Content
Standard Four
Content Knowledge The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
Evidence One
A few months ago Griffin Regional Educational Service Agency offered my school a trial subscription to a program called Conceptua Math. Luckily, my third grade class was one of the selected few who were granted the opportunity to sample the program.
Conceptua's philosophy states that "students need to develop fundamental understandings of math concepts as the basis for developing skills with formulas and numeric procedures, and the teacher’s role is to present learning opportunities in a careful, systematic, and explicit manner to foster the development of student knowledge, progressing from conceptual to procedural understanding."
Conceptua is a program which basically helps me, the teacher, teach my students factions with the use of models. The models are designed to help students develop a conceptual understanding of fractions. As we may know, showing one model to students may not reach all students, but with Conceptua, multiple representations are shown such as circles and number lines.
Reflection One
Once a week, I gather my students around the carpet area, near the board, to do Conceptua. All I do is simply log on to Conceptua and project the lessons on the board. The lesson sequence consists of a lesson opener, a guided lesson, and a lesson closer. Prior to the lesson I am able to download lesson plans, in PDF format, which includes the key concepts of the topic, the lesson objectives, important vocabulary, prior knowledge needed, and also step-by-step guidance for the lesson sequence.
During the lesson presentation, there are small bubbles at the bottom of each slide which gives me samples of short phrases to guide my students' learning and also sample question to help my students think deeper. To ensure that my ESOL students understand, I often rephrase what is stated in the bubble and repeat several times. Conceptua allows me to assess my students formatively during the lesson. After the lesson closer, I am able to assign my students with a guided practice. Based on the results of my formative assessment, I know which students should be assigned regular assignments and remedial assignments. On most occasions, when students are done with their class work, they get a laptop, log on to Conceptua, and complete their assignments. When we go to the math lab students are also given the opportunity to work on their assignments.
All in all, I have found Conceptua to be very effective for my students who started out knowing very little about fraction. It has not only been a learning process for my students, but also a learning process for me. Hopefully, in the near future, the whole school will be granted the opportunity to experiment with this amazing program.
A few months ago Griffin Regional Educational Service Agency offered my school a trial subscription to a program called Conceptua Math. Luckily, my third grade class was one of the selected few who were granted the opportunity to sample the program.
Conceptua's philosophy states that "students need to develop fundamental understandings of math concepts as the basis for developing skills with formulas and numeric procedures, and the teacher’s role is to present learning opportunities in a careful, systematic, and explicit manner to foster the development of student knowledge, progressing from conceptual to procedural understanding."
Conceptua is a program which basically helps me, the teacher, teach my students factions with the use of models. The models are designed to help students develop a conceptual understanding of fractions. As we may know, showing one model to students may not reach all students, but with Conceptua, multiple representations are shown such as circles and number lines.
Reflection One
Once a week, I gather my students around the carpet area, near the board, to do Conceptua. All I do is simply log on to Conceptua and project the lessons on the board. The lesson sequence consists of a lesson opener, a guided lesson, and a lesson closer. Prior to the lesson I am able to download lesson plans, in PDF format, which includes the key concepts of the topic, the lesson objectives, important vocabulary, prior knowledge needed, and also step-by-step guidance for the lesson sequence.
During the lesson presentation, there are small bubbles at the bottom of each slide which gives me samples of short phrases to guide my students' learning and also sample question to help my students think deeper. To ensure that my ESOL students understand, I often rephrase what is stated in the bubble and repeat several times. Conceptua allows me to assess my students formatively during the lesson. After the lesson closer, I am able to assign my students with a guided practice. Based on the results of my formative assessment, I know which students should be assigned regular assignments and remedial assignments. On most occasions, when students are done with their class work, they get a laptop, log on to Conceptua, and complete their assignments. When we go to the math lab students are also given the opportunity to work on their assignments.
All in all, I have found Conceptua to be very effective for my students who started out knowing very little about fraction. It has not only been a learning process for my students, but also a learning process for me. Hopefully, in the near future, the whole school will be granted the opportunity to experiment with this amazing program.
"Our Philosophy." Math Software “ Teaching Fraction | ConceptuaMath.com | Conceptua Math. Conceptua Math,
LLC, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.conceptuamath.com/philosophy.html>.
LLC, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.conceptuamath.com/philosophy.html>.
Evidence Two
According to IXL Learning, practice makes perfect, and IXL makes math practice fun! IXL allows teachers and parents to monitor the progress of their students and motivate them through interactive games and practice questions. Each student has a membership which was purchased by the school district. Students use their personal usernames and passwords to access a variety of math skills across the grade levels.
I, the teacher, assigns my students skills according to our unit of study. Due to the fact that math textbooks has been removed from the classrooms, I've allowed IXL to be an ongoing guided practice for the math concepts taught in class. Students are about to take on challenges and earn rewards. As students excel, the problems increase in difficulty.
Reflection Two
Once again, I was able to implement another fabulous program into my classroom. Students are allowed to work on IXL in the math lab on Fridays and in the classroom when they are done with their class work or when we have down time.
One of the things I love about IXL is the use of various bright colors and illustrations of children who are excited about math; they make the site very student friendly. It's a good feeling to know that my students enjoy the site and are always excited to log on and get more practice. Recently, I have sent home letters with students' usernames and passwords so that they can get extra practice at home, but it is not mandatory.
Another thing that I love about IXL is that fact that if a student gets a problem wrong, the website explains how to work the problem out. Although their overall score goes down, this will avoid students from repeating the same mistakes which will eventually result in higher scores. With the scores that are recorded in the system, I am able to sort my students by proficiency level when it comes to flexible grouping for math. The score reports have also been handy during parent conferences. I am able to show parent the students' graphs along with the skills and scores.
According to IXL Learning, practice makes perfect, and IXL makes math practice fun! IXL allows teachers and parents to monitor the progress of their students and motivate them through interactive games and practice questions. Each student has a membership which was purchased by the school district. Students use their personal usernames and passwords to access a variety of math skills across the grade levels.
I, the teacher, assigns my students skills according to our unit of study. Due to the fact that math textbooks has been removed from the classrooms, I've allowed IXL to be an ongoing guided practice for the math concepts taught in class. Students are about to take on challenges and earn rewards. As students excel, the problems increase in difficulty.
Reflection Two
Once again, I was able to implement another fabulous program into my classroom. Students are allowed to work on IXL in the math lab on Fridays and in the classroom when they are done with their class work or when we have down time.
One of the things I love about IXL is the use of various bright colors and illustrations of children who are excited about math; they make the site very student friendly. It's a good feeling to know that my students enjoy the site and are always excited to log on and get more practice. Recently, I have sent home letters with students' usernames and passwords so that they can get extra practice at home, but it is not mandatory.
Another thing that I love about IXL is that fact that if a student gets a problem wrong, the website explains how to work the problem out. Although their overall score goes down, this will avoid students from repeating the same mistakes which will eventually result in higher scores. With the scores that are recorded in the system, I am able to sort my students by proficiency level when it comes to flexible grouping for math. The score reports have also been handy during parent conferences. I am able to show parent the students' graphs along with the skills and scores.
"IXL Learning - Company Information." IXL Math | Online math practice and lessons. IXL Learning, n.d. Web. 20 Nov.
2012. <http://www.ixl.com/companyinfo>.
2012. <http://www.ixl.com/companyinfo>.
Standard Five
Application of Content The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.
Evidence One
At the beginning of the school year, all students were required to pay $5 to cover their subscription of Scholastic News. Each week, students are given a Scholastic News newsletter which consists of a short article and other facts about global issues. On the back of the newsletter is a page called Kid’s Corner. There students answer questions to show that they have comprehended the content in the article and also the vocabulary words mentioned.
On the Scholastic News website there are sometimes other activities that are related to the article students read that week. There are activities that can be done individually, in small groups, and also with the whole class. There are also other resources available to teachers, such as sample lessons which include assessments which can be used to help students get a better understanding of the area of study they may be covering in a unit.
Reflection One
Scholastic News has played a big role in my unit titled “Our Rights, Our Government.” During the election season, my students received a newsletter about the process of voting which included a brief description of each candidate.
The following week, as an activity, my students voted. Scholastic news created the activity as a follow up to the election newsletter. Laptops were set up where each student could have their own privacy to vote, just like voting polls. After all my students voted, we viewed a chart which showed that majority of the class voted for President Barack Obama.
As part of my philosophy, I believe that students should have engaging activities so that they remain excited throughout the lesson. By incorporating the weekly article and the on-line assignments, I believe I am doing so. My students are always excited about login on to the scholastic news website and completing activities whether it is individually, with a partner, or as a whole class.
At the beginning of the school year, all students were required to pay $5 to cover their subscription of Scholastic News. Each week, students are given a Scholastic News newsletter which consists of a short article and other facts about global issues. On the back of the newsletter is a page called Kid’s Corner. There students answer questions to show that they have comprehended the content in the article and also the vocabulary words mentioned.
On the Scholastic News website there are sometimes other activities that are related to the article students read that week. There are activities that can be done individually, in small groups, and also with the whole class. There are also other resources available to teachers, such as sample lessons which include assessments which can be used to help students get a better understanding of the area of study they may be covering in a unit.
Reflection One
Scholastic News has played a big role in my unit titled “Our Rights, Our Government.” During the election season, my students received a newsletter about the process of voting which included a brief description of each candidate.
The following week, as an activity, my students voted. Scholastic news created the activity as a follow up to the election newsletter. Laptops were set up where each student could have their own privacy to vote, just like voting polls. After all my students voted, we viewed a chart which showed that majority of the class voted for President Barack Obama.
As part of my philosophy, I believe that students should have engaging activities so that they remain excited throughout the lesson. By incorporating the weekly article and the on-line assignments, I believe I am doing so. My students are always excited about login on to the scholastic news website and completing activities whether it is individually, with a partner, or as a whole class.
Evidence Two
After completing several lessons about rocks and minerals, I decided to have a field trip to Diamond Del’s Gem Mining Adventure. Diamond Del’s Gem Mining Adventure is a field trip which comes the school in a long trailer.Prior to the field trip, the instructor from DDGMA sent a short video to share with the students to prepare them for the experience.
There were flumes filled with flowing water on the mobile gem mine. Students also received their own mining box which contained their own gem collection concealed in Brazilian mining ore. Students were to wash the ore from the boxes to reveal their gems and minerals which were collected from various parts of the world. The gems and minerals students discovered were theirs to keep. After the field trip, students watched a follow up video which taught them how to classify and identify each stone.
Reflection Two
The gem mining experience was very exciting for both me and my students. I liked the fact that prior to the field trip I was sent the video to share with my students so they will know what to expect and also the rules they should follow while in the trailer. Allowing students to also keep their treasure was a good idea because they will always be reminded of the experience. After the trip and the activity that followed, my students gained a vast amount of knowledge on the minerals they had found while mining.
I believe that this hands-on experience was much better than me showing my students rocks and minerals that had been provided by the school district and lecturing about them. It's a experience that I will always remember.
After completing several lessons about rocks and minerals, I decided to have a field trip to Diamond Del’s Gem Mining Adventure. Diamond Del’s Gem Mining Adventure is a field trip which comes the school in a long trailer.Prior to the field trip, the instructor from DDGMA sent a short video to share with the students to prepare them for the experience.
There were flumes filled with flowing water on the mobile gem mine. Students also received their own mining box which contained their own gem collection concealed in Brazilian mining ore. Students were to wash the ore from the boxes to reveal their gems and minerals which were collected from various parts of the world. The gems and minerals students discovered were theirs to keep. After the field trip, students watched a follow up video which taught them how to classify and identify each stone.
Reflection Two
The gem mining experience was very exciting for both me and my students. I liked the fact that prior to the field trip I was sent the video to share with my students so they will know what to expect and also the rules they should follow while in the trailer. Allowing students to also keep their treasure was a good idea because they will always be reminded of the experience. After the trip and the activity that followed, my students gained a vast amount of knowledge on the minerals they had found while mining.
I believe that this hands-on experience was much better than me showing my students rocks and minerals that had been provided by the school district and lecturing about them. It's a experience that I will always remember.