May Journal Article

Elington, A., & Whitenack, J. (2010). Fractions and the Funky Cookie. Teaching Children Mathematics, 16(9), 532.

SUMMARY

This article is all about explaining to children that fractions or parts of a whole make up a whole object. They did this posing the funky cookie task, which was a set of pattern blocks in a shape by the teacher. This was supposed to cause the students to ask questions and gain knowledge. By looking at the funky cookie expression students were able to tell that some pieces were different from each other, however they may not know what the different sizes of the shapes are. Students used pattern blocks to determine fractions and learn about how equal pieces make up a whole . This article also talked about mathematics specialists, their jobs and how they interact in the classroom.

EVALUATION

This was probably one of my least favorite articles that I have read so far. Even though it was for elementary grade level it was hard to understand and I did not really understand what was going on. First the author would talk about the funky cookie explanation, then they would say it was with a pull out group from a class, and than talk about math specialists. I was not sure if the authors main objective was to explain the funky cookie expression or to talk about what math specialists are and what they do. I did enjoy that the teacher used the funky cookie expression in a hands on way. Students struggle sometimes in math, especially with fractions. With allowing students to use a hands on manipulative to explore fractions they can better understand them and how they work.

Manipulatives Blog

1. How do you hold all children accountable when you are using manipulatives for an activity?

As a teacher we need to act as facilitators and moderators. While students are using manipulatives we should be walking around the room and making sure that all of the students are staying on task and doing what they are supposed to be doing. Also you can discuss rules with students before handing out the manipulatives. Students may also write a journal entry and fill out a student page with the information that they had learned that day. Students can also work in small groups, this would be better than large groups when using manipulatives. This is because when students are in small groups they are sort of forced to work together and both forced to particpate and not rely on other members as if they were in a bigger group.

2. Why do people say not "hands on" but "hands on minds on"?

When someone refers to something has hands on it means that the student is actually physically manipulating an object or objects. That phrase does not really have to do with the cognitive aspect of the manipulatives process as well. That is why people now add "minds on" as well. When students are using manipulatives they are not just playing with objects, they are actually using their cognitive abilities and using the manipulatives to gain knowledge and new ideas.

3. How do the process standards fit with the manipulative activities?

All five process standards fit very well with the manipulative activities. In class today when we used the manipulatives and came up with acitivities for each of the content standards, it was a little hard. Howevever we soon grasped it very fast and it became easier to make those activities. Through those activities students also use the process standards. Students are constantly problem solving and also using reasoning and proof when they are using the manipulatives in a way to learn new ideas. Communications is also very key. Students can work in groups and communicate about the math that they are doing while they are using the manipulatives. For visual learners this can make the communication a lot easier and more fun as well. Representations is also very important because students are using the manipulatives to represent objects and numbers and using them come up with ideas.

Error Blog

Throughout math methods we did the errors in the class. At first I did not really understand these, however when we started going over them I really seemed to enjoy them. It was really interesting to be able to see examples of errors that students make in math. I liked being able to figure out what the students were doing wrong in the problems. A lot of times the students would only be doing one simple thing wrong and everything else right. It is important to pin point these problems so that you are able to help your students fix them.

By doing the errors I learned that when going over students math problems when I am a teacher I should not only just mark the answers wrong. I should look for what the student is doing wrong. Usually when a student is continually get a certain type of problem wrong they are making the same errors in each of the problems. By figuring out what the student is doing wrong I will be able to help them fix it so they will not make that same error in the future.

Technology Blog

Through out this semester of Math Methods we used a lot of different technologies. From day one we used the SMART board. I found this to be a new amazing technology. It was really interesting to be able to write on the board without an actual marker. One day in my classroom I hope I have the availability to use a SMART board. We also started our first small projects with the WIKI. This was a very useful tool as well. The reason I really enjoyed it was so we could see how much work each person actually did. You would be able to see when people worked on the WIKI and what work they actually did. The only problem was that two people could not work on it at the same time. We also used GOOGLE doc which was more beneficial I feel than WIKI. I enjoyed it more because multiple people could work on it at the same time.

We also used the math applets. I thought this were extremely entertaining. I really enjoyed searching for different ones and playing with all of them. It will also be useful in my classroom one day even if the only technology I have is the computer. This is because my students will be able to use the computer and access all the different math applets. The applets will be a fun way for students to learn new topics and enhance old topics on the computer. Today in class we used the calculators as another technology. These calculators have came a long way since I used calculators in grade school. The calculators are very user friendly and actually show you the numbers in the correct way. I really enjoyed this feature. Overall, I am very thankful for all of the technology that we learned about in math methods this semester. I can not wait to start teaching and actually getting to use some, if not all of these technologies in my classroom.

April Journal- Mathematics Teaching in The Middle School

Soucie, T., Radovic, N., & Svedrec, R. (2010). Making Technology Work. Mathematics Teaching in Middle School , 15(8), 466.

Making Technology Work

Summary

Students need to learn technology because it can really help them with their literacy. Teachers should really take advantage of the technology that they have. However, it is usually questioned about when students should use internet in the classroom. There are two questions that teachers should always ask themselves when using the internet. 1. Will it allow students to do something they could not have done before? 2. Will it allow students to do something they could have done before but in a better way? If the answer is yes to both questions than it is appropriate to use technology in the classroom. Teachers should choose specific technology based upon the mathematical topics in which they are going to teach. It is important to teach students how to use calculators effectively. Technology can also help students, and stimulate their interest in the topics being presented. A way to relate the math to real life is have students work on real life problems with real life data.

Evaluation

This article can be very beneficial for when I start teaching. I have always been very hesitant in using technology in the classroom. I have heard in the past that students should not be using calculators or computers and that they should be doing things by hand. However, technology has really given us great opportunities for our students to produce higher quality work and in a way that is just as beneficial, if not more beneficial than doing it by hand. Technology gives us new and exciting ways to teach our students that will both stimulate and interest them. By using technology and letting students see what is going on through technology, it will help students actually visualize what is happening with the concepts that they are learning. Technology is also a great way to make math fun and engaging for the students. Students love working on the computer, and as long as the topics being presented will be further enhanced by using the computer, than teachers should not be afraid to use it.

April Journal- Teaching Children Mathematics

Treahy, D., & Gurganus, S. (2010). Teaching Children Mathematics. Models for Special Needs Students, 16(8), 484.

Summary

The journal started off by talking about co teaching. Co teaching can be used to describe when the special education teacher and the general education teacher work together and share the responsibility for planning. When teaching math teachers should teach with more hands on strategies. This way when co teaching there will be a lot more flexibility. Also, a lot of students who have disabilities learn better when they use models and thinking aloud strategies. The one teach one assist method was than introduced. This is when one teacher is teaching the class a hands on strategy and the other teacher circulates around the classroom and assists the students. This allows for teachers to observe early on if children have problems with simple mathematical concepts. This can relate to hurting them later on because the things they are learning are the fundamentals of all mathematics. The authors also discussed parallel structure. This is when both the general education teacher and the special education teacher teach the same topic, however the special education teacher works with small groups. The journal article ended with elements for successfully co-teaching mathematics. These included always planning, constantly communicating with the co teacher, and also monitoring your students.

Evaluation

This journal article was extremely interesting. Especially because I am going to be a special education teacher one day. It really opened my eyes up to the world of math. I realized that before I start teaching I should try to brush up on mathematical abilities. The article stated that a lot of times the special education teacher did not know the mathematics topics very well, and sometimes even taught the students wrong. I really enjoyed learning the different strategies for co teaching in the journal article. The parallel structure seemed like a good strategy so that as a special education teacher I can work with a small group of students on the same thing that the rest of the class is working on. The method I enjoyed the most was the one teach one assist method. I liked this method because in this one teacher is teaching while the other is walking around and assisting the students. This is beneficial because it allows for one of the teachers to make sure all students are understanding the topics being presented. They can look for students who may need some challenges who are gifted while at the same time looking for students who may need extra help. Overall this was a very beneficial article, especially because I will be a special education teacher.

Assessment Journal Article

Albert, L., & Antos, J. (200). Daily Journals. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 5(8), 526,527,528,529,530,531.

SUMMARY

This article was all about using daily journals in the classroom. The article followed a fifth grade class where around two students a day would take home journals and write about how they used mathematics outside of the classroom. They started this on the first day of school and continued it throughout the last day of school. Students were not only encouraged two write stuff down but to also take pictures, draw pictures, diagrams, or any other ways that they could put things in their notebooks. Every day their mathematics class would start with students sharing their journal entries. By doing this the students would create problems for the class to solve. This was used to help the students connect their math to real life experiences in a way that related to them. The things students wrote most about was money, elapsed time ,and measurement The assessment for this project was shared between the student and the teacher. Students are given a guide and are told to use it as a self assessment tool throughout the process. The teacher than looks at this assessment and sees if the student provided sufficient support and reasoning in their process of evaluating themselves. At the end of the marking period students select their best two or three journals to hand in. These journals are used as part of their portfolios. This all allows students to take ownership of their own learning.

EVALUATION

This article was extremely beneficial! I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about journals ways of using it as an assessment. Journals are a perfect assesment for students at any ability level. Even though some journals may not be as detailed as others, the journals still show a certain level of understanding that will demonstrate knowledge gained. Also for students who have trouble writing, they can use pictures and diagrams to help explain their thoughts. This is good because students can show their understanding in a way that may be easier for them to demonstrate. Using journals is also a great way to connect mathematics to a students real life. By having students go home and write about how they used math in their lives outside of school, it allows students to see that math is all around us, and that we use it everyday in a lot of our activities. By allowing students to see that they actually use the concepts they use in class outside of the classroom it allows them to build a better understanding of the topics and promote the want for more learning. Students will be able to see that we actually use math all the time and will want to learn more about it so that they will be able to see how it relates even more to their lives.

Journal Article #2 March

Switzer, M. (2010). Bridging the Math Gap. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 15(7), 400.
SUMMARY

Bridging the gap between elementary school and junior high school is very important. A lot of times the mathematical concepts that students learn in elementary school are not connected to what they are learning in junior high. One of the first things that a junior high math teacher should do is find out the prior knowledge of their students. They should know what the students know, and the different ways that they learned to do things. Instead of students using traditional algorithms, it is important to have your students try to come up with methods of figuring out answers and being able to explain how their methods work. Students need to not only understand number sense, they need to understand how to apply that number sense to problem situations and know how to use them.

In a school district there is always a math curriculum facilitator. This person is in charge of teaching the teachers what the students in previous grade levels have learned and how they learned them. Teachers need to understand the different types of algorithms that the students know, so that they can be able to build upon their students knowledge in a positive and effective way.

EVALUATION

This article was extremely interesting. Even though I have thought about teaching mathematics in both elementary and junior high school, I never really realized about the gap between the two. This gap is very important and as teachers we need to pay close attention to it. When students go from one school to another, the teaching may be different. The way one student may have learned long multiplication in elementary school may be completely different than how the teachers do it in junior high school. This is why it is important for teachers in the elementary school and junior high school level to be in constant communication and make sure that the techniques being used are very similar. This article really stressed the importance of this, and I completely agree with it. Another important topic brought up is that teachers should understand various algorithms for different types of math. This way if a student comes into the school learning a math process differently than it is being taught, the teacher will be able to understand what the student is doing, and better help them. The concepts brought up in this article are very important. I believe that any teacher, in all subjects not just math, should always think about the gaps between different grade levels and schools, and how to help bridge those gaps.