Revised 10.12.

09
Carnegie Learner Study
Clinical Interview

Notes:
• As much as possible, have the interviewee talk through his/her
thinking.
• If interviewee points to items written on the page, ask him/her to
underline them.
• Turn pen on and TAP “RECORD”

BACKGROUND

• We’ll start with some general background questions, before moving on to

questions particular to mathematics. If you feel the first questions are too
personal, you can simply decline to answer and we’ll move on.
○ How old are you?
○ What’s your ethnicity?
○ What’s the primary language spoken in your home?

• Are your studies at ________ related to a particular career goal?

• What role do you think math will play in your future job?
○ If any: Is that kind of math the same kind you learn in math class?

• Do you look forward to seeing math on your course schedule? Why?

• Do you think of yourself as being good at math?

○ If yes: What makes you good at it?
○ If no: Was there a time that you did feel good at math?

• If someone is good at math, what exactly are they good at? For example,
some people say math is about remembering rules and procedures. Other
people say it’s about understanding and reasoning. What do you think?

• Do you think math is interesting?

○ If no: If someone likes math, do you think that person thinks its
interesting?

• How long has it been since your last math class? What class was it?

• What math class are you enrolled in currently?

• How were you placed in that class? For instance, did you take a test?

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 Revised 10.12.09
MATH

Question 1 (mental math)

What number would I need to add to 64 to get 100?

If uses subtraction: Is there a way you could figure this out without
using subtraction?

If student struggles: 40 is too much to add, so if I add 30 I get to 94,

then I need 6 more to get to 100. That means I need to add 30 and 6
more or 36.

Can you try that with this one? What number would I add to 72 to get
100?

What number would I add to 457 to get 1000?

If uses subtraction: Is there a way you could figure this out without
using subtraction?

If student struggles: You might think about it this way: 457 plus 500 is
957, plus 40 more is 997, plus 3 more is 1000. So, I need to add five
hundred, forty, and three to 457 to get to 1000. (commas added to
pause after each “chunk” of 543)

Can you try that with this one? What number would I add to 835 to get
1000?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Now I am going to ask you to do some mental multiplication. As you work on
each problem mentally, I want you to talk about what you are thinking.

(Write these as shown below, one problem at a time, and write S’s answer in
the blank. Go all the way though the list. If S does not use decomposition,
be explicit about how 31 x 13 can be thought of as 30 x 13 plus another 1 x
13. Ask if S can use that same idea on 22 x 13, then ask about 29 x 13.)

10 x 3 = ___

10 x 13 = ___

20 x 13 = ___

22 x 13 = ___

30 x 13 = ___

31 x 13 = ___

29 x 13 = ___

How would you do 22 x 13 it if you weren’t forced to do it mentally?

22
X13
66
220
286

What would you get if you did 13 x 22? Ss should say this will be the same
product.

Can you show me how you would do 13 x 22?

13
x22
26
26*
286

Why did you put a “*” [or ‘0” or blank] here?

Which of those two (of 22 x 13 or 13 x 22) matches the way you did it in your
head?

Let’s try one more. How would you do 14 x 22 mentally?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Question 2
Provide a worked, addition problem.
462
+253
715

How would you check to see if the answer here is correct?

If reworks problem: Is there another way to check?

If no other way: Is there a way you can use subtraction to check?

Of these two numbers, 572 and 86[written horizontally], circle the one that’s
larger. How do you know?

If ‘has more digits’: Can you always apply that rule? What about 572
and 367?

Write 572 > 86

Of these two numbers, 0.572 and 0.86 [written horizontally], which is larger?
How do you know?

If ‘has more digits’: Can you always apply that rule? What about 0.9
and 0.1111?

If incorrect: correct student and ask if s/he can see why 0.9>0.1111.

Write 0.572 < 0.86

Can you show me how you would set up 572 – 86[written vertically]?

Can you show me how you would set up 0.86 – 0.572 [written horizontally]?

If incorrectly lined up:

• Is the placement of the decimals important? How did you decide
where the decimals go?

Can you show me how you would set up 0.572 – 0.86 [written horizontally]?

If incorrectly lined up:

• Is the placement of the decimals important? How did you decide
where the decimals go?

Do you think you would get the same answer is you would with the one above
[0.86 – 0.572]? Why or why not?

Here [in whole number subtraction] you lined up the 8 and the 7 and lined up
the 6 and the 2. Here [in subtraction of decimals] you lined up the 5 and the
8 and lined up the 7 and the 6. Is there a reason that they’re different, or are
you taught to do it that way just because it looks neater?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Question 3

Which of these two numbers is larger [a/5 or a/8]? How do you know?

If struggle: Could you try substituting a number for a? Would that be a

way to think about it?
Will that work no matter what number you choose for a?

Which of these two numbers is larger [5/a or 8/a]? How do you know?

If struggle: Could you try substituting a number for a? Would that be a

way to think about it?
Will that work no matter what number you choose for a?

You may have been told in school that the fraction bar means division. How
are fractions related to division?

Which of these two numbers is larger [4/5 or 5/8]? How do you know?

If 4 and 5 are closer together than 5 and 8: What about these two
numbers [4/5 or 2/3]?

If 4/5 is closer to 1: Tell me a little more about why that strategy

works.

Can you draw a number line and place 4/5 and 5/8 on it? [talk aloud]

If student is not able to draw a number line, draw just this much:

Can you now add these numbers to it [-3/4 and 5/4]?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Question 4

What does the equal sign mean?

I’m going to write a few equations that use an equal sign:

7+5=x
6+9=x+4
½ = 2/4
2=2

Are all of these equations “legal”?

Is the meaning of the equal sign the same in all of these cases, or does it
serve different purposes?

Let’s say that I have the equation we used up here: 7 + 5= x + 4 Then I

subtract 2 from the left side [write 5 + 7 – 2 = x + 4]. Does it change what x
is? If so, how? If not, why not?

What’s the solution to this problem [7 + 5 = __ + 4]?

How did you get that?

How about this problem [7 + 5 = x + 4]?

How did you get that?

Is there a way you can use [your answer] to check to see if it’s correct?

If answered 12 or 16: Some people answer 8. Would that be O.K.?

Is it possible for it to be a number other than 8?

If the methods student used appear different: Are you “allowed” to use the
same method to solve the second equation as you used to solve the first?

Can you think of another way to solve either of the equations above?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Question 5

What happens if you take a number and add 1/3 to it?

We could write it like this: a + 1/3 = x. Do you think x is bigger than a,

smaller than a, equal to a, or that you can’t tell.

What happens if you take a number and multiply it by 1/3?

We could write it like this: a • 1/3 = x [Make sure that student understands
that ‘•’ means to multiply.] We’ll say that a is a positive, whole number. Do
you think x is bigger than a, smaller than a, equal to a, or that you can’t tell?

If struggle with notation: If I start with a number and multiply it by 1/3,

what can you tell me about what I would get?

If still struggling:
• Let’s consider a similar problem. How would you think about
starting with a number and taking half of it?
• If you have a number and multiply it by ½, would it ALWAYS be less
than the number with which you started?
• What if you had 6 • ½?
• If student gets it, return to a • 1/3 = x . Otherwise, go on to
number line question

Is that true no matter what number you start with?

What if the number you start with (the ‘a’) is less than 1?

Where would x be on the number line? [Leave space for Ss to choose a

placement > a]

0 a

If struggles: Can you show me an example of how you would choose a

value for a in a • 1/3 = x and then multiply to find x? Let’s say a = 6.
Does that match where you put x on the number line?

If we know that a • 1/3 = x, then what is x ÷

1/3?

Take a look at these [write examples below]. Circle the ones that would give
you half of n.
• n•½
• ½•n
• 1/2 of n
• n÷ ½
• n–½
• n÷ 2

[Select 2 of the items circled] You said that each of these gives you half of n.
Does this one [that you chose] equal that one [that you chose]? How do you
know?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Question 6
What does a + b = c mean in words?

Let’s say we know that a + b =c is true. Can you think of other equations
that would be true for a, b, and c? Any others?

If necessary: Can you think of other equations that have only a, b, and
c?

If I know that a + b = c, is this also true about a, b, and c: c - a = b?

Always? Just sometimes? Never?

Let’s pick some numbers that work for the first equation. Will they work for
the other equations you came up with?

If stuck: can you think of values just for [a + b = c]? Do they also work
for [c - a = b]?

Will that work no matter what numbers you plug in? Will it be true if the
numbers are negative? What if they’re fractions?

Sometimes in math it helps to make a drawing that represents the meaning

behind the symbols. If you go to from home to Petco, it’s like the distance a.
If you continue to Noah’s Bagels, you go an additional distance b. So the
distance from home to Noah’s is a + b. We can give that it’s own name, say
c.
a b

HOME PETCO NOAH’S

c

Is there any way you can use this drawing to think about whether any of
these equations work?
1. b + a = c
2. c = a + b
3. c – b = a
4. b – c = a
5. c – a +b = 0
6. c – a – b = 0 [If select both 5 and 6, probe how this can be]

If #1 and #2 are true, that means b + a = a + b. Notice how b + a and a + b

are both equal to c? Now let’s look at #3 and #4. If c – b = a and b – c = a,
then it must be true that
c – b = b – c. Will that always work? Sometimes? Never?

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 Revised 10.12.09
Question 7
Here’s an equation [x – y = 1]. Can you tell me what this means in words?

Let’s say y gets bigger. What would happen to x? Tell me how you thought
about answering that.

If incorrect (i.e., NOT ‘bigger’): Can you think of numbers to substitute

for x and y?
If can’t: Let’s just say that x starts out as 4.

Is it possible for that NOT to be true? Or is it true no matter what value you
choose for y?

Now let’s say x gets bigger. What would happen to y?

If incorrect (i.e., NOT ‘bigger’): Can you think of numbers to substitute

for x and y?
If can’t, Let’s just say that x starts out as 4.

Is it possible for that NOT to be true? Or is it true no matter what value you
choose for x?

Can you think of some numbers to substitute for x and y that make the
equation true? How many pairs of numbers are there that would work?

Here’s a new equation [x – y = 0]. In this case, if y increases, what happens

to x?

Can you write the equation in terms of x? That is, x = ____

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 Revised 10.12.09
I have just a few closing questions.

My guess is that you’ve never been interviewed before about math. Is that
right? But is what we did sort of the same process as you go through in a
math class? In what ways is it the same and in what ways different?

If you could give math teachers advice about how to teach in a way that
would better help you understand math, what would you tell them?

These interviews are incredibly interesting to me, but I chose this as my job.
I was wondering if the process was at all interesting to you. I won’t be at all
offended if the most interesting part is the Amazon gift card.

* * *

Note: Upload your interview and recharge your pen.

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