Conrad Johnson

Dr. Diaz

Education 491 – Student Teaching I

Cooperating Teacher: Ms. Pyle-Clarke

Observation Date: October 15th, 2012

Time: 11:10 am – 12:00 pm               Room: 206

Conceptualizing Essay for Math Lesson

            Many children within NYC public schools may ask their teacher why we have to learn math. Some children dread learning math, they say math is too hard to grasp. As a future educator I believe that the most important aspect of teaching a lesson is to have student engagement. If you do not have student engagement your lesson will be pointless. Math is a day to day living, wherever you go math is included in everything you do. Taberski mentioned that “we need to give ourselves room to make mistakes, because they’re inevitable (2000, p.g, 113). Students make mistakes every day in their lives, but as a teacher we should be there not to make fun of their mistakes but be able to help them correct that mistake. These mistakes are common in math, I remember when I was in elementary school I use to make careless mistakes because I would rush through my math problems. My teacher would ask me did I go over my work, I use to think why she always asked me that. When I looked back in my notebook, I made some mechanical errors when I was solving the problems.

In planning for this lesson I consulted with my cooperating teach Ms. Pyle extensively, because some of the students were not getting the concept of solving word problems. After careful observation of the dynamics of the class, I witnessed some of the students not being able to use the clues in the word problem to arrive at the answer. After much preparation and discussion, Ms. Pyle and I decided that it would be best if I taught a lesson about solving word problems and a strategy that can be used to solve word problems. “If students are not automatic in responding to math facts, their attention is necessarily taken away from the multiple steps necessary to solve more complex problems” (Saulter, p.g, 1).  Ms. Pyle decided on the topic for the lesson based on the mini-lesson she did with the class on word problems. Ms. Pyle wanted to conduct a mini-lesson to see where the students stand with working out word problems.

            In any classroom it is imperative to foster cognitive development. Vygotsky’s believes that one way to foster cognitive development is to approach learning as a social process through peer interaction. Peer interaction is important because “students can often accomplish more difficult task when they work together than alone; in such situations students are essentially providing scaffolding for one another’s efforts.” (Ormond, 2010, p.49). To ensure that my students are improving their cognitive development, I will ask my students to turn to their partners and ask each other how working backwards can help them to solve a word problem. In two of my core education classes, Education 311/312, this method was called think-pair-share. My students will have two minutes to think about the question that was posed upon them, two minutes to pair with their partner, and be able to share to the class what they discussed when they was pairing with their partner. When students have these two minute mini-conferences with their partners, new information can embark on new ideas or help the students to understand the strategy better.

            After my students have finished their think-pair-share, I will have a guided practice with my students for them to have a better understanding of the concept of working backwards to answer a word problem. With the use of the smartboard we will work out a problem as a class, then they will have six problems to work out on their own. Next, I will have my students work on problems independently. As they are working independently, this will allow me to walk around and make anecdotal notes on how my students are applying the strategies of working backwards and logical reasoning to answer the word problems they were given. Based upon my anecdotal notes I will be able to conduct one-on-one assessments with students who I see are not getting the concept still. As a future educator, one may use assessments to see what the students have learned; it should not be a form to assess our own teaching. “It’s a question I ask myself, too-What did I do well today? What worked so well that I want to build it into my repertoire of teaching” (Taberski, 2000, p.g, 8)? Christian and Vincent needs constant praise to get their work done, so as I walk around I will encourage Christian & Vincent to finish up their work. On the other hand, I will use this time not only as an assessment for their presentation of the strategy, but also to decide how effective the methodology to teaching the strategy was and what adaptations can be made for the future. 

Reference

Ormrod, J. E. (2011). Educational psychology: developing learners (7th ed.). Boston:        Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Saulter, R. Top 12 Tips for Teaching Math Facts | TeachHUB. Home : Ed News, Free Lessons      & Teacher Resources | TeachHUB. http://www.teachhub.com/top-12-tips-teaching-math-       facts

Taberski, S. (2000). On solid ground: strategies for teaching reading K-3. Portsmouth, NH:           Heinemann.