This week's post will be about your Math placement. Please use your grade bands again.
1. Describe how your teacher teaches a mathematics lesson. Is there teaching involved or review? Or telling a procedure? Is it a problem-based lesson? Are students learning conceptual knowledge or procedural knowledge. Are any manipulatives used? If so, describe how.
2. Did most of the students grasp the concept? What helped the students learn?
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Part 2: Field Placement Mathematics Teacher Work
2nd Grade
This past Friday, I had the privilege of helping my cooperating teacher instruct a math lesson in a second grade classroom. The teacher instructed the math lesson by first introducing some of the concepts that were to be explored, while the students were still in a large group. She asked the students thought provoking questions pertaining to the forth-coming lesson (which included both procedural and conceptual components), then divided them into four smaller groups and assigned each group a table.
Students were each given a packet of work sheets to complete individually. The worksheets included problem-based material, all of which involved candy hearts (each student was given a box). The procedure began by asking students to make predictions (“estimate how many hearts are in your box”) and proceeded with a counting exercise (“now count the hearts”). The students were then asked to use subtraction to find the difference between their estimated number of hearts and the actual number of candy hearts in their box. The students then began grouping the hearts (by number and color). The procedure went on to include addition as well.
Concepts that were stressed were estimation, grouping, comparisons, area and perimeter. The only manipulatives that were used were candy hearts. The candy hearts were used in all of the ways mentioned earlier and our cooperating teacher included a large, hollow heart shape to allow the second graders to explore perimeter and area. When exploring perimeter, they simply used the hearts to count how many would fit along the perimeter and did the same for area.
Most of the students grasped the concepts of grouping, estimation and comparison, though some experienced difficulty upon reaching the perimeter/area portions of the worksheet. The students were most effectively helped when provided with multiple means by which to reach the answer. For example, I helped clarify the concept of perimeter by “drawing” an invisible boundary around the classroom with my body!
I had the opportunity to watch my teacher teach a mini- lesson in math. Unfortunately there was not a lot of guidance.
Students already had their worksheet, and they got to work as soon as she stood up and announced the assignment. The students were working on practice test questions for the upcoming MontCas test. They were questions of estimation, fractions and word problems.
My teacher eventually stood up and had the class walk through each question with her. She explained what was right and what was wrong.The students seemed to be paying very close attention, and I observed that my teacher has obviously made it clear how important the test truly was.
Students had the ability to work a a team to discuss problem questions and solve them through discussion and formula's. I believe this helped students, even though I am not very keen on worksheets.
Although I have not had the opportunity to see an actual math lesson yet, my teacher did an excellent job of helping and reviewing the students.
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