For the first time in my life, I think I am hoping we do NOT have a snow day. In the four weeks of student teaching I have began to realize how much planning goes into teaching. Teachers have to think about what topics to cover, how long to spend on each topic, assessments, making copies of worksheets, and assess student learning just to name a few.
It is interesting to see and experience the other side of teaching. I have got to learn to be a little more flexible. Maybe I need some practice on being flexible. Changing my mind.... bring on the snow/ice!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Week Three Goals (1/24 - 1/28)
Week Three Goals:
1. When teaching during class, I want to keep the students involved in the lesson.
On Friday when I was teaching, I noticed several students seemed lost when we were going through examples. If I were to have students walk me through what I should do to solve an example, this will help students stay focused and involved in the lesson. I can find students who seem to be struggling with the concepts being taught and have them explain their questions to the class, answer their peers questions, or even come to the front of the class and work out an example with help from the class. This will help me assess the students, and help keep the students involved in the learning process.
2. During teaching, I want to carefully pace myself so students do not fall behind.
During the lesson on Friday, I felt like I was moving too fast through the new material. I was going at a pace that was comfortable for me, but as new material it could have been a little overwhelming. Next time I want to move through the material at a slower pace and continuously check with the class if I need to slow down or if I can move onto the next concept.
1. When teaching during class, I want to keep the students involved in the lesson.
On Friday when I was teaching, I noticed several students seemed lost when we were going through examples. If I were to have students walk me through what I should do to solve an example, this will help students stay focused and involved in the lesson. I can find students who seem to be struggling with the concepts being taught and have them explain their questions to the class, answer their peers questions, or even come to the front of the class and work out an example with help from the class. This will help me assess the students, and help keep the students involved in the learning process.
2. During teaching, I want to carefully pace myself so students do not fall behind.
During the lesson on Friday, I felt like I was moving too fast through the new material. I was going at a pace that was comfortable for me, but as new material it could have been a little overwhelming. Next time I want to move through the material at a slower pace and continuously check with the class if I need to slow down or if I can move onto the next concept.
Week Three Prompt (1/24 - 1/28)
Week Three Prompt:
Think about the lessons that you are teaching or observing this week. Usually the primary way teachers describe lessons is by their content topic, which is easily tied to a content standard (or maybe two content standards if the lesson merges algebra and geometry, for instance.) But there are (hopefully) process standards that are also being addressed, even though they might not be explicit in a lesson’s description. Obviously not all process standards need to be incorporated in all lessons, but over time students should experience aspects of these process standards in the mathematics classroom.
Describe/discuss ways that the five NCTM process standards are being addressed (or not addressed, if that is the case) in the lessons you teach or observe.
On Friday I took over all three Geometry classes at the beginning of the new chapter. The lesson I taught on Monday focused on The Pythagorean Theorem, how to find missing sides of a right triangle, and classifying triangles using the properties of The Pythagorean Theorem.
Problem Solving:
The problem solving process standard is being used when the students and myself work through word problems involving the Pythagorean Theorem together and individually. These students have to apply what they know about the Pythagorean Theorem to a real life situation to arrive at the correct answer. Students are challenged with several different types of problems so they can use their problem solving skills to solve the problem.
Communication:
There is plenty of communication during these lessons. While I teach these lessons I try to get the students involved with the learning process. After teaching the necessary concepts, I have students verbalize the steps they took on different examples I give them. This helps them communicate mathematics between themselves, the rest of the class, and me. It helps them gain a better understanding on the new concepts.
Connections:
This particular lesson has a lot of connections to the previous chapter. The previous chapter dealt with similar triangles and proportions between sides. The next couple sections have students learn about special right triangles (45°-45°-90° and 30°-60°-90°) and the ratios between their sides. This also leads into right triangle trigonometry where students will use their knowledge of proportions between sides to help find angles and missing side lengths. There are a lot of connections between the topics the students have already learned, and what they will be learning in the near future.
Reasoning and Proof:
The way the book teaches the Pythagorean Theorem seems to leave out why it works. There are no proofs offered on the Pythagorean Theorem and students are not required to know why it works, but only required to know how to use it and apply it in different situations. I would love to have the students explore the many different proofs, but because of time restraints placed on the class I have to pick and choose what they are spending their time on.
Representations:
In this chapter, students have the ability to see multiple representations of how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. They have been able to use real life situations and multiple representations of different problems. I can still try to present them with different representations throughout my lessons. This will deepen their understanding of the concepts being taught.
Think about the lessons that you are teaching or observing this week. Usually the primary way teachers describe lessons is by their content topic, which is easily tied to a content standard (or maybe two content standards if the lesson merges algebra and geometry, for instance.) But there are (hopefully) process standards that are also being addressed, even though they might not be explicit in a lesson’s description. Obviously not all process standards need to be incorporated in all lessons, but over time students should experience aspects of these process standards in the mathematics classroom.
Describe/discuss ways that the five NCTM process standards are being addressed (or not addressed, if that is the case) in the lessons you teach or observe.
On Friday I took over all three Geometry classes at the beginning of the new chapter. The lesson I taught on Monday focused on The Pythagorean Theorem, how to find missing sides of a right triangle, and classifying triangles using the properties of The Pythagorean Theorem.
Problem Solving:
The problem solving process standard is being used when the students and myself work through word problems involving the Pythagorean Theorem together and individually. These students have to apply what they know about the Pythagorean Theorem to a real life situation to arrive at the correct answer. Students are challenged with several different types of problems so they can use their problem solving skills to solve the problem.
Communication:
There is plenty of communication during these lessons. While I teach these lessons I try to get the students involved with the learning process. After teaching the necessary concepts, I have students verbalize the steps they took on different examples I give them. This helps them communicate mathematics between themselves, the rest of the class, and me. It helps them gain a better understanding on the new concepts.
Connections:
This particular lesson has a lot of connections to the previous chapter. The previous chapter dealt with similar triangles and proportions between sides. The next couple sections have students learn about special right triangles (45°-45°-90° and 30°-60°-90°) and the ratios between their sides. This also leads into right triangle trigonometry where students will use their knowledge of proportions between sides to help find angles and missing side lengths. There are a lot of connections between the topics the students have already learned, and what they will be learning in the near future.
Reasoning and Proof:
The way the book teaches the Pythagorean Theorem seems to leave out why it works. There are no proofs offered on the Pythagorean Theorem and students are not required to know why it works, but only required to know how to use it and apply it in different situations. I would love to have the students explore the many different proofs, but because of time restraints placed on the class I have to pick and choose what they are spending their time on.
Representations:
In this chapter, students have the ability to see multiple representations of how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. They have been able to use real life situations and multiple representations of different problems. I can still try to present them with different representations throughout my lessons. This will deepen their understanding of the concepts being taught.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Week Two Goals (1/17 - 1/21)
Week One Goals:
1. I want to make sure I talk to the entire classroom, and not favor one side over the other.
On Friday, I was going over the homework with the entire class. During this time I was answering questions students had about several of the problems. A majority of the questions came from students sitting on the right side of the room, so when I began to answer their question and go over the solution, I found myself directing my response to that side of the classroom. I need to make sure I talk to the entire class because there is a good chance someone else had the same question. I must make sure to reach those students who do not like asking questions in the class, but benefit from others asking.
2. I want to go to more extracurricular activities.
I went to a Central vs Southside basketball game on Friday and I a number of my students in attendance. By showing them I am interested in what they do outside of my mathematics classroom, I can begin to make connections with students. This will help me motivate students and gain their respect as a teacher. Going to extracurricular activities (not just sporting events) will also help me see some of my students interests, which will also help me make connections. This will also give me another chance to practice recalling their names.
1. I want to make sure I talk to the entire classroom, and not favor one side over the other.
On Friday, I was going over the homework with the entire class. During this time I was answering questions students had about several of the problems. A majority of the questions came from students sitting on the right side of the room, so when I began to answer their question and go over the solution, I found myself directing my response to that side of the classroom. I need to make sure I talk to the entire class because there is a good chance someone else had the same question. I must make sure to reach those students who do not like asking questions in the class, but benefit from others asking.
2. I want to go to more extracurricular activities.
I went to a Central vs Southside basketball game on Friday and I a number of my students in attendance. By showing them I am interested in what they do outside of my mathematics classroom, I can begin to make connections with students. This will help me motivate students and gain their respect as a teacher. Going to extracurricular activities (not just sporting events) will also help me see some of my students interests, which will also help me make connections. This will also give me another chance to practice recalling their names.
Week Two Prompt (1/17 - 1/21)
Week 2:
Think about the mathematical content being taught this week in the classes you are observing and/or teaching. Choose the content topic from ONE of these classes and make a list of all the prior knowledge and skills that students need in order to understand both the conceptual and procedural aspects of this content topic. How does the classroom teacher (or how do you) assess the prior knowledge that students bring with them to this new topic? How critical is this prior knowledge/skills to understanding the new content topic? Describe the quality and/or quantity of the necessary prior knowledge that these students seem to have for this topic.
Currently we are working with our geometry classes with the topic of the similar triangles formed when creating an altitude from a right angle to the hypotenuse in a large right triangle. The two smaller right triangles that are formed are similar to the original right triangle. Some of the prior knowledge students need to have to understand this topic is as follows:
-Properties of triangles
-Hypotenuse
-Legs
-Sum of interior angles
-Altitude and what it forms
-Proportions
-Similarity
-Proof why each triangle is similar to one another
-How to multiply radicals
-Square roots
Looking at the prior knowledge the students need, I feel a lot of these topics were covered in the previous lessons. Because this happens, the teacher can assess the students in previous lessons by looking at their homework, quizzes, or asking the students questions. I go over homework every day with the geometry classes. During this time I am able to tell which students understand the concepts, and which students will need more help. I do this by looking at which questions on the homework they did not understand. This will show me what level they are at in their understanding. If my cooperating teacher or myself does not feel the class is ready to move on, based on their homework or questions, we can design learning activities for the students to strengthen these skills. It would make no sense to move onto more complex concepts when the foundation concepts are weak in the students.
For this particular topic, without knowing the prior knowledge the new concepts would be almost impossible to understand. The prior knowledge sets up the new concepts and allows the students to build upon their older concepts. Without the prior knowledge, students would have nothing to build upon. I still find myself explaining to students where the hypotenuse is and how to set up the proportions between the sides of the similar triangles. Other students pick up on the new material quickly because they thoroughly understand what was being taught in previous lessons. A majority of the students fall in between the two extremes. They need reminders every so often on how to start or which sides are being compared in the ratio. I find this rather typical of a high school mathematics class.
Think about the mathematical content being taught this week in the classes you are observing and/or teaching. Choose the content topic from ONE of these classes and make a list of all the prior knowledge and skills that students need in order to understand both the conceptual and procedural aspects of this content topic. How does the classroom teacher (or how do you) assess the prior knowledge that students bring with them to this new topic? How critical is this prior knowledge/skills to understanding the new content topic? Describe the quality and/or quantity of the necessary prior knowledge that these students seem to have for this topic.
Currently we are working with our geometry classes with the topic of the similar triangles formed when creating an altitude from a right angle to the hypotenuse in a large right triangle. The two smaller right triangles that are formed are similar to the original right triangle. Some of the prior knowledge students need to have to understand this topic is as follows:
-Properties of triangles
-Hypotenuse
-Legs
-Sum of interior angles
-Altitude and what it forms
-Proportions
-Similarity
-Proof why each triangle is similar to one another
-How to multiply radicals
-Square roots
Looking at the prior knowledge the students need, I feel a lot of these topics were covered in the previous lessons. Because this happens, the teacher can assess the students in previous lessons by looking at their homework, quizzes, or asking the students questions. I go over homework every day with the geometry classes. During this time I am able to tell which students understand the concepts, and which students will need more help. I do this by looking at which questions on the homework they did not understand. This will show me what level they are at in their understanding. If my cooperating teacher or myself does not feel the class is ready to move on, based on their homework or questions, we can design learning activities for the students to strengthen these skills. It would make no sense to move onto more complex concepts when the foundation concepts are weak in the students.
For this particular topic, without knowing the prior knowledge the new concepts would be almost impossible to understand. The prior knowledge sets up the new concepts and allows the students to build upon their older concepts. Without the prior knowledge, students would have nothing to build upon. I still find myself explaining to students where the hypotenuse is and how to set up the proportions between the sides of the similar triangles. Other students pick up on the new material quickly because they thoroughly understand what was being taught in previous lessons. A majority of the students fall in between the two extremes. They need reminders every so often on how to start or which sides are being compared in the ratio. I find this rather typical of a high school mathematics class.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Week One Goals (1/10 - 1/14)
Week One Goals:
1. I want to slow myself when I am speaking.
I feel when I am in front of the classroom teaching or giving directions, I am talking faster than normal. This might be because I am not as comfortable in front of all the new students. But I want to focus on slowing my speech so the students will be able to understand what I am saying more clearly.
2. I want to see the student names when I am talking to them.
I have gotten to know a majority of my students' names in all four classes, although I feel I do not use them when I am talking to the students. By using their names I hope to convey a message of comfort. This will help me later on in the semester when I am teaching full time. I want to carry this goal both in the classroom and out in the halls or at extra curricular events.
1. I want to slow myself when I am speaking.
I feel when I am in front of the classroom teaching or giving directions, I am talking faster than normal. This might be because I am not as comfortable in front of all the new students. But I want to focus on slowing my speech so the students will be able to understand what I am saying more clearly.
2. I want to see the student names when I am talking to them.
I have gotten to know a majority of my students' names in all four classes, although I feel I do not use them when I am talking to the students. By using their names I hope to convey a message of comfort. This will help me later on in the semester when I am teaching full time. I want to carry this goal both in the classroom and out in the halls or at extra curricular events.
Week One Prompt (1/10 - 1/14)
Week 1 Prompt:
Describe the environment and/or atmosphere in the classroom where you are student teaching, as you observe and experience it this first week. Consider both tangible aspects of the classroom (such as what is present in and the use of the physical space, the materials/resources available for teaching mathematics) and intangible aspects (such as attitudes and behaviors of students toward mathematics and toward learning in general). You might note whether the environment/ atmosphere seems common across all classes or if it differs and why. Are there any aspects of the classroom environment/atmosphere that you would like to change when you teach?
The room that I teach in for student teaching seems like a typical high school classroom. There is a dry erase board in the front and the back of the room. And there is also a hanging projection screen that is used with the old overhead projector. I heard rumors that there will be a projector you can hook up to the computer installed in our rooms. This classroom also has a bookcase full of math books, which gives Jane Miller and myself multiple resources we can use while teaching. There are a lot of student projects that are hanging up in the classroom as well as math posters.
There are five classes that I will be teaching this semester: Probability and Stats (I will not be teaching a whole lot in this class), three geometry classes, and an algebra class. After the first week of student teaching I have noticed a lot about the students in each of the classes. My three geometry classes and the probability and stats class are almost polar opposites of each other.
In the algebra class there are 17 kids on the class roster. This last Friday we have seven kids in class because of suspensions, ISS, and the decision not to show up for class. Tardiness to class has been and will be a huge problem for these students as well. When they are suppose to be working on worksheets or taking notes, a majority of the class either has their heads down or they are doodling on their paper. On Tuesday we will be trying to do an activity with them to try and spark an interest instead of having them take notes. Every student in this class has taken and failed or got kicked out of another algebra class previously.
There are students in the class that understand the material and try to complete their homework and know the material well enough to try and teach others. This happened on Friday and it really surprised me that it occurred. I let them go about it and sat back and listened. It made me happy to see that they understand the material. There are times where I can see that they understand it, but they have no motivation to do any work or try. I have tried several times but I am still unsure how to handle this.
This class tends to be a management problem when Jane is teaching. Sometimes I am kind of shocked at how strict she has to be during this class. I feel this is a catch-22 situation. To try and control them you need to be strict, which leads to students getting angry and not wanting to work. Having angry students will lead to having to be strict when they act out (I’ve observed multiple times that they tend to do that when they are angry). If you are not strict with them, I would feel like they would take advantage of that. This might be something I could try while teaching, but I am kind of nervous to do this.
The other four classes are completely opposite. There have been no behavioral problems yet and they seem to have the motivation to try during class. For the most part homework gets done and minimal students will sleep through notes. I find it very interesting to compare these classes with the algebra class. I know that most of the kids in the algebra class do come from rough backgrounds, and I wonder how they compare to the kids in these four classes.
There are several things that I want to try to change when I fully take over. The use of technology in the classroom is minimal. I think this might be because of the limitations of the available technology. Incorporating technology could be beneficial to students in all of my classes. Another thing that I would like to try and change is the format of the lessons. Jane and the rest of the math department have a set way of giving notes and then after notes the students work on their assignment. This gives the chance for the teacher to assess the students’ understanding after the notes. I like how she has it set up, but I think I might want to try another way of teaching them. I am still unsure what I could do, but I think I will be looking into it during the next couple weeks.
Describe the environment and/or atmosphere in the classroom where you are student teaching, as you observe and experience it this first week. Consider both tangible aspects of the classroom (such as what is present in and the use of the physical space, the materials/resources available for teaching mathematics) and intangible aspects (such as attitudes and behaviors of students toward mathematics and toward learning in general). You might note whether the environment/ atmosphere seems common across all classes or if it differs and why. Are there any aspects of the classroom environment/atmosphere that you would like to change when you teach?
The room that I teach in for student teaching seems like a typical high school classroom. There is a dry erase board in the front and the back of the room. And there is also a hanging projection screen that is used with the old overhead projector. I heard rumors that there will be a projector you can hook up to the computer installed in our rooms. This classroom also has a bookcase full of math books, which gives Jane Miller and myself multiple resources we can use while teaching. There are a lot of student projects that are hanging up in the classroom as well as math posters.
There are five classes that I will be teaching this semester: Probability and Stats (I will not be teaching a whole lot in this class), three geometry classes, and an algebra class. After the first week of student teaching I have noticed a lot about the students in each of the classes. My three geometry classes and the probability and stats class are almost polar opposites of each other.
In the algebra class there are 17 kids on the class roster. This last Friday we have seven kids in class because of suspensions, ISS, and the decision not to show up for class. Tardiness to class has been and will be a huge problem for these students as well. When they are suppose to be working on worksheets or taking notes, a majority of the class either has their heads down or they are doodling on their paper. On Tuesday we will be trying to do an activity with them to try and spark an interest instead of having them take notes. Every student in this class has taken and failed or got kicked out of another algebra class previously.
There are students in the class that understand the material and try to complete their homework and know the material well enough to try and teach others. This happened on Friday and it really surprised me that it occurred. I let them go about it and sat back and listened. It made me happy to see that they understand the material. There are times where I can see that they understand it, but they have no motivation to do any work or try. I have tried several times but I am still unsure how to handle this.
This class tends to be a management problem when Jane is teaching. Sometimes I am kind of shocked at how strict she has to be during this class. I feel this is a catch-22 situation. To try and control them you need to be strict, which leads to students getting angry and not wanting to work. Having angry students will lead to having to be strict when they act out (I’ve observed multiple times that they tend to do that when they are angry). If you are not strict with them, I would feel like they would take advantage of that. This might be something I could try while teaching, but I am kind of nervous to do this.
The other four classes are completely opposite. There have been no behavioral problems yet and they seem to have the motivation to try during class. For the most part homework gets done and minimal students will sleep through notes. I find it very interesting to compare these classes with the algebra class. I know that most of the kids in the algebra class do come from rough backgrounds, and I wonder how they compare to the kids in these four classes.
There are several things that I want to try to change when I fully take over. The use of technology in the classroom is minimal. I think this might be because of the limitations of the available technology. Incorporating technology could be beneficial to students in all of my classes. Another thing that I would like to try and change is the format of the lessons. Jane and the rest of the math department have a set way of giving notes and then after notes the students work on their assignment. This gives the chance for the teacher to assess the students’ understanding after the notes. I like how she has it set up, but I think I might want to try another way of teaching them. I am still unsure what I could do, but I think I will be looking into it during the next couple weeks.
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