Britton, K. & Johannes, J. (2003). Portfolios and a backward approach to assessment. Mathematic teaching in the Middle School School, 9(2), 70-76.
This article was pretty interesting and it did a great job reviewing the strengths and reasons why teachers should adopt the concept of Portfolios. The authors thoroughly explained what exactly is a portfolio and then had different teachers write about how they use portfolios in their classroom. After reading this journal article, I thought the main reason why these authors published this article was to explain the idea that our society needs to start looking at the students growth and what they learned, struggled with, and enjoyed during a unit or span of time. According to our authors, students and parents look so deeply into grades, but in reality what does that A mean? The authors concluded the article by explaining how portfolios help students have pride in their work and show them their learning process from the most basic concepts to the most abstract concepts.
I really enjoyed this article, but I thought a lot of of it was common sense. I am most definitely going to adopt the concept of portfolios in my classrooms, because there are so many positive outcomes from using portfolios. Not only do portfolios help students see their growth, allow the teacher to see what the student has pride in, and shows parents/guardians how their child is doing in school; it also allows students to have pride in all their hard work. There are so many students who dislike school, but having a portfolio to visually show students all their hard work will boost their confidence and hopefully have them enjoy school a little bit more.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
ICTM Mathematics Conference
On Friday, October 15, 2010, I was able to attend the ICTM Mathematics Conference in Springfield, Illinois. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when arriving at the conference. After signing in, my job was standing at the top of the stairs in the Lincoln Hotel and direct people where to go. This job wasn't horribly difficult, and it was really nice because I was able to talk to a high school math teacher and a math professor who works at Eastern Illinois University. They were both speakers and were waiting for their room to open up, so we chatted while they were waiting. It was really great to talk to the high school math teacher because she was explaining an activity she uses when teaching algebra. She used manipulativs and she said it was easy to manipulate the activity to the ability of her students.
After I completed my volunteer shift, I decided to go to a lecture on SmartBoards. The reason why I chose to attend this lecture is because I know it will be really useful because SmartBoards are becoming a "staple" in more and more classrooms, and I need to become more familiar with them. I liked this workshop because the speaker went through the basics and then introduced us to some more original options that the SmartBoard provides. My favorite 'app' that was presented was setting up math problems with your voice. The speaker programmed math problems in the SmartBoard and once she told the board to begin, it would solve the problem, showing all of the teacher's work. This would be useful because as you are presenting the topic you can have eye contact with students and have them see the work that goes along the problem. Overall, it was a great experience, and it was nice to connect with other mathematics teachers, of all levels. I felt like I learned a lot, and will be able to use this new information later in my teaching career.
After I completed my volunteer shift, I decided to go to a lecture on SmartBoards. The reason why I chose to attend this lecture is because I know it will be really useful because SmartBoards are becoming a "staple" in more and more classrooms, and I need to become more familiar with them. I liked this workshop because the speaker went through the basics and then introduced us to some more original options that the SmartBoard provides. My favorite 'app' that was presented was setting up math problems with your voice. The speaker programmed math problems in the SmartBoard and once she told the board to begin, it would solve the problem, showing all of the teacher's work. This would be useful because as you are presenting the topic you can have eye contact with students and have them see the work that goes along the problem. Overall, it was a great experience, and it was nice to connect with other mathematics teachers, of all levels. I felt like I learned a lot, and will be able to use this new information later in my teaching career.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Master Geometry while Co-Teaching Journal Article
This article was in the Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, October edition. It was written by Jessica H. Hunt, and she begun the journal article by writing about just a few benefits of co-teaching. Typically, co-teaching occurs with a general education teacher and a special education teacher. It benefits the general education teacher because it typically gives them more confidence when working with students with disabilities, because they see how special education teachers teach them new material. It helps the special education teachers because it gives them a better idea of what the general education curriculum is about. There are five types of co-teaching, they are: one supporting, one teaching, station teaching, alternative teaching, parallel teaching, and team teaching.
The article continued by explaining these five types of co-teaching. One supporting, one teaching is exactly what it sounds like. One teacher is teaching and the other is completing administrative tasks such as checking homework or managing behavior. (Hunt) The general education teacher doesn't always have to being teaching the whole class. Station teaching is when the teachers divide the chapter or content being taught and the students rotate around the classroom. Alternative teaching is where one teacher teaches the a big group and the other teacher teaches a smaller group of students. The smaller group doesn't necessarily have to be a group of students who need extra help. It could be a group of students who have a specific interest. Parallel teaching is when the teachers split the class in half, and teach the same information, but its just in smaller groups. The students join together at the end of the lesson. Team teaching is where one teacher may lead the lesson and the other teacher may model the lesson.
I thought this journal article was very beneficial! The reason behind this is because I am a special education major, and in a few of my classes we have been talking about the pros and cons of co-teaching. To be completely honest, it seems like such a great concept, but in reality it seems very difficult for the concept to work well. I've heard that the special education teacher is just like an aid and helps students who need the extra one-on-one help, and the general education teacher feels uncomfortable because there is constantly another teacher in their classroom. I really liked how this article broke down the job roles of the general education and special education teachers. I don't know where I will get my first job, but I will definitely keep co-teaching in mind, and if I do end up co-teaching with a general education teacher, I will definitely re-read this article because I feel like there were a lot of great points.
The article continued by explaining these five types of co-teaching. One supporting, one teaching is exactly what it sounds like. One teacher is teaching and the other is completing administrative tasks such as checking homework or managing behavior. (Hunt) The general education teacher doesn't always have to being teaching the whole class. Station teaching is when the teachers divide the chapter or content being taught and the students rotate around the classroom. Alternative teaching is where one teacher teaches the a big group and the other teacher teaches a smaller group of students. The smaller group doesn't necessarily have to be a group of students who need extra help. It could be a group of students who have a specific interest. Parallel teaching is when the teachers split the class in half, and teach the same information, but its just in smaller groups. The students join together at the end of the lesson. Team teaching is where one teacher may lead the lesson and the other teacher may model the lesson.
I thought this journal article was very beneficial! The reason behind this is because I am a special education major, and in a few of my classes we have been talking about the pros and cons of co-teaching. To be completely honest, it seems like such a great concept, but in reality it seems very difficult for the concept to work well. I've heard that the special education teacher is just like an aid and helps students who need the extra one-on-one help, and the general education teacher feels uncomfortable because there is constantly another teacher in their classroom. I really liked how this article broke down the job roles of the general education and special education teachers. I don't know where I will get my first job, but I will definitely keep co-teaching in mind, and if I do end up co-teaching with a general education teacher, I will definitely re-read this article because I feel like there were a lot of great points.
Computational Estimation Journal Article
This article was in the Teaching Children Mathematics, October edition journal. It was written by Maria G Fun and Christine L. Latulippe. The article began by having the authors explain how much we use estimation in our daily lives without even thinking about it. We use estimation when we are driving and figure out if we need to stop for gas or if we can make it to the next stop. We use estimation when figuring out a tip at a restaurant and when shopping and figuring out which store has the best deal. In order for individuals to develop these estimation skills, teachers need to teach students. There are several types of estimation, and the article begins by explaining the main two. Reformulation, which is used for rounding, truncating numbers, and substituting compatible numbers. The other one is Translations; which is used for changing the mathematical structure. The authors continued on giving examples of each way of estimating and gave lots of lesson plan ideas for teaching estimation.
Some of the lesson plan ideas that the authors included were games where students had to quickly guess the total, kits with a missing numerator in the set of the problem and a missing denominator in the second set of the problem, and bringing in newspapers where the headings used exact or estimated numbers in the headings. The great things about all of these lessons is that they were easily adapted to the desired ability level. I really liked the lesson on the newspaper because it was applying what you were learning in the classroom and relating it to real life. This was great, because students like to know how this relates and why it is important.
This article was a nice article to read, and I thought it was great how the authors put in ideas for lessons, but I felt like it was almost common sense. There have been a ton of studies done on how estimation is vital, and it needs to be taught in the classroom. It is great that all of our cell phones have calculators in our phones to do the math, but we do need to know what numbers to plug in. I also think it is important to teach the students what the calculator is doing for us. I will definitely teach estimation in my classroom. Something that I need to remember is to relate the problems to my students. So if all of my students are into baseball cards, make the questions based off of buying baseball cards.
Some of the lesson plan ideas that the authors included were games where students had to quickly guess the total, kits with a missing numerator in the set of the problem and a missing denominator in the second set of the problem, and bringing in newspapers where the headings used exact or estimated numbers in the headings. The great things about all of these lessons is that they were easily adapted to the desired ability level. I really liked the lesson on the newspaper because it was applying what you were learning in the classroom and relating it to real life. This was great, because students like to know how this relates and why it is important.
This article was a nice article to read, and I thought it was great how the authors put in ideas for lessons, but I felt like it was almost common sense. There have been a ton of studies done on how estimation is vital, and it needs to be taught in the classroom. It is great that all of our cell phones have calculators in our phones to do the math, but we do need to know what numbers to plug in. I also think it is important to teach the students what the calculator is doing for us. I will definitely teach estimation in my classroom. Something that I need to remember is to relate the problems to my students. So if all of my students are into baseball cards, make the questions based off of buying baseball cards.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Video Blogg Two
These videos was mainly showing the viewer how to connect mathematics to the outside world. The videos were based in a 7th grade classroom in Missouri. The classroom featured was learning how to find volume and surface areas of the three - dimensional shape, the prism. Instead of using more traditional manipulates such as the wooden shapes, the teacher used everyday items, like the cereal boxes. The videos stressed that having hands on activities keeps students intrigued and helps them stay connected. The concept of building knowledge from one lesson to another is also very valuable when in a mathematics classroom. In order for individuals to understand one concept they need to understand simpler concepts. Having hands on actives can help students learn and retain more information.
While reviewing these videos, all the process standards were used. Students needed to use their problem solving skills and investigation while figuring out or investigating the surface area and the volume of the prism. They also needed to communicate with their peers of how they needed to solve the problem. The students needed to use reasoning and proof to show their work and why they think they have to correct answer. This activity was really great because it related to the outside world in a creative manner which helps students connect this to the outside world. When I was a student I always wanted to know why we were learning what we were learning, and how does it apply to the real world. This teacher did just that. The students knew that learning this information was important and it connects to prior knowledge and helps students realize how important this concept is.
Overall, I thought this was a good video because the teacher showed his students a topic in a very hands on manner which helps them comprehend and improves test scores. I personally learn better when I visually see something in action; so seeing this video showed me that having creative lessons really do help students. This authentic learning style will help students comprehend information, and this was easy to spot in the classroom.
While reviewing these videos, all the process standards were used. Students needed to use their problem solving skills and investigation while figuring out or investigating the surface area and the volume of the prism. They also needed to communicate with their peers of how they needed to solve the problem. The students needed to use reasoning and proof to show their work and why they think they have to correct answer. This activity was really great because it related to the outside world in a creative manner which helps students connect this to the outside world. When I was a student I always wanted to know why we were learning what we were learning, and how does it apply to the real world. This teacher did just that. The students knew that learning this information was important and it connects to prior knowledge and helps students realize how important this concept is.
Overall, I thought this was a good video because the teacher showed his students a topic in a very hands on manner which helps them comprehend and improves test scores. I personally learn better when I visually see something in action; so seeing this video showed me that having creative lessons really do help students. This authentic learning style will help students comprehend information, and this was easy to spot in the classroom.
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