March Journal Articles

This article was about the value of the guess and check method. It explained how this method could be used when doing word problems at the middle school level. The author explains that teachers need to be using this method because it helps deepen students understanding of quantitative relationships and help increase the students problem solving skills. The guess and check method help students to break down each word problem and put it into everyday language rather than just reading the math problem. Students use the table to help them organize the different parts of a problem. The guess and check methods helps students to use reason when finding the answer to the problem that was given to them. When students become familiar with this strategy they can adapt it and have their own way of using for different problems.

I thought that this was an interesting article to read. The guess and check method seems very useful when teaching students about problem solving. There were many examples of charts and tables that students used when organizing their guess and check system. This method is a way for students to understand what the math problem is saying because they are breaking it down and learning from an answer if they guessed it wrong. They have to look at their answers and reason them of why it is the right or wrong answer.

Guerrero, S.M. (2010). The value of guess and check. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 15 (7), 392.

This article was about using technology when teaching students about polygons. There are many different kinds of polygons and a lot of students do not realize that shapes likes squares and triangles can be found in the different types of polygons. The website has a lot of different features that can help students to identify polygons better. The paintbucket tool also helps the students with polygons beause they can draw different conclusion from the different colored polygons. The article also states that students are engaging themselves with polygons by using the technology. They can interact with the polygons by having them on the computer and play around with the polygons to see the different kinds that they can create.

I thought this article was very interesting because I have never really thought that much about polygons. By doing this activity on a computer the students are able to make different kinds of polygons. The computer gives them the ability to try to come up with different solutions. Some of the shapes that are in the article are not polygons and it allows the students to see why they are not. I think that this is a good activity because the students are engaged with the polygons they are not just learning what a polygon is out of a book. Another interesting thing is that students can take different shapes like squares and put them in a polygon and see how many squares fit in each polygon or triangles. I would use this activity in my classroom because I feel like the students would get more out of this lesson rather than from me teaching them on the board. Overall, I thought that this was really interesting and would use it in my classroom.

Edwards, M.T. & Harper, S.R.(2010). Paint bucket polygons. Teaching Children Mathematics. 16 (7), 420.

Video Analysis #2

Activity
This activity was about students starting with graphs and they make up stories that go along with each graph. Then they have to present the stories that they created to the class. The students had to learn about the different parts of the graphs in order to tell their stories. They were also learning how to do functions while doing word problems. The teacher helps them out in their groups when they are doing their word problems. She goes around to each group and answers the questions that they have.


Question 1- Lesson Analysis #2: Describe what the teacher does to support learning while students are working groups
While the students are working in groups the teacher is walking around and make sure they are understanding. When the students came up with the wrong answer the teacher said "Lets re-read the question" they were on the right track they were just interpretting the question wrong. They ended up coming up with the right answer to the question without the teacher helping them. One group did not get the answer and the teacher broke the question down and said "What am I looking for?" Next, she said "Lets look at week one." She was breaking down the problem in to steps so that the students could figure out the first step and then be able to figure out the rest of the problem with out the teacher doing the whole problem for them.

Question 2- Reflective Task #2: Describe how the teachers questioning, and the manner in which the student responses are handled, contribute or do not contribute to a positive classroom learning environment?
The teacher asks a question then lets the students answer, then she will ask another question based on the answer that the students just gave. She wanted to know what the students had already figured out in the problem and then try and challenge them with a new question. When the student answers she says "Oh you are so great!" and then asks if he can explain his answer. She is encouraging her students to answer because she is so enthusiastic about it what they are saying. Then she goes on to the next part and asks students how she would write this part of the problem and they tell her how to do it. She is discussing each step of the problem and making sure that the students are understanding.

Question 3- Reflective Task #1 Describe the nature of the evidence of student learning, e.g. answers, explanations, questions. etc.
You can tell that the student was learning because she went in front of the whole class and correctly explained the solution to the problem. One student answers the question wrong and then she asks where did you get that from and tries to lead the student on the right track. After she asks the student a couple more questions he explains his reasoning and is on the right track. The students are explaining the way they are coming up with the answers which shows that they are understanding the problems that they are learning. The teacher is constantly asking questions so that the students have to answer and explain how they are coming up with each answer and the other students need to understand. She tries to ask different questions to get him to go in to even more detail to explain how he came up with each answer.


Reflection
I thought that the way this teacher used questioning was very effective. She also used a lot of discussion for each problem that the students needed to figure out. She talks to the whole group of students but switches off on what students she's calling on. I did not like how there were so many videos of the same thing going on. It would have been better if it was one long video of different kids answering questions to figure out the problems. I liked how this teacher was so enthuisastic I think that it made the students more interested in trying to figure out the problems.