The conversations throughout the Cognitive Discourse and Teacher Questioning course have been about best practices for implementing productive discussions within a mathematics classroom. These practices, according to the text 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions by Smith and Stein, 2011, are anticipating student needs and responses, monitoring what students are actually saying whether in whole class or small group discussions, selecting students to share their work, sequencing an appropriate order for which students will be sharing, and connecting student responses to fundamental mathematical concepts in the classroom. Through the course, we explored various classroom “talk moves” that help to progress and promote the discussion. Following exploring the best practices for classroom discussion, the course transitioned into examining the specific questions that teachers were asking during the actual discussion. According to the text Connecting Mathematical Ideas by Boaler and Humphreys, 2005, teacher questions can be classified as nine different types which include gathering information, vocabulary building, exploring relationships, requesting further explanations, creating discussion, applying concepts, extending concepts, focusing on important parts, and creating context for the situation. The lesson from my own classroom that I analyzed according to the classifications by Boaler and Humphrey took place in my AP Calculus AB/BC class. The class consists of 19 juniors and seniors, most of which are planning on sitting for the AP exam. The day that I recorded the lesson was the day following their last regular course exam for the year and we transitioned into review mode for the upcoming AP test. ... ... middle of paper ... ...alking, writing, or doing something as a part of the lesson. One way that I have adjusted my classroom based on the professional development work and from the work in the Cognitive Discourse and Teacher Questioning class was to just change how my room was oriented. Instead of rows, I now have pods of four desks where I encourage students to work collectively on a task and to have mathematical dialogue. Some days they sit with whomever they desire while on other days I tell them they need to sit and work with three different people. At first students were resistant to it but I have been able to monitor much better mathematical conversations as compared to when students were isolated during the lesson. A quite classroom is desirable at times but rich, productive discourse is more beneficial to all students in achieving the essential learning targets of the class.
The environment of the classroom is important because is a social place where children have to feel secure so they can become part of the lesson and for the lesson to succeed. The classroom is organized and the students are in their individual desks respectfully listening to the teachers lecture and following along. The students look
The appearance of the classroom has a big effect on how smoothly the class will go. The seating arrangement in my classroom will be in a U shape. It will be better with classroom discussion to have the students facing each other. This type of seating arrangement should relax the children and make them feel more comfortable. On the bulletin boards there will be pictures of the students while involved in class activities and students work as a reward for doing well on an assignment. Also on the walls there will be posters to inspire the students.
The following information was conducted in an interview with Diana Regalado De Santiago, who works at Montwood High School as a mathematics teacher. In the interview, Regalado De Santiago discusses how presenting material to her students in a manner where the student actual learns is a pivotal form of communication in the
All children learn differently and teachers, especially those who teach mathematics, have to accommodate for all children’s different capacities for learning information. When teaching mathematics, a teacher has to be able to use various methods of presenting the information in order to help the students understand the concepts they are being taught.
In a classroom, the class is a single unit, and teachers teach to the class’s needs, rather than to each individual students’ needs. I enjoy being able to work individually with students in order to cater my teaching toward each one’s specific needs so that I can instill them with passion for each subject.
In this interview I conducted with my host teacher at Benton STEM Elementary, I talked about the various ways that she explores strategies inside her classroom for how students are provided access to mathematical learning experiences. My host teacher has been teaching elementary education for eleven years now and is currently teaching 2nd grade. Talking with her about the various methods that she uses in the classroom really informed me of how I want to teach as a future educator. When conducting the interview, we talked from the differentiation practices that she uses in her classroom when teaching mathematics. I will be connecting this interview to chapter 5 by Jo Boaler that I read on tracking in the mainstream classroom and how students mathematical abilities are affected by this.
“By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” The great mind of Benjamin Franklin said that and it connects with many aspects of every day life. One that it connects to greatly is communication. Right now my future plans are to become a certified public accountant. “In this job with how global it is becoming you are constantly communicating.” Which was said by Miss Lauren Kolarik. “Communication is very important,” she continues, “in this job you use every type of communication.” There is conversational communication when you are working with your team in auditing a company, there is professional communication when talking with a partner and there is written communication when writing emails to clients and overseas workers. All of these types are important because they all accomplish a different but equally significant aspect of the job. Through the course of the interview, one idea remained constant in every answer, be prepared. In the field of accounting you will be communicating in a conversational, professional and written form. It is crucial you know which type of communication to use and how to vitalize its
While researching instructional strategies on edutopia.com, I came across the article entitled “Oracy in the Classroom: Strategies for effective Talk”. The article talks about one of the London elementary schools where teachers focus their instruction on developing oracy skills by integrating strategies for effective talk in the classroom. Teachers in that school provide students with discussion guidelines and roles, and structured talk tasks. The first thing I noticed about conscious teaching oracy skills is that activities need to be structured. In the attached video, teachers of school 21, first create discussion guidelines with their students; they teach students what good and bad discussions look like. Another important factor is considering
Mathematical dialogue within the classroom has been argued to be effective and a ‘necessary’ tool for children’s development in terms of errors and misconceptions. It has been mentioned how dialogue can broaden the children’s perception of the topic, provides useful opportunities to develop meaningful understandings and proves a good assessment tool. The NNS (1999) states that better numeracy standards occur when children are expected to use correct mathematical vocabulary and explain mathematical ideas. In addition to this, teachers are expected
I believe it is equally important to have a classroom that is student-centered. I do not imagine my classroom arranged with rows of seated desks all facing the front of the classroom. Instead, I think that students should have the opportunity to work amongst their peers in small groups, studying a wide array of topics. Students will not be required to focus their attention on on...
There are slow learners as well as a mixture of fast learners in every classroom. These should be taken into consider and activities should be planned accordingly so that slow learners will not left behind and fast learners will not be bored. There are students with learning difficulties which will affect the teaching learning process. These should be taken into consider and teachers need to avoid things happening which as an effect in the teaching learning process. Behavior such as disruptive and destructive shows similar characteristics. These behaviors need to be discussed with the parents and necessary actions need to be taken to create a good atmosphere in the class. Also teachers will be able to identify different cognitive levels and learning styles. Some students learn through audio, some need to see visually while some of them learn by writing. So as teachers we need to have all these learning styles in a lesson to fulfill each individual. Planning should be done accurately which helps in the teaching learning process. Teachers play a great role in handling different children in the classroom. To build up an effective teaching process, these facts need to be taken into consideration. Teachers could think of different ways that they can implement in the classroom in the process of teaching and learning. Group method is one of the main teaching
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
...th different personally and different learning styles can be very difficult. That is why it is important for a teacher to be organized and keep a clean and safe classroom environment. It is also important to develop some type of structure, staying on the same schedule on day-to-day activities. If you notice a child seeming down on his or her self point out positive strengths to try and changes ones mood.
During my own classroom observation it was noted that the level of questioning with the students needed to be improved upon. Reynolds and Muijs (1999) mention one of the main requirements to be an effective teacher is knowledge of the content being taught. Spending more time reviewing the content and preparing a list of questions prior to each lesson would greatly help develop the level of questioning with the
Throughout out this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to gain a better understanding when it comes to teaching Mathematics in the classroom. During the course of this semester, EDEL 440 has showed my classmates and myself the appropriate ways mathematics can be taught in an elementary classroom and how the students in the classroom may retrieve the information. During my years of school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. Over the years, math has challenged me on so many different levels. Having the opportunity to see the appropriate ways math should be taught in an Elementary classroom has giving me a