Introduction
It is the end of August and I am beginning my first day of full time student teaching as my students are beginning their 2013-2014 school year. It is my third student teaching experience, and I will be completing my full-time student teaching in a fifth and sixth grade combination classroom. I am teaching in a program called Global Education, an alternative program offered within a public school that incorporates grades K-6. Each classroom has different age levels which help to create diverse learning environments. My class structure in addition to the rest of Global Education is student centered, highly involves inquiry based learning, and incorporates cross-curriculum from all areas based off of a three year cycle of curriculum. There is a wide range of academic levels in the class, with students performing in the third grade range all the way through an early high school range. The students mostly come from high socio economic backgrounds and there is a lot of parent involvement in the classroom. I have no English Language Learners in my classroom.
The sixth graders in the class were with my master teacher last year, so half of the students are already familiar with the norms and routines of the classroom. My master teacher has a very regular schedule of English Language Arts, Reading and Mathematics in the morning. The English Language Arts varies from lesson to lesson. However, the Reading is always done in teams, and the mathematics is taught either individually or in small clusters of students where each student is on an individualized math plan. The afternoon consists of an ongoing project that the students are working on, and a little bit of read aloud from the teacher. The fifth graders were in a third and fourth combination class last year, and will be starting their first of two years together in this classroom setting. All of the students get along socially and are generally very happy students. They understand the important of kindness and respect amongst their friends, peers, and teachers. They are all very eager to succeed and participate in class. Learning is not only something they hold in high esteem but something they covet as well.
I strongly believe in the importance for teachers to be in touch with their passion when developing and creating lessons and a learning environment for students. I believe that in the classroom my students can learn to their fullest potential while they are enjoying what they do. In my search for an area of need in the classroom, I realized that I was working with a group of students that on average valued the importance of academic excellence: they enjoy performing well in school and highly value the importance of receiving approving feedback from the teacher. They want to do well in school and meet the expectation either the master teacher or I set forth for them in class. A goal for the students in my classroom is to reach a level of mastery of the academic content set forward for them in the curriculum. Many are well on their way towards this goal with ease.
The sixth graders in the class were with my master teacher last year, so half of the students are already familiar with the norms and routines of the classroom. My master teacher has a very regular schedule of English Language Arts, Reading and Mathematics in the morning. The English Language Arts varies from lesson to lesson. However, the Reading is always done in teams, and the mathematics is taught either individually or in small clusters of students where each student is on an individualized math plan. The afternoon consists of an ongoing project that the students are working on, and a little bit of read aloud from the teacher. The fifth graders were in a third and fourth combination class last year, and will be starting their first of two years together in this classroom setting. All of the students get along socially and are generally very happy students. They understand the important of kindness and respect amongst their friends, peers, and teachers. They are all very eager to succeed and participate in class. Learning is not only something they hold in high esteem but something they covet as well.
I strongly believe in the importance for teachers to be in touch with their passion when developing and creating lessons and a learning environment for students. I believe that in the classroom my students can learn to their fullest potential while they are enjoying what they do. In my search for an area of need in the classroom, I realized that I was working with a group of students that on average valued the importance of academic excellence: they enjoy performing well in school and highly value the importance of receiving approving feedback from the teacher. They want to do well in school and meet the expectation either the master teacher or I set forth for them in class. A goal for the students in my classroom is to reach a level of mastery of the academic content set forward for them in the curriculum. Many are well on their way towards this goal with ease.
I began to wonder that if the greatest need in my class was not necessarily a question of student proficiency, but rather was the style and type of instruction enabling them to fulfill their high learning goals. Through informal observations and a general performance Mathematics assessment, I began to notice an area that my students could use help. Of the thirteen fifth graders in my class, all of them had not yet reached mastery in some of the subjects I had assessed in math. The majority of students did not have completely reach mastery in working with multiplication or division, and not one of the fifth graders had reached mastery when working with fractions and percent of rationale numbers. The assessments that I used were straightforward computation and procedural assessments that gauged whether or not student were at a level of mastery within a specific area.
I thought about the value of mastery in education my students longed for as learners and whether I was providing enough support as an instructor in mathematics to facilitate this type of education. Addressing one of the many framework in which I format my instruction, I investigated the Common Core State Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012) to see if there was anything that I could pull from to reformat my instruction in Mathematics. What stuck out to me because I associated it with my passion in teaching was a standard that was centered in problem solving in real life situations. I identified a standard dealing with number operations and fractions, stating that students need to “solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem” (CCSS.Math.Content.5.NF.B.6, CCSSI, 2012). I began to think about how I provided math instruction and if this type of standard could be met with their current knowledge of Mathematics.
In order to assess my students and understand their capability in solving a real life problem, I implemented a short math inquiry that essentially put their problem solving skills to the test for a real life situation. The class had recently collected real money from home for a charity. As a class the students counted the number of coins and dollar bills collected in total. I provided them with a worksheet that asked them to figure out how much money we had altogether as a class.
· First, the students were supposed to calculate the amount of money collected individually in quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies, and different dollar bill amounts. I wanted them to initially discover the separate parts of a whole. Some students attempted to solve using multiplication, while others tried using division. For example- 681 x .25 or 681 / 4.
· Next, I asked the students to calculate the total amount of money collected for the charity. They took each part of the whole amount and had to add them together. In this part, my expectation was that the students would be able to add eight different numbers with decimals up to the hundredths place and find a total amount of money raised.
· Finally, I asked them to apply this money to which kinds of things our money would be used for. We had learned how the charity would put our money to use, and I wanted to see if the students could figure out which fraction or percent of the total amount would go to which things.
I thought about the value of mastery in education my students longed for as learners and whether I was providing enough support as an instructor in mathematics to facilitate this type of education. Addressing one of the many framework in which I format my instruction, I investigated the Common Core State Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012) to see if there was anything that I could pull from to reformat my instruction in Mathematics. What stuck out to me because I associated it with my passion in teaching was a standard that was centered in problem solving in real life situations. I identified a standard dealing with number operations and fractions, stating that students need to “solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem” (CCSS.Math.Content.5.NF.B.6, CCSSI, 2012). I began to think about how I provided math instruction and if this type of standard could be met with their current knowledge of Mathematics.
In order to assess my students and understand their capability in solving a real life problem, I implemented a short math inquiry that essentially put their problem solving skills to the test for a real life situation. The class had recently collected real money from home for a charity. As a class the students counted the number of coins and dollar bills collected in total. I provided them with a worksheet that asked them to figure out how much money we had altogether as a class.
· First, the students were supposed to calculate the amount of money collected individually in quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies, and different dollar bill amounts. I wanted them to initially discover the separate parts of a whole. Some students attempted to solve using multiplication, while others tried using division. For example- 681 x .25 or 681 / 4.
· Next, I asked the students to calculate the total amount of money collected for the charity. They took each part of the whole amount and had to add them together. In this part, my expectation was that the students would be able to add eight different numbers with decimals up to the hundredths place and find a total amount of money raised.
· Finally, I asked them to apply this money to which kinds of things our money would be used for. We had learned how the charity would put our money to use, and I wanted to see if the students could figure out which fraction or percent of the total amount would go to which things.
In the 45 minute lesson, a majority of students could not find the answer without help from me or my master teacher. Most students thought they had finished in the first 20 minutes, but after my initial assessment I began to realize that all of the students had done part of the computation wrong. Initially, my needs assessment told me that the entirety of my class was unable to solve the multi-step math inquiry. I decided to reteach a little and go over how to solve the problem. By the end of the extended time for this assessment, all but four students were able to solve for the problem.
Even though when I initially assessed most of my students they performed at a proficient or advanced level in addition, every student made a computational error in that category. There was addition of many items, and the students made small mistakes in adding the total quantity together. Fewer students made errors in subtraction, but there was still more than half that had trouble with that part of the computation. Multiplication was an area where there were different types of computational errors. Some of the students simply could not solve for the computation, making mistakes in the multiplication process. Others could not identify the proper way to set up the equation, which led to an error in solving this part of the inquiry. There was a small amount of division, and the students that had areas in this area are still working towards mastery for long division. The results from my needs assessment led me to believe that this type of inquiry is still a challenge, and that even though my students understand the concepts individually, they struggle when given the opportunity to combine the different processes into one problem solving inquiry.
For my normal Mathematics instruction, I had been individualizing math instruction and allowing students to collaborate in small clusters on level appropriate math packets. Students could work together and advance at their own pace, or take time on more challenging aspects. For students who need help, my master teacher or I float from group to group to see who needs our assistance. I realized I could potentially be leaving a gap in teaching mathematics. I wanted to make sure I am addressing more than just computation, and that I am helping students effectively problem solve using their computational abilities, especially when involving real life scenarios. Since my passion in teaching relates to students enjoying the schoolwork they are doing, I wondered if the Mathematics I was providing was meaningful enough to impart deep learning for the students.
Even though when I initially assessed most of my students they performed at a proficient or advanced level in addition, every student made a computational error in that category. There was addition of many items, and the students made small mistakes in adding the total quantity together. Fewer students made errors in subtraction, but there was still more than half that had trouble with that part of the computation. Multiplication was an area where there were different types of computational errors. Some of the students simply could not solve for the computation, making mistakes in the multiplication process. Others could not identify the proper way to set up the equation, which led to an error in solving this part of the inquiry. There was a small amount of division, and the students that had areas in this area are still working towards mastery for long division. The results from my needs assessment led me to believe that this type of inquiry is still a challenge, and that even though my students understand the concepts individually, they struggle when given the opportunity to combine the different processes into one problem solving inquiry.
For my normal Mathematics instruction, I had been individualizing math instruction and allowing students to collaborate in small clusters on level appropriate math packets. Students could work together and advance at their own pace, or take time on more challenging aspects. For students who need help, my master teacher or I float from group to group to see who needs our assistance. I realized I could potentially be leaving a gap in teaching mathematics. I wanted to make sure I am addressing more than just computation, and that I am helping students effectively problem solve using their computational abilities, especially when involving real life scenarios. Since my passion in teaching relates to students enjoying the schoolwork they are doing, I wondered if the Mathematics I was providing was meaningful enough to impart deep learning for the students.