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What do teachers think about professional development
What do teachers think about professional development
What do teachers think about professional development
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The Article "No Tears Here! Third Grade Problem-Solvers" by Kim Hartweg and Marlys Heisler focuses on a professional development project conducted in third grade classrooms. This project centered on integrating problem-solving into mathematics. Through this project the classes participating used open response problems. When solving these open response problems, the students thought about strategies they could use and would work on these problems on their own or with a partner. The students participated in productive struggle and after they completed the problem, the students would share their ideas and possible solutions. This presentation of ideas brought about a class discussion, which ended with the students summarizing the classes findings.
In the Variables and Patterns of Change (Annenberg Media, 2004), we are introduced to two classrooms during their first week of instruction. The first class is Ms. Green’s algebra. Ms.Green uses real life situation of wanting to get a pool in her backyard to teach dimensions and equations. During the example, she helps to guide the students learning by asking leading questions to help them figure out the problem. Once they understand the problem, she puts them into groups to figure out dimensions of different pool sizes and how many tiles it would surround them. While in groups, Ms. Green goes to each group to check their progress and answer any question.
Additionally, lesson plan C would be a useful tool due to the opportunities for collaboration that it provides. Mcgann and Leavy (2015) propose that collaboration is a useful feature of lesson planning when teaching programming. They present a case study of three girls who work together problematizing to design multiplayer games with the program Scratch. This study demonstrates that with a more knowledgeable peer pupils can achieve objectives that were previously out of reach. Williams and Easingdon (2007) further eschew the value of collaborative work when using
Trujillo, K. M., Tracing the Roots of Mathematics Anxiety through In-Depth Interviews with Preservice Elementary Teachers http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_2_33/ai_62839422 [accessed July 2007]
Silver, E. A. (1998). Improving Mathematics in Middle School: Lessons from TIMSS and Related Research, US Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328.
Taking this as the central idea, maths teacherswe???? designed class lessons that asked students to use their intuitional knowledge and comprehension about percentages and proportions to relevant problems. Real and conceivable settings were developed that we hoped would connect with students’ familiarity and would motivate them to be involved in problem-solving behaviours. Most significantly, we hoped that classroom dialogue (of both students and teachers) would demonstrate and support self-regulating
Solving problems is a particular art, like swimming, or skiing, or playing the piano: you can learn it only by imitation and practice…if you wish to learn swimming you have to go in the water, and if you wish to become a problem solver you have to solve problems. -Mathematical Discovery
Breaking down tasks into smaller, easier steps can be an effective way to teach a classroom of students with a variety of skills and needs. In breaking down the learning process, it allows students to learn at equal pace. This technique can also act as a helpful method for the teacher to analyze and understand the varying needs of the students in the classroom. When teaching or introducing a new math lesson, a teacher might first use the most basic aspects of the lesson to begin the teaching process (i.e. teach stu...
Using literacy strategies in the mathematics classroom leads to successful students. “The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989) define mathematical literacy as an “individual's ability to explore, to conjecture, and to reason logically, as well as to use a variety of mathematical methods effectively to solve problems." Exploring, making conjectures, and being able to reason logically, all stem from the early roots of literacy. Authors Matthews and Rainer (2001) discusses how teachers have questioned the system of incorporating literacy with mathematics in the last couple of years. It started from the need to develop a specific framework, which combines both literacy and mathematics together. Research was conducted through
Together with the teacher and classmates, students are given the opportunity to speculate and question the world around them and the world awaiting them. Within small peer groups, for instance, students are encouraged to discuss, share, and compromise. The teacher is there to encourage this process, rather than to provide prescribed solutions. Similarly, the learning environment is collaborative and democratic, giving opportunities for all to speak their minds and receive feedback from peers as well as the teacher. This continuous loop of feedback, potentially positive or negative, serves as the means of assessment for problem-solving based instruction.
Entering formal education in 1991 I was taught by means of the revised version of
Low test scores and lack of motivation in mathematics by students in grade school is an issue that has recently been put under the spotlight. According to a study done in 2003, mathematics achievement levels in the United States are much lower than those in other developing countries. The results of this study show that the US is ranked 15th among the 47 participating countries in the 2003 NAEP Mathematics vs. TIMSS Mathematics for At or Above Proficient with 28.8% of students at or above the proficient level (Hambleton, 387). Mathematics seems to be the subject that a lot of students struggle with and simply dislike. For this reason, teachers and administrators have developed teaching strategies and techniques that help children improve their learning in mathematics. One of the most effective of these techniques that has been tested in multiple classrooms across the country is called cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is when small groups of students work jointly and help each other to learn new material and work out problems with the supervision and assistance of the classroom teacher (Artzt, 2-3). This teaching strategy is often beneficial because it helps to improve social skills and communication in mathematics, and increase academic motivation and achievement; however, there are some concerns that teachers do not know how to properly implement cooperative learning and students may not fully understand its concepts.
However, this change is not for nothing, studies have shown positive results of problem-based learning in comparison to traditional learning. One study revealed that PBL students consistently outperformed traditional students on long-term retention evaluations (Jonassen & Hung, 2012, p.2688). This is likely due to the deeper connection that the student has with the knowledge they are learning. Furthermore empirical studies have shown that PBL enhances students’ problem solving, higher order thinking, and motivation to learn (Jonassen & Hung, 2012, p.2688). While the results with problem-based learning have proven to be positive for students, this is not always the case for the instructor. In PBL, teachers do not provide information to the students, instead they become a tutor that guides the students through the learning process and they facilitate debriefs at the conclusion of the experience (Savery, 2006, p.12). Research on problem-based learning has revealed that one of the major dilemmas perceived by PBL tutors is the conceptualization of facilitators and as a result tensions that arise as they try to redefine their role to fit the PBL model (Jonassen & Hung, 2012, p.2688). Another issue that can come up with problem-based learning is developing appropriate and open-ended problems that will still allow for the learning
Kirova, A., & Bhargava, A. (2002). Learning to guide preschool children's mathematical understanding: A teacher's professional growth. 4 (1), Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/kirova.html
Many students view mathematics as a very difficult subject since it does not only focusses on numbers but also in letters. Mathematics does not only require the students to come up with an answer but it also requires them to show the solutions on how they arrived at the answer. While in elementary, students were already taught on how to solve problems in a step-by-step procedure starting with what is asked in the problem, what are the given, make a number sentence or formulate an equation and solve the problem. These procedures are called problem-solving which cannot only apply in mathematics but also in other areas such as in Science, businesses and most
A somewhat underused strategy for teaching mathematics is that of guided discovery. With this strategy, the student arrives at an understanding of a new mathematical concept on his or her own. An activity is given in which "students sequentially uncover layers of mathematical information one step at a time and learn new mathematics" (Gerver & Sgroi, 2003). This way, instead of simply being told the procedure for solving a problem, the student can develop the steps mainly on his own with only a little guidance from the teacher.