Blog – CLASS with CHAN

Peer Observation: Math 10

Peer Observation Reflection Form

Teacher: Ms. M Subject: Math 10 Observation: December 2016

Classroom Environment: How can these observations be incorporated into my own practice?
Creating an environment of respect and rapport.	Students listen when the teacher or another student speaks Stronger students are encouraged to help their classmates Students freely help one another when using graphing calculators to plot points and solve systems of equations; students are also not afraid to ask for help from their peers or from the teacher
Establishing a culture for learning.	All students are expected to participate (e.g., one worksheet per student, random student generator, vocabulary homework, graphing calculators ready to use, etc.) Prior knowledge is reinforced by student responses Data tables and graphs clearly laid out and modeled for students
Managing classroom procedures.	Students understand the routine of using the random student generator and are prepared to answer questions Students have explicit vocabulary homework which they refer to in class to reinforce and build on their academic language Students know to look at the front when the teacher is standing by the board or computer
Managing student behaviour.	Circulates the classroom as students work independently Question: What are the consequences for students who are sleeping in class or not doing their work? I did not see this happen during the observation, but am curious.
Organizing physical space.	Students are grouped in pods of 4 desks Back bulletin board used to showcase student work and math related content (and puns) Announcements written on whiteboard at the front Boxes organized to keep student tests/ quizzes and available for students to reference (organized by class) Question: Do you change the seating plan regularly? How often?

Classroom Instruction: How can these observations be incorporated into my own practice?
Communicating with students.	Encourages the use of formal math language throughout the lesson (e.g., coefficient, variable, equation) Defined new vocabulary terms, using prior knowledge to help scaffold meaning (e.g, system of linear equations) Uses examples and analogies to help explain a word or definition (e.g., “point of intersection” = intersection of a street)
Using questioning/ prompts and discussion.	Expands on student responses (so that students feel validated and continue to open up in class discussions) Probes for deeper answers from students (e.g., “What else…?”)
Engaging students in learning.	Students have a sense of urgency when the random student generator is used, helping them to focus on the lesson UNO card game project incorporates math skills, communication skills, and creativity Graphing calculators are used together in class; students are expected to follow and understand the basic steps, but can also explore on their own
Using assessment in instruction.	Students work individually on worksheet, but share answers together as a class Student solutions and responses are written on the whiteboard and discussed Graphing calculators are checked by teacher to ensure the task has been accomplished
Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness.	Teacher responds to each student’s answer with some feedback Allows extra time for students to finish work near the end of class

Reflection

The students were already engaged in their math lesson when I arrived to Ms. M’s class. They were starting a new unit on systems of linear equations, which builds on a lot of prior knowledge. Ms. M has spent a lot of time building vocabulary and scaffolding language in her classroom. She gives a list of vocabulary terms at the start of each chapter, and students are expected to complete their vocabulary homework on a regular basis. I have asked the students to keep vocabulary journals, and reinforced this practice heavily at the beginning of the semester; however, I have subsequently defaulted this responsibility to the students after midterm. In the future, I would also like to organize the unit’s vocabulary and readings beforehand as this kind of explicit instruction is highly beneficial for ELL students.

One thing I noticed that Ms. M does frequently in her lesson was repeating and rephrasing, both her own words and the students’. She takes student responses and rephrases them using formal math language and vocabulary. For example, when a student says, “Cost is the y”, Ms. M follows up with, “Yes, cost is one of the variables. It will go on the y-axis.” Deliberate incorporation of academic language is an area I constantly need to remind myself to use, particularly when working with Grade 10 students. I often default to simpler, more basic language to ensure understanding when I teach new concepts in class; however, I find that my students continue to lack the either the knowledge or confidence to use science vocabulary during class discussions. It is possible I do not model the use of academic language enough in my own class; this is a good reminder for myself to be more careful and deliberate when deciding on my word choice during lectures and discussions.

All the students were individually accountable for their own learning; each student was working on a worksheet and knew that he or she could be called to answer a question by the teacher. Ms. M gave a sense of urgency and sense of awareness to the student by using the random student generator program on her laptop. This gives her an unbiased method to choose students to participate in class; this method also helps to keep students focused and awake in class. I have used this method in the past by numbering desks and randomly selecting a number on a stick, or writing students’ names on a stick and randomly drawing those. The digital student generator saves a lot of the extra work involved in making physical models, and will be something I will also use more often in class when cold-calling.

On a final note regarding technology, Ms. M has implemented several different types of technology in her classroom: graphing calculators, graphing websites (e.g., Geobra), and the random student generator program. During her classroom instruction, she relies on the whiteboard for written instruction and visuals. Since I will be teaching Math 10 next semester, it will be interesting to see how much more technology I can incorporate in the classroom with the resources available. I would like to engage in a greater dialogue with other instructors regarding relevant and accessible (particularly in China) tech resources that are effective in the classroom. I am especially interested in assessment tools and subject-specific simulations.

Reflecting on Practice: Classroom Management

In terms of classroom management, I have reflected a lot on what that means to me. I believe I was very naive upon starting my practicum of how classroom management worked. Once again, theory did not always translate into practice. Learning how to aid one student while keeping an eye and ear on 29 other students had to be built into my routine, particularly when students were doing independent or group work. I came to better understand how good global awareness can help spot and prevent problems before they arise or escalate further. I’ve had a few experiences, such as a student falling off his chair, could have been avoided if he had been warned to stop rocking or leaning back on his chair. “With-it-ness”, a sense of the classroom environment, may be in teachers intuitively; but teachers can also benefit and develop this sense by being exposed to new challenges in the classroom and coming up with creative solutions.

Having consistent consequences for misbehaviour had been a challenge for me during my practicum, but I now have a better understanding of how effective discipline looks in practice. It is much easier to be stricter initially and cut back on certain rules later, than to try and reinforce additional rules after expectations have been set. Late students were quite prominent in some of the Science 8 classrooms I had; using a simple, fair and consistent policy (e.g., have students bring a late slip from the office) make managing these students much easier. Consequences for missing tests, assignments and labs also required me to have consistent expectations while also being fair to other students. Giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge while making it fair for other students who completed their work and tests on time requires a lot of thought and preparation (e.g., creating another test for students doing a make-up test). Trying to balance these principles while not making things more difficult for myself as a teacher is something I have to keep in mind. After all the errors I’ve made, I want to be able to plan and think of ways in order to avoid such mistakes again. I want to be able to teach these topics again and know that I’ve taught them better than I did before.

The Plants and the Bees

Date Written: June 8, 2014

Let me tell you/
about the plants and the bees/
’cause I bet your papa never told you/
that love hangs from trees.//

The saying “love grows” is true./
Believe me, I know:/My grandfather was a farmer/
who’s hands tilled the earth/ to give love a home/ although
ten mouths to feed must have been tough-
Still, he raised them with love.//

It’s strange how love works that way;/
how it works out when you least expect it to…/
Like the moment two gametes meet./
The desire for variation is encoded in our genes./
When boy meets girl,/
one set of chromosomes become two-/ it’s true,/
when they say “you complete me” they mean it.//

But plants don’t speak,/ so they seek instead/
a Cyrano to serenade their love/ delivered by bees and birds-/
not quite words but that’s okay/ because flowers
speak a language carried through alternation/ of generations before them.//

Love can flower and bear fruit/
that hangs out on a limb/
because love is also about sacrifice./
Flowers wither/ and fruit rot,/
but love can still remember what happens when two gametes meet.//

So let me remind you of the plants and the bees,/
How love can be grown and hung on trees,/
And no matter how cold and dormant it may be/

Love can grow – from even a seed.//

Hello world!

This marks the day NOT when this blog was created, but rather when the action was first taken to make this blog something more than another digital footprint on the beaches of the worldwide web. :)