On the second day of class, the Professor Judit Kerekes developed a short chart of the Xmania system and briefly explained how students would experience a number problem. Professor Kerekes invented letters to name the quantities such as “A” for one box, “B” for two boxes. “C” is for three boxes, “D” is for four boxes and “E” is for five boxes. This chart confused me because I wasn’t too familiar with this system. One thing that generated a lot of excitement for me was when she used huge foam blocks shaped as dice. A student threw two blocks across the room and identified the symbol “0”, “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, and “E.” To everyone’s amazement, we had fun practicing the Xmania system and learned as each table took turns trying to work out problems. …show more content…
Our team represented the Xmania system through cubes boxes. Our team had one member who wasn’t present on the first day, so we had to first teach him about the operations in application Xmania before proceeding. We worked together as a team to reconstruct the Xmania system for our presentation. We took a few minutes in silence then debated about possible number systems using only the five symbols given and how it relates to the Xmania. As a group, we decided on using the example: “AA + E = B-. We wrote down on the paper about the rules for our number system and explained how to inscribe a small and big number in our system through a number-line. We also presented on how to do a basic arithmetic such as adding. We remembered to design a representation of the symbols to explain our basic understanding of the Xmania system through our poster for the class to view. We were prepared for any inquiry from the students about our concept but everyone understood our points. I felt my participate in the class discussion was adequate for our presentation but I applied more with focus and care in design the Xmania chart and in result, our presentation went
It was my job to effectively instruct my students on their project and lead them to success. I was a teaching assistant for this course for two semesters and each group I was assigned to drastically differed from one another in how they learned and communicated. Some groups needed more or less help then others and it was crucial that I modify my teaching strategy to each groups needs. For the group that needed more help it was important that I was more involved, such as by writing everything down on the board and clarifying and repeating notes through weekly
As this was a review of the chapter before our test, students overall did a good job applying the skills we have learned throughout this chapter. Every single one of my students can correctly identify a number based on the tens and ones, and can find the tens and ones of any given two digit number. I did not have any student fail to identify if a number was greater than or less than another number. In retrospect, I realized that during this lesson I placed very little emphasis on the greater than and less than signs themselves, but this was a large component of the independent practice work. Overall, I have been impressed with the learning progress my students made during this chapter. It was a quick chapter with only 5 lessons, but students moved quickly and comfortably through the content.
Place value and the base ten number system are two extremely important areas in mathematics. Without an in-depth understanding of these areas students may struggle in later mathematics. Using an effective diagnostic assessment, such as the place value assessment interview, teachers are able to highlight students understanding and misconceptions. By highlighting these areas teachers can form a plan using the many effective tasks and resources available to build a more robust understanding. A one-on-one session with Joe, a Year 5 student, was conducted with the place value assessment interview. From the outlined areas of understanding and misconception a serious of six tutorial lessons were planned. The lessons were designed using
The assessment that I have chosen for my lesson is a “card sort”. I will have eight graphs copied on card stock ready for the students to cut out. They will analyze each graph, match it to a scenario, and tape it next to the scenario it matches. For each graph, the students will label the x- and y-axes with the appropriate quantity and unit of measure. Then, they will write the title of the problem situation on each graph.
Also, have the students discuss their findings during their independent practice. Ask if any of the students were able to create bigger numbers than the three digit combinations.
They will use estimation, the base ten blocks, and area model, and they will record their answers on the scratch paper. Then, students will write a real-world story about a decimal multiplication problem that they have created with the base ten blocks. The story should contain each of the different numbers that are involved with the rectangular construction.
For most people who have ridden the roller coaster of primary education, subtracting twenty-three from seventy is a piece of cake. In fact, we probably work it out so quickly in our heads that we don’t consciously recognize the procedures that we are using to solve the problem. For us, subtraction seems like something that has been ingrained in our thinking since the first day of elementary school. Not surprisingly, numbers and subtraction and “carry over” were new to us at some point, just like everything else that we know today. For Gretchen, a first-grader trying to solve 70-23, subtraction doesn’t seem like a piece of cake as she verbalizes her confusion, getting different answers using different methods. After watching Gretchen pry for a final solution and coming up uncertain, we can gain a much deeper understanding for how the concept of subtraction first develops and the discrepancies that can arise as a child searches for what is correct way and what is not.
The more common notion of numeracy, or mathematics in daily living, I believe, is based on what we can relate to, e.g. the number of toasts for five children; or calculating discounts, sum of purchase or change in grocery shopping. With this perspective, many develop a fragmented notion that numeracy only involves basic mathematics; hence, mathematics is not wholly inclusive. However, I would like to argue here that such notion is incomplete, and should be amended, and that numeracy is inclusive of mathematics, which sits well with the mathematical knowledge requirement of Goos’
Children can enhance their understanding of difficult addition and subtraction problems, when they learn to recognize how the combination of two or more numbers demonstrate a total (Fuson, Clements, & Beckmann, 2011). As students advance from Kindergarten through second grade they learn various strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems. The methods can be summarize into three distinctive categories called count all, count on, and recompose (Fuson, Clements, & Beckmann, 2011). The strategies vary faintly in simplicity and application. I will demonstrate how students can apply the count all, count on, and recompose strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems involving many levels of difficulty.
structures he had never seen before. The type of numbers he was used to had
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.
After this project I would seriously consider not doing any projects in my classroom. But I need to remember this is only one experience (and my first one at that.) Not all projects need to go this way. Having had this experience can help me make sure I don’t have similar ones in my classroom.
After finishing the teaching part of the lesson, I realized that not everything goes according to plan. For example, in our lesson plan, we had the explain portion detailed and outlined to teach students the technical terms of what they were seeing in the stations and other activities and make it a collaborative effort within groups to work with the vocabulary words. However, the teaching of the plan was not well executed. Also, I learned that teaching a topic does not have to be boring or just full of worksheets. Fun, engaging lab stations and interactive activities can fulfill the standards and requirements just as well, if not better, than basic worksheets and PowerPoint lectures. Lastly, I realized that lesson planning and teaching require a great deal of effort and work, but it is all worth it when a light bulb goes off in a students’ head and they learn something new and are excited to be learning and extend their science
...nd dynamic changes in the competitive nature of the job market, it is evident to myself that being eloquent in all aspects of numeracy tools and knowledge is imperative in the 21st Century. The calculator is one such tool for children which supports mental computation to check answers to develop independent learning, as discussed earlier. It also fits into the pre-operation developmental stage of a child to enhance their symbolic thinking, similar to that of an adults scheme of thinking, as opposed reliance on senses alone. The interviews further grounded my reasoning around my argument and allowed me to not only gain an insight to how those similar to me think and those not so similar. This investigation has strengthened my argument that the use of calculators in the primary school classroom, if used appropriately, are an invaluable tool for teaching and learning.
The early acquisition of mathematical concepts in children is essential for their overall cognitive development. It is imperative that educators focus on theoretical views to guide and plan the development of mathematical concepts in the early years. Early math concepts involve learning skills such as matching, ordering, sorting, classifying, sequencing and patterning. The early environment offers the foundation for children to develop an interest in numbers and their concepts. Children develop and construct their own meaning of numbers through active learning rather than teacher directed instruction.