Math Blog: Technology

1.  What did I learn?

Today was an exciting day!  We were introduced to some new technology that we could use in the classroom.  I love learning about the different ways to integrate technology into the class, I do not see it used a lot in my main placement, therefore the more I am exposed to it in other classes is great.   I am not afraid of technology, but if I am not familiar with how to apply it in the classroom, chances are that I will not, as a result even the minimal amount of exposure is helpful to me and my potential teaching strategies. 

For example, in my dyad placement I visited a neighboring 6^th grade math class several times; this particular math teacher loves technology and using it with his kids.  On one of my observations of his class, he told me about using the graphing calculators with temperature probes to go outside to take data sample of different things.  I did not get a chance to ask him specifically how it worked, but I got a better understanding after class on Monday.  If each student had his/her own graphing calculator along with a temperature probe, once the data is collected the calculators are connected into a computer and can be graphed comparing all students’ data! Amazing and so cool! 

2.  What do I still have questions about?

What are some good teaching resources for learning about different ways technology can be used in the classroom?

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

The implication for the use of technology in the classroom is huge!  Kids today are not strangers to technology, I am sure many of them could run circles around me in some areas.  So as a result, using technology with students will get them engaged and will allow them to use a tool that they are already familiar with to facilitate their learning in new areas.  I think that a lot of fear still exists regarding technology and how to “control” it, but if we allow our students the opportunity as well as the trust along with proper expectations, we can allow our students the ability to access so much more knowledge than one person can facilitate. 

Math: Feb. 7

1. What did I learn?

I enjoy our math class a lot; I never leave feeling overwhelmed…well maybe a little overwhelmed at the idea of the abundance of curriculum we will have to learn, but our professor does a great job telling us like it is.  I really appreciate her honestly as well as her ability to support us as new incoming teacher.  Our professor does a great job informing us about the areas where she believes teachers need to do a better job at teaching, in addition to the importance of making our lessons inquiry based.  I believe that as a new teacher I will be faced with many challenges, challenges that I never even prepared for, but if I can begin my career with the intentions of making math fun for my students, then I believe that I may make my life as a new teacher more manageable.    

2.  What do I still have questions about?

I wonder what a lesson of math would look like in your class.  How would you include a lesson about new material and at what point in the lesson would you facilitate this knowledge? And would the students all work on the assignments together? Would the assignments be turned in at the end of class?

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

I think that as a new teacher unafraid of technology, I will be able to challenge myself to find more interactive ways that my students can about mathematics.  I enjoy the idea of having the freedom to take what has already been created and modifying it for my purpose as well as my student’s needs.  I think that there are so many resources out in the world of education and through collaboration as well as workshops we can find more effective ways to teach our kids math.    

ITouch Update

Since my last post, in relation to technology in the classroom, I have yet been able to implement my ideas of using the Itouch in the classroom.   I have seen opportunities where the Itouch would be beneficial, but I am having a difficult time figuring out if timing is appropriate.  I also wonder would one student using the Itouch and the rest of the class using a worksheet be fair?  I almost feel that it would be better if I introduced the Itouch only to students whom I was working with independently…. I guess I am still unsure how to use one Itouch in a classroom of 25?

On the flipside, I have been given an amazing opportunity where I am teaching a science unit to a small group of 5^th graders.  The unit we have begun is food chemistry, and I have been brainstorming ways I could use the Itouch with them.  I have some strange circumstances, I have to teach in the hallway, and therefore I do not have any access to technology unless it is wireless, in the form of an Itouch or a laptop.  As a result, my first idea was to use the Itouch to show a YouTube Video on learning about sugar, or nutrition labels, but then I realized that the screen was going to be way too small for nine bodies to group around.  My most recent idea has been to obtain an app that provides information about the different food groups and allows users to look up food facts about different foods.  I could use this application to allow my students to have access to information and take that information and graph it or use it to explain to me more about their understanding of the different nutrients in foods… I will have to do a little research.

Literacy Update: Moving from Assessment to Instruction

Jill is a motivated learner and is engaged through mystery, adventure and fantasy.  She enjoys writing and learning about new things; I have had a great time working with her.  Jill has taught me a lot about how to facilitate the literacy growth of young budding writers and readers.

As I have mentioned before, Jill has expressed to me that she considers herself to be a “slow reader and writer,” she has also mentioned to me that sometimes while reading she “gets lost” in the words.  I am not sure what it means when she says that she gets lost in the words, but I can summarize that because she sometimes gets lost, she reads slower to make sure that she catches all the words. 

Interestingly enough, after I gave Jill the grade four reading fluency test, according to the Hasbrouck and Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Data,  her performance in fluency (and speed) was right where it should be for the fourth grade winter months; she had a score of 114 WCPM.  The reading that I had Jill recite was a narrative about Amelia Earhart.  My goal from her reading this narrative was to see what her reading fluency was and also to see where her level of comprehension was.  Though her fluency was age appropriate, her comprehension according to the retelling questions I asked of her that were either implicit or explicit, told me that she was in the frustration level of comprehension.   Because fluency can be a predictor of comprehension, and her fluency rate was fine, I would like to see Jill read another four grade story, so I can retest her fluency in contrast to her comprehension.    

Since I have begun working with Jill, I have collected a few pieces of information into her reading and writing abilities.  I know that in relation spelling, Jill would benefit from working on digraphs and blends, long vowel patterns, and other vowel patterns.  As a result Jill would fall into the writing stage of Transitional and the spelling stage of Within Word Patterns.  As a result, being in the transitional stage of writing, and based on these predictors, I believe Jill is approaching fluency in reading and writing and she would benefit from work on her spelling, specifically long vowels with the aim that through knowing the correct spelling of words, the correct pronunciation of these words will also occur. 

Therefore, I would like to encourage Jill to read books a little lower than her tested ability, to help increase her fluency as well as her comprehension. 

Math Blog 4

1.  What did I learn?

Class today began with an overview of creating a lesson plan. From this discussion I picked up some key ideas that I appreciated.  The first was that when planning a lesson always make sure that the objective is measurable; if the objective is not measurable it can be extremely hard to know whether or not the students have learned anything.  The second idea was that through planning a unit in mathematics it is helpful to follow these tips; take problems out of the text book that are not required as homework and use them on a test, create your final test first and work backwards based on what you want your students to know, and make sure to always do the homework problems that your students do.  I also enjoyed the ideas shared from the book called “What’s Math Got to DO With It.”  One of the ideas from this book states that students are motivated by their intrinsic success, or in other words when they feel successful. Therefore, as a math teacher it is incredibly important that I set up my students for success and help facilitate their own learning while doing my best to explain the same problems in multiple ways because no learner will be the same. 

2.  What do I still have questions about?

After class, I was left feeling overwhelmed at the task at hand.  I have many questions regarding how I will ever learn teacher strategies to all the concepts that my students need to know.  Fortunately I am learning that I will not know everything right away and my learning as a teacher will be a climb, therefore my goal will be to not become discouraged and frustrated at the challenge and instead take every challenge as a learning opportunity to improve myself as a teacher.

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

The implications these ideas will have on me as a teacher will be huge.  I understand that as a new teacher I am going to be at a disadvantage over any teacher who has taught before based solely on fact that I lack experience, but I have to remember to put it into perspective and to think back upon how far I have become since last spring and the leaps and bounds I have made since then.  I have accepted that I will be a life longer learner as well as a lifelong student and I believe in myself.