?
- What ideas or mistakes might come up while students work on this?
- How can I help students think for themselves without giving away the answer?
Decide on Student Groups and Develop Norms (5-10 minutes): Predetermine the groups or develop a plan for how students will disperse into their groups. Prepare or review group work and discussion norms, such as listening respectfully, staying on topic, and offering constructive feedback. See the Student Worksheet for sample norms.
Room Setup Considerations (5-10 minutes): Identify wall space or tables for poster display if groups rotate.
Conducting the Practice (50-70 min)
Introduce the Activity (2-3 minutes): Present the activity and instructions clearly. Emphasize that there is no single right method for solving and encourage students to display all their reasoning on their poster. Here is sample language:
"Today we're doing a Math Gallery Walk, where you'll work in groups to solve a problem and then explore how other groups approached it. This isn't just about getting the right answer, rather it's about sharing your thinking, asking good questions, and learning from each other's ideas. Be sure to show all of your reasoning on your poster when you're working on the problem so that you can share it with other groups. The goal is to see that math is something we build and understand together."
You may also want to add:
"We'll do this kind of activity multiple times throughout the year, so you'll get lots of chances to grow your skills. First, we'll discuss class norms and practice different ways to explain, question, and respond to each other's math thinking."
Establish Norms and Protocols (5 minutes): Before the activity, set clear expectations around respectful discussion, active listening, and productive disagreement. This may take some practice ahead of time. Sample norms and sentence starters are provided in the Student Worksheet.
Groups Solve Their Task and Prepare to Share (15-25 minutes): Provide students with the math task. Groups collaboratively develop their solution, craft a short explanation with reasoning to support their answer. Encourage use of diagrams, equations, and precise language. Students should display all of their thinking on the poster. You could also choose to present the task to the entire class and have them individually complete the task before starting to collaborate with their groups.
The Walk Begins (15-25 minutes): The gallery walk can take place in two different formats:
- Groups rotate around the room to other posters. At each stop, they review the displayed reasoning together and respond/provide feedback using their sticky notes.
- Groups meet with a different group, who shares their answer and the reasoning for how they got this answer. Students can use the sentence starters in the Student Worksheet to scaffold how they share their reactions and feedback with their peers.
Whole-Class Debrief and Reflection (10 minutes): Facilitate a brief class discussion to ask students what they learned from their group work and from their peers. The Student Worksheet includes example reflection questions. This debrief may also be a good time to learn together from mistakes and review or correct any misconceptions that students had.
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Skipping Norms and Protocols: Set and review class norms before the activity. Without clear expectations, discussions can turn unproductive, off-topic, or even unfriendly.
- Using Problems with Limited Strategies: If there's only one clear strategy, there's little room for discussion or multiple perspectives. Choose rich, open-ended tasks that invite varied strategies, reasoning, or interpretations.
- Not Giving Students Enough Time to Solve: Students may feel rushed, leading to surface-level reasoning or unclear thinking. Build in time for groups to develop their reasoning and rehearse their explanations before the walk begins.
- Overlooking the Power of Feedback: Without meaningful peer conversation and feedback, the activity may feel like a passive gallery rather than an interactive discussion among their peers. Students may need to practice how to leave constructive written or verbal feedback.
What to Look For
- Group members sharing their reasoning with each other and other groups
- Students modeling respectful language
- Sentence starters being used to support student discourse
- Students citing evidence and using math vocabulary
This practice was developed in collaboration with WestEd.