Wow, what a day today was! Right from the get go, there was so much going on. We had to prepare for a student-led fundraiser, a meeting with parents regarding grade seven camp, a guest speaker after lunch, and I led my usual read-aloud plus my first math lesson. The day just flew by!

For this post, I would like to focus on my math lesson – an introduction to probability. Going in, I was really excited to be teaching math, as it is my own favorite subject now and in the past. However, obviously, being a subject that a lot of students are fearful or anxious about, I was a little nervous as well. However, as soon as we began the lesson, I lost all that nerviness. I started with a think-pair-share, asking the students to discuss what probability means to them and examples they see of probability in the real world. To make sure that they were all actually discussing I gave them a time limit, warned them they would have to report out and I then went around to each group asking for their input. I was really happy with the responses I got as I went around to each group of students. There were a variety of responses – it is interesting to note how students are able to form different explanations and perspectives to explain the same concept. I believe when students are able to explain a concept in their own words, using their own examples (as the students did today), they form a better understanding compared to memorizing the textbook provided definition. In a sense, the concept becomes more meaningful as the student has formed a thought-process behind their explanation. It was interesting though, that when I asked for students to explain out loud, even though everyone had an explanation, not everyone raised their hands. Thinking back on this, next time, I would provide each student with a little post it note on which they can record their thoughts. Placing the post it notes on the board and asking a couple of volunteers to come read out could follow this up. Getting more student participation is definitely something I would like to address as I keep teaching. Another strategy my S.A. and I discussed was even using think-pair-share for the actual math solutions. That is, a think-pair-share does not have to just be limited to initial or closure discussion questions related to concepts. I did use reminders of the importance of participation and I feel this is something that I will keep doing so that students understand my expectations.

Students were then asked to note down the related textbook key ideas. I did see that some students were a little slow in beginning this, so I again provided a time limit and gave time warnings. This worked as I had students saying, “Oh, we have that much time, I need to start!” It is times like this that I really get to see how important simple reminders like time warnings are. I continued my circulation around the table groups, focusing my attention on the groups who were a little more distracted. I feel with this age group and specifically this class, proximity does work really well. For me, its sort of like, “I know you know what you are supposing to be doing, so I’m not going to verbally tell you what to do, but I’ll just stand here as a reminder.” It’s kind of like offering independence with a little guidance, which works really well with this group of students. To follow up and show students that these notes actually matter, I spoke about two concepts from the key ideas, “certain” and “impossible” events. I asked students to describe both and then provide examples. I think it is really important to respond to student answers and provide feedback such as simply “that’s right.” So when I provided my own examples, I would include “Like so and so said…” Not only does this reward their participation in a sense, but also provides confirmation of their answers.

When I moved onto go through the actual examples, the Smartboard had some technical difficulties. I was thinking to myself, “Of course this would happen today!” So I ended up orally speaking to the question and began with the normal whiteboard while the Smartboard restarted. This was again a good example of everyday teaching – things not going according to your plan and learning to change quickly.

As soon as the Smartboard started up, teaching the content was great, even fun! I was able to draw out the visuals, using different colors – so useful for the probability examples. Instead of having the students record the examples as I had initially planned, I asked for their full attention to the board, as I would be asking them to help me solve the examples. After explaining the first question in the first example myself, I asked for students to help answer. When students would provide answers, I would ask them to explain how they ended up at that answer. Basically, asking them to explain their thought-process as they would “show their work”’ on paper. Taking from our math class, this is really important as if students master the thought processes behind various concepts, they can apply the same to their following work. In the next example, I again started the first question myself. However, I decided to completely change it up on the spot, and ask students to come up and write their answer on the Smartboard along with their work and orally explaining their thought process. I really thought this worked well and it is something I hope to continue using in my future lessons. We finished the examples a little earlier than I had anticipated so I decided to ask the students to work on a question from the textbook in pairs and then we would go over it together as a group. Again, I had students come up to offer their answers. As they were solving in pairs, I went around to each table group again as this was an opportunity for me to check their understanding of what I had just taught. And it was so rewarding – for me as a teacher – to see them working successfully through something so similar to what I had just taught.

After the examples, I assigned the textbook questions. Related to this, as I was going through the examples, I had a couple of students ask for the assigned questions. However, because I wanted them to focus on my examples first, I explained why it is important to go through the steps together first as the assigned questions would be similar. So, if they followed my steps, they would be able to apply the same to their own work. Before letting them begin the textbook work, I emphasized the main concept of the lesson (the formula for probability experiments) and then closed off with asking for anything they needed cleared up. Something that I realized on the spot was that some students might not be comfortable voicing their confusion, so I said I could come over to a student individually if needed. While I circulated around during the assignment, I could see the difference in learning styles and levels. There were some students completely finished their work who I told to try the two questions I did not assign and then there were some who were working through at a slower pace. This made me realize why we need to provide enough time for assignments, allowing questions to be completed for homework if necessary.

Something that my S.A. and I discussed today really hit home for me. By observing my S.A. and looking back on my own lessons, it is becoming clear to me that it is almost impossible to maintain each student’s attention at all time points. However, by using specific strategies, it is my responsibility as an educator to ensure the maximum amount of attention. Therefore, this is something I plan on giving my focus wholeheartedly in the coming weeks and months. I would really like to have more students speak out loud, especially in a subject like math when we are solving examples with multiple steps. My S.A. and I spoke about the importance of wait-time. It may seem a little awkward at first and it may seem like it is interfering with the time period of the lesson. However, it gives everyone a chance to think the question through in order to then voice their thoughts out loud. In the end, I completely enjoyed teaching this lesson; I could keep going on and on. I think probability was a good starting point as the students do really enjoy it as well. For example, I had one of my students approach me at the end of the day and tell me I did a really good job teaching and that probability is really fun – I was so taken aback. Honestly, it is little moments like this that remind me of why I have always wanted to be a teacher!