Final Week: Math Post Week 6

This week is the final week of first semester. It has gone by very fast as it was compacted into only 6 weeks. This is very different then the first year format as we have attended each subject twice weekly and have been given far more independent learning. It has been a challenging but very valuable experience. In math, we have covered a different theme each week and combined that with online modules that support the topic and allow students to explore further and reflecting using online forum posts. We’ve also been writing weekly blog posts about our experiences and things we’ve taken away from the lessons.

This week in class we discussed assessment in math. Class started with a video called Mr. D which is a short comedy skit which looks at how we assess students. Our professor used this video to give us some important tips.

1) Trim the Fat

2) Skip It

3) Grades Create Anxiety

4) Focus on Comments

Trim the fat means focus on one thing at a time. Overloading students with tests and quizzes that evaluate too much will not benefit the students or the educator so attempt to focus on one standard at a time. Skip it means to focus on things that will further the learning. Sometimes we can get caught up with doing activities just for the sake of it but as educators we have to be constantly asking the question what purpose will this serve? Don’t waste time filling a page but make sure what you are evaluating is relevant. This is also important in time management for a teacher because if we are focusing on what is relevant we will make sure our workload is effective and reasonable. The third point is the fact that grades do create anxiety but inaccurate grades can also create anxiety. This means grade with purpose and ensure you have the time to mark properly. The final tip is focus on comments! Grades are just a number and this will not help students improve their work. Detailed comments on student work will allow students to see what they did well and where they can improve so that their future work can be better. I think these tips are good reminders for teachers about what assessment is supposed to be about and where to focus our energy.

The final thing we did this week was a webinar on reporting. This was an extremely useful webinar as I’ve never written any marks or comments for report cards. The biggest take away for me was to be specific and give examples of student work. It was also mentioned that writing in a clear manner was essential to ensure both student and parent understand what is being written. There were some excellent resources provided and I really valued getting an opportunity to distinguish between an effective comment and an ineffective comment. 

Language Learning Object

This is my language learning object for grade 5 students.

Integrated Learning: Math Post Week 5

©Counton. 2016. 

During class in week 5 we explored online mathematical resources and blended learning. Blended learning is where students learn from in person instruction and digital and online media. We started class by playing an online game called Count On. This game allows students to pick a level of difficulty and attempt to solve math problems using the numbers provided. Playing this game gave me time to explore working with numbers and allowed me to make as many mistakes as I needed to figure out the correct answer. In previous weeks we have talked about allowing students a platform to make mistakes and develop their brains. Online games are an excellent resource where students can actively participate, feel no pressure or embarrassment for their results and try different pathways to an answer.

A really useful teacher resource we learned about was the SAMR Model. SAMR stands for substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition. This model breaks down the different ways we can integrate technology into our classrooms. Substitution is the idea that technology performs the same task or activity you would do in your classroom without it. This would be like printing a worksheet out and completing it. In this case there is no change in the way the students would learn and the way in which they would display their abilities. Augmentation is described as technology that performs common tasks such as completing a google form instead of a hardcopy quiz. The function of learning and assessment in the same but technology serves a minimal purpose such as saving paper. Modification is where technology is going beyond everyday tasks and actually changes the learning. An example of this would be allowing the students multiple ways to display their learning such as an audio recording or a piece of music. Technology assists the learning and changes the way it can be assessed. Redefinition is when technology allows for tasks that were previously inconceivable such as creating a documentary on a specific topic and Skyping with resources around the world. Without technology something like this would be impossible and we would be confined to resources that we have in our classroom.

©SAMR Model. Edudemic. 2013.

This above wheel is an excellent resource that we were introduced to in class. This is a SAMR wheel which shows which type of technology can be used for the different options. This wheel is a great teacher resource because it provides technology options and how those options fit into the classroom. It’s important that as educators we integrate the right technology for the right reasons. We want to make sure technology is effective and forwarding the learning in the class. It must serve a purpose. This wheel helps teacher establish what technology will be useful for different situations. This week showed me that there are many ways we can integrate technology into math. I would not have previous thought technology served a huge purpose in math class but after experiencing it I can see that it could forward the learning and expand possibilities. 

Webinar Week: Math Post Week 4

©Patricia McEachren 2016. Rich Task. 

This week in class we discussed differentiated instruction. This was the perfect topic for class as it was my week to do my webinar. The resources from class were very beneficial as we were able to use them in our presentation. In our webinar we discussed the importance to knowing student readiness through assessment for learning with diagnostic and formative assessment. Then, we explained that once we knew student readiness we could determine which tasks to use in our classroom based on student’s needs. We wanted to make sure that our group members understood that there are many different learning preferences and using activities based on the types of learners in your classroom was very important. On our handout we listed a variety of options for differentiating learning such as group work, use of technology, varied directions, modelling among many others. We also gave lists on how to differentiate the product, content and environment. 

The three major ways we demonstrated differentiation in math specifically were parallel tasks, open-ended questions and rich tasks. We made sure to discuss the characteristics of each activity and how they were inclusive of all students. I think the examples we used were very helpful and after each example we made sure to discuss it with the group and identify the different strategies that were used. To close our webinar we provided the group a simple question and asked them to make it into a rich task. This gave us a chance to see if our group members were able to apply what we had just taught them and we seemed to be successful. We also had them do a google form as an exit ticket. We wanted to get feedback from the group and the exit ticket acted as that feedback. Finally, we provided them resources we felt were really informative so they could reference them in the future. 

This week we also watched the above video which talked about collaboration in math. The video talks about a study that showed students in Berkley math were failing when they worked alone. The students that were successful were students who went to study groups, discussed math and collaborated on their homework. Creating a support network in class is very important. We encourage collaboration in so many other subjects and I think it should be encouraged more in math. Often, the perception is that math is a solo subject when in fact students do better when they have each other to work with. Talking about math also means students will share their ideas and discuss their reasoning for choosing a specific pathway. Reasoning was also discussed in a video this week as an important skill for students to have.