My goal as a teacher is to help students become self-sufficient independent learners who know how to use their resources. I define “resources” as their notes, calculators, classmates, online websites and videos, and lastly, the teachers. I also believe in having students “teach” and collaborate with their peers; I want students to be able to explain and talk the math with their classmates as they process and understand the material.
From the moment students walk into the door to the moment they leave, my attention is devoted to them. You will always find me working with an individual or group after the lesson. I use a variety of informal assessment measures (observations, listening to conversations, checking their work as they progress through an activity or assignment, ticket out the door, quick check, etc) to help me gauge their understanding and correct their misconceptions and misunderstandings prior to a more formal assessment. .
In a typical classroom day, the lesson is a combination of background skills review, teacher directed instruction, exploratory activities, guided instruction, independent thinking, and collaborative conversations and activities. I take a more conceptual approach to teaching math - I like for students to discover patterns, work through a real world scenario, and use manipulatives (when applicable) and do less of memorizing procedures and rules. I do not constrict my students to one method - I like to expose them to a variety of methods and let them pick the method that works best for them as much as I possibly can.
After a lesson, students have anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes of practice time where they can work with their classmates or independently, check answers as they work, get one on one help, and ask additional questions. Answers to the practice are posted on the board so students can check their progress and are also posted on this blog so they can check their work at home.
Additionally, a question I hear from students frequently at the beginning of a semester during practice time is “What do I do?” or “How do I solve this?”. Please be aware that after a lesson, I will not just tell students how to solve the problem. In the event a student wants me to tell them how to solve a problem, I will use one of the following strategies:
Questioning – Ask the student a series of questions to help guide their thinking
Review a Similar Problem – Using their notes, I will review a problem we covered in class to see if they can apply what we did in the lesson to their practice problem
Utilize a Classmate – I may ask a student to talk with a classmate first (typically a student who had the same question and was able to successfully complete the problem)
By the end of the semester, I rarely have students ask me to tell them how to solve a problem. They have learned how to use their resources!
Lastly, we are firm believers of practice (just like a sport). Students are given practice assignments after every lesson. The purpose of practice assignments is to give students the opportunity to practice what they learned, discover their strengths and weaknesses with the material, ask questions, and improve their math skills. They are expected to complete these, even though they are not graded. If students do not complete practice assignments, they are more than likely not going to do well on quizzes and tests (which are graded).