EDU 373: Math Methods and Materials

Teaching as Principled Practice

Math Methods Practicum Lesson 1 and 2

****Note: On every document that you submit for Science and Math Methods include your e-mail addresses and your name.

Rationale: One of the products that will illustrate your development, as a teacher of math and or science will be the lesson plans that you and your partner plan and teach in your practicum classroom. These lesson plans contribute to the substantial evidence that illustrate your growth in several of the MN Board of Teaching Standards of Effective Practice including (at minimum):

Standard 4: Instructional Strategies. A teacher must understand and use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills. Preservice teachers will illustrate evidence for this standard through multiple opportunities to plan and teach lessons that use research based instructional methodologies in inquiry and the nature of science including reflections on the rationale for the use of their selected instructional strategies for their students in practicum.

Standard 7: Planning Instruction. A teacher must be able to plan and manage instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals. Preservice teachers will illustrate evidence for this standard with multiple opportunities to plan instruction with their practicum partner for their students in their elementary practicum classrooms.

Standard 8: Assessment. A teacher must understand and be able to use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the student. Preservice teachers will illustrate evidence for this standard through a portfolio that illustrates their assessment of student learning in their practicum classroom.

How many lessons will we plan and teach?

For Math Methods, you and your practicum partner will design and teach two lessons in mathematics. The math lessons should reflect the curriculum and content that is part of your grade level classroom. This means that the expectation is that your lessons originate from your practicum classroom’s math text. They are to be consecutive lessons on the same topic (i.e. two lessons regarding fractions). Your lessons should reflect the methods that we have discussed in class. This means that teaching math for understanding is part of your lessons (including both conceptual and procedural understandings). Your cooperating teacher will delineate the content of the lesson.

How do we get started?

Talk with your cooperating teacher about math topics that she or he will be teaching during your four weeks of practicum. Try to plan “simple” math lessons – that teach only one concept or skill. Your math lessons should be part of the math curriculum that your cooperating teacher uses. Use your practicum text to guide your lesson within a conceptual understanding framework guided by the Lesh model and emulated in math methods class and readings by Burns and Van de Walle.

Math Lesson 1: Using ideas and the curriculum suggested by your practicum cooperating teacher, plan the first of your math lessons. Include the various modifications (listed below) to the model lesson plan of EDU 385: TLC that pertains to math. Compare your lesson plan to the fraction model plan that I gave you in math methods. You will peer teach your first math lesson. This lesson should be complete, however, it is expected that it will be revised before you practicum teach. You will receive feedback about the lesson plan itself from your peer reviewer’s. Total points in this evaluation: 10points.

Math Lesson 2: This lesson will be a consecutive development of the math topic of math lesson 1. This lesson will not receive any formal review by your peers or Michele before you turn it in. You are welcome to request informal feedback from either your peers or Michele. (Please note: if you would like feedback from me you will need to meet with me rather than submit a “rough” electronically. My feedback will be verbal, not written at this point). Math lessons 2 when placed in my drop box will your polished and final version. Evaluation is: 15 points.

Note: This lesson must be submitted three full days before you teach it. Example: you are teaching math lesson 2 on Thursday, May 5, 2006 at 9:00am. The final version for this lesson will need to be in my drop box (or sent electronically) by 9am on Monday, May 2, 2006)

How does our math lesson relate to the Model lesson plan??

Guidelines:

  • Use the model lesson plan as you design your lessons in math. Include ALL the components indicated on the model lesson plan. Make note of the additional sections below that are REQUIRED for your math lessons.
  • Be sure to review the sample math lesson by Michele (fraction lesson).
  • As you write the teacher talk in the plan, be sure to indicate which practicum student teacher is teaching which section.
  • Organize your lesson for easy reading for yourself by using bullets, or small chunks for paragraphs (see Mystery Box lesson as example).
  • Always keep in mind that your lesson should be complete enough for any teacher to teach it without any additional directions.

What should we think about, plan, and include in our math lesson plans?

1.Linking your lesson plans to the Authentic Assessment of Science or Math Learning in Practicum:

  1. Teacher goal: Identify your goal for teaching this lesson and why it is important (the because part). A hint for this section is that you are teaching research-based methods using Lesh and you are expected to teach both for conceptual and procedural understanding. One of your math lessons should include both an academic goal and a social (cooperative learning goal) see assessment assignment.
  2. Student objectives: Identify the student objectives and describe the thinking and or actions that they will be illustrating. One of your math lessons should include both an academic objective and a social objective).

2.Background Knowledge (Pay close attention to this section):

  1. Teacher background: You will describe what you need to know in math to teach this lesson (this will probably be the same for both Math lessons 1 and 2). In this section, you and your partner are expected to go back to the Van De Walle chapter that pertains to your math topic. It is NOT enough to use only your classroom curriculum. This section will describe the big ideas that are necessary for students to understand in your math topic and will help me to understand your own knowledge of this area of math. This should be a well-detailed section of several paragraphs at a minimum. As you plan and write this section, use the following questions/comments to guide you:
  2. What are the procedures and concepts that you will need to know? How have you practiced these concepts and built your own understanding? Be specific in what have done.
  3. Student Background: What is the background knowledge and experience that students will have to have to be successful in your math topic. For example, if you are adding fractions, you will need to know what concepts they have developed before your lesson. This needs to be detailed. Be VERY careful NOT to assume that your students’ content understanding in math is as high as it should be.
  4. Teaching math for understanding using the Lesh model: In this section you describe the Lesh model and how it will be illustrated in the teaching of this lesson. Teaching math for understanding implies that you are using the Lesh model. Your lesson should include at least three translations/connections that you describe in this section (see sample faction plan), which are completely described in this section.
  5. Your lessons will also illustrate teaching math for understanding in other sections such as: development of the rationale of the standards, goals and objectives.
  6. Manipulative use: How are you using a manipulative? What is it? How will kids make sense of the math that they are doing with it?

What are some of the main points to remember about the actual lesson plan??

  1. Introduction: How will you engage students immediately in the math topic? What problem will you pose, story might you read, or scenario might you create? How will you build on what they did in the lessons before today’s lesson?
  2. Body: This section illustrates in a step-by-step manner what the teacher is doing and saying (teacher talk) and what the students are doing. You include your name and your partner’s name in the sections that you each teach. Your lesson includes “teacher talk” and description of what the students might say or be doing. All sections are descriptive and complete.
  3. Conclusion: How will you finish this lesson? How will you transition into another lesson? What will you do to establish cognitive clarity? What might be future steps for investigation? How will you process what you and the students have done? (Telling the students to close their books and put them away is not a conclusion.). Cognitive clarity must be established here. Students deserve to process and understand what they have done and the rationale, importance, and application of this learning in relation to the activities. Here is where your lesson comes full circle.

What else??

  1. Methods of Checking for Understanding (this is required for math and science) – how do you know that the students understand how to use the manipulative, model or stuff in this lesson? This needs to be described. Asking, “are there any questions?” is NOT checking for understanding. And this section is not an assessment of the student learning!
  2. Sources: You need to cite the source for your lesson, include all appropriate student materials (worksheets, recording sheets, etc.) and include the copyright date. (Note: Be sure that Michele has copies of all math sheets, sections in any math text, and manipulative when I observe your teaching.).
  3. Learner Differences: What specifically will you do to ensure that all of your students will learn what you would like to teach them? In your Practicum classroom – learner differences will include only your grade level students; and these students should be identified by name in your final version of the lesson.
  4. Assessment: What techniques will you and your practicum partner use to know that your students have met the goals and objectives that you stated? What is the evidence that you will be looking for that they have learned? Circling the classroom while the students are working is not assessment. This section is TIED to the Authentic Assessment Assignment in Math and Science.

How do we save and turn in our lesson plans to Michele?

Save each lesson plan as follows:

Math lesson plan 1:

yourlastnames.mathlp1.doc

Math lesson 2:

yourlastnames.mathlp2.doc

What else??

  1. Place page numbers and your names in the “footer” section on each page of your plan.
  2. When you complete your first lesson and it is ready for peer teaching, be sure to send it to your peer reviewer and Michele.
  3. Ask questions….

Optional (but strongly suggested) meeting with Michele to talk through or think together about your science and math practicum lessons is during the week of March 13 to 17. I will be able to meet with you on Monday, March 13, Tuesday, March 14th and Friday, March 17th. You will need to SIGN-UP though.

Peer teaching of math lesson 1 is on Monday, March 20, 2006 (8-9:50am).

EDU 371: Science Methods and Materials

EDU 373: Math Methods and Materials

Teaching as Principled Practice

Peer Teaching Guidelines

For your peer teaching experience:

  1. Have all materials ready to teach – including any materials, organisms, models, etc. that you will use in the classroom.
  2. Plan to teach for 30 minutes- practice together. Each of your “real” lessons will be between 40-60 minutes, so you will need to adjust somewhat for older students (your peers) and less time. You may wish to “talk” through a small portion of your lesson. Please do not talk through either your introduction or your conclusion. It is expected that your lesson will be the full 30 minutes.
  3. Be sure to have all materials (hand outs, books, samples of science materials, etc.) for Michele when you peer teach and give these to me before you start to teach.
  4. Dress as you would for teaching in practicum (i.e. teacher dress).

Please complete the following section and return to Michele by Monday, March 6, 2006. Two points will be deducted from your math lesson evaluation for failure to submit this section.

Place in the box by my office door.

*******************************

Dear Michele,

We as practicum partner’s ______have processed together the requirements and expectations for the math lesson plan. We have also used the model lesson plan and the fraction lesson plan to aid our thinking in regards to math lesson planning. We have talked together and feel confident that we understand the expectations for our mathematics practicum lesson plans.

Please include the honor code here:

Date: ______

Signed:

Practicum Partner 1______

Practicum Partner 2: ______

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DirectionsMathPracLes.doc