Using Decide & Defend Schoolwide at Respect Academy

The school design team at Respect Academy in Denver, Colorado have been working over the past year on a protocol called, “Decide & Defend.” It began within one math class, but now has become a part of how school works at their campus. The video story below allows for an inside peak at how the staff has incorporated this protocol to get students talking in math, English, science, and social studies classes. And, how it has become engrained into data driven instruction and coaching at the school.

This video story allows for an inside peak at how the staff at Respect Academy has incorporated the “Decide & Defend” protocol to get students talking in math, English, science, and social studies classes. And, how it has become engrained into data driven instruction and coaching at the school.

What is Decide & Defend? This routine is intended to support students in strengthening their ability to make arguments and to critique the reasoning of others (MP3). In this routine, students make sense of someone else’s line of mathematical reasoning, decide if they agree with that reasoning, and then draft an argument defending their decision. This includes situations where students are making sense of two students’ different ideas about a situation (Settle a Dispute). This routine is adapted from Fostering Math Practices.