Curriculum Materials and Resources

        The textbook for the class I am teaching is Prentice Hall Algebra I. It is a standard mathematics textbook with a few worked example problems followed by about 100 practice problems, a huge difference from the CPM textbook that I got used to at McNary.
        The math department at North Albany Middle school has many games, manipulatives, and activities. Unfortunately, at this point in time, they are sitting unused in a room adjacent to the library collecting dust. Instead, the teachers I have observed use their SmartBoards for every lesson, most taking full advantage of the wide variety of resources available on there.
     
In terms of virtual resources, I have been using:
Pearson Success Net- an excellent resource that comes with the Algebra I textbook
Kuta software- which provides some free worksheets for a variety of algebra topics without requiring you to buy the program
www.quia.com- a website with hundreds of interactive math games and activities
www.mathopenref.com- a website with manipulative graphics that shed light on many geometric and trigonometric functions.
  

Closure Component

Here is a video of my closure component which was students worked in groups to do  review problems getting ready for a test. I apologize for the limited view. It was the best I could do at the time.

1. What strength(s) did you notice in the teaching and learning process?

I felt it was a constructive use of time because my supervising teacher and I were able to individually help students with problems.

1. What evidence(s) of students' learning did you observe?  

Students were engaged almost the entire activity and there were plenty of questions being answered.

1. To what degree were all learners engaged?

Every student worked on the review problems at least part of the available time.

1. What evidences of addressing varied abilities did you observe?

I was able to address varied abilities because I could help each student individually.

1. What was the your role in supporting learning?

My role in supporting learning was go go around and answer individual questions.

1. Describe one challenge you observed.

One challenge was  some students needing much more help than others, so some of the students may not have received as much help as they needed. 

 

1. Based on the above responses, how might you revise or tweak this instructional routine? 

I'm not sure I would change very much. Just to make sure more students are engaged I thought about making a number of problems due that day. I think it is important to have time in class to do homework, especially before a test.

Intro to a New Topic

1. What strength(s) did you notice in the teaching and learning process?

I am proudest of the classroom environment in which students feel comfortable sharing their math ideas and questions with each other. Often this leads to extended conversations which sometimes eat up valuable class time, but I feel that these conversations are worth the extra time.

1. What evidence(s) of students' learning did you observe?  

Students are asking great questions. I know it is difficult to hear the exact questions but hopefully I rephrase their questions enough to get the gist. 

1. To what degree were all learners engaged?

Sometimes I do wonder to what degree other students benefit from questions asked by one student, but most often, when I am answering a student's question I hear a informed "oooooh" from a good portion of the rest of the class.

1. What evidences of addressing varied abilities did you observe?

I think the think pare share process that I use is a good way of addressing varied abilities. Not only does it encourage students to help each other, but it also allows me to walk the class and do in-depth check for understanding with individual students while the other students are engaged in conversation. 

1. What was the your role in supporting learning?

During the video I play several roles. One lecturing, one questioning, and one guiding. 

1. Describe one challenge you observed.

The biggest challenge on this particular day was that it was a shortened day with only a 30 minute class time. Subtract time to answer questions about the homework and there was barely enough time to fit in what I wanted. During a normal class I am usually able to give time for students to work on their homework, but during this class I felt that the questions I was receiving and the conversation it was generating was more important. 

1. Based on the above responses, how might you revise or tweak this instructional routine? 

I would try to give more time for homework. I would have preferred to do this lesson in a full 50 minute class instead, but due to the timing of the term the lesson needed to be done.