becoming a teacher of mathematics to elementary students

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Becoming a Teacher Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to of Mathematics to Elementary Students Elementary Students

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Page 1: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Becoming a Teacher of Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Mathematics to Elementary

StudentsStudents

Page 2: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

The Battle between Math The Battle between Math and Iand I

• Background (elementary school, high school, and college)

• Professional Development School (PDS 1) Fall 2011 and Math Methods course

Page 3: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

AutoethnographicAutoethnographic

• “Autoethnography is a qualitative research method that utilizes data about self and its context to gain an understanding of the connectivity between self others within the same context.” (Ngunjiri, 2010, p.2)

• Analyzation of weekly posts and projects between my professor and I shows a transformation.

Page 4: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

““Murnau-Garden IIMurnau-Garden II””

Wassily Kandinsky First Assignment in Math Methods

• Painting that relates to me as a Math learner and teacher

• Appearance and colors connect to my inability to remember terms, types of math, or ways to solve mathematical problems

• Importance of this painting

Page 5: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Fiesta Math NightFiesta Math Night

• What is it?

• The game I created: Spin It

• September 24, 2011: First game night

Page 6: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

TutoringTutoring• Required to tutor six students for 8 weeks

• Response to intervention model (RTI), “A problem solving process that uses curriculum based measures to identify students whose level and rate of learning are below those of their peers” (Stickney, 2005, p.1).

• Representation of the RTI modelo Pre Diagnostic: 1st weeko Tutoring sessions: 2nd week- 7th weeko Post Diagnostic: 8th week

• My students

• September 20, 2011: Pre- Diagnostic Testingo 10% to 70% accuracy on 100 point scaleo Place value, area of struggleo Looked at Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to find focus for tutoring sessions

• First Tutoring session experience

Page 7: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Game Night #2Game Night #2

• October 23, 2011.

• Changed game, changed attitude

• Experience with students and parents

Page 8: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Ending TutoringEnding Tutoring

• Realized what I learned in Math Methods could be used in tutoring sessions.

• Last day of tutoring sessions: “Preparation for Post Diagnostic”o Many many games

• Post Diagnostic Testingo The chart on the next page shows the progress of the students during the entire

tutoring time frame, including the pre-diagnositc test, the six tutoring sessions, and the post-diagnostic.

Page 9: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Post Diagnostic TestingPost Diagnostic Testing

• Every student progressed.

• The chart on the next page shows the progress of the students during the entire tutoring time frame, including the pre-diagnositc test, the six tutoring sessions, and the post-diagnostic.

Page 10: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Tutoring ResultsTutoring Results

Page 11: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Effects of TutoringEffects of Tutoring• Using real world items and ideas is one of the most effective ways to teach math

concepts. o Middleton (1995) suggests, “when children are motivated intrinsically to perform an academic

activity, they spend more time engaged in the activity, learn better, and enjoy the activity more than when they are motivated extrinsically” (p. 1).

• Importance of Manipulativeso Toni Battle says, “manipulatives are the way to our future and the way to new knowledge. No matter

where we turn or what we do, we as a society are using some form of manipulative in our lives” (2007, p.4).

• How I used ito I utilized base ten blocks and place value charts to help my students understand place value. This

helped them see the physical value of the numbers they saw written on the white board in front of the classroom and their worksheets.

Page 12: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

More Effects of TutoringMore Effects of Tutoring• Putting the students first

• Weekly postings forced me to see what worked and did not work when teaching Math

• Teachers need to familiarize themselves with the math concepts they are teaching and create a good relationship with those concepts. o According to research, “the mathematical knowledge of most adults is weak. We are simply failing to reach

reasonable standards of mathematical proficiency with most of our students, and those students become the next generation of adults, some of them teachers” (Ball et. al, 2005, p.14).

• Math Methods course as a resource during tutoring

Page 13: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Math Night #3Math Night #3

• November 17, 2011: Third Fiesta Math Night

• More positive attitude

• Experiences with students

• Reflection of all three nights

Page 14: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

At the end of 16 weeksAt the end of 16 weeks

““Square Sierpenski Subdivision Square Sierpenski Subdivision Variation #1” by Michael A. ColemanVariation #1” by Michael A. Coleman

Reflection• Fiesta Math Night and 8

weeks of Tutoring

• Reflection posting for Math Methodso Description of painting in

relation to me as a learner and teacher of Mathmatics after 16 weeks.

Page 15: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Pillars of LearningPillars of Learning

James Zull• (2002) “The Art of Changing the Brain,:

Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning” describes four stages of learning.o “We have a concrete experience, we

develop reflective observation and connections, we generate abstract hypotheses, we then do active testing of those hypotheses, and therefore have a new Concrete experience, and a new Learning Cycle ensues” (A. Fernandez, personal communication, October 12, 2006).

• Pillars of learning are gathering, analyzing, creating, and acting.

Relation• Fiesta Math Night and Tutoring long-term

events: step out my comfort zone in order to create a better relationship with Math

• “To feel in control, to feel that one is making progress, is necessary for this Learning Cycle to self-perpetuate” (A. Fernandez, personal communication, October 12, 2006). o Initially we learn about something and

develop fear against that learning, it takes our brains a while before it will see it as anything less than frightening.

o Once we have a positive, real-life experience the negative experience becomes more overshadowed by that positive, real-life experience.

Page 16: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Final ThoughtsFinal Thoughts

• Making a truce with Mathematics

“Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the

explorers often get lost.” W.S. Anglin.

Page 17: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

ReferencesReferencesBall, D. L., Hill, H. C., & Bass, H. (2005). Knowing Mathematics for Teaching. American Federation of Teachers, 10. Retrieved

24 Jan. 2012, from http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:29UqhTHObFAJ:scholar.google.com/+knowing+mathematics+for+teaching&hl=en&as_sdt=0,44

Battle, T. S. (2007). Infusing Math Manipulatives: The Key to an Increase in Academic Achievement in the Mathematics Classroom. Final Research Proposal. Online SubmissionEric, Retrieved 27 Jan. 2012 from EBSCOhost.

Bochner, A. P., & Ellis, C. (2002). Ethnographically speaking: autoethnography, literature, and aesthetics. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Corte, E.D., & Verschaffel, L. (1997). Teaching Realistic Mathematical Modeling in the Elementary School: A Teaching Experiment With Fifth Graders. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. Retrieved 25 Jan. 2012, from http://www.jstor.org/pss/749692.

Ellis, Carolyn S. (2000) Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity: Researcher as Subject. The Handbook of Qualitative Research. Ed. Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln. Sage. 733-768.

Klem, A. M., & Connell, J. P. (2004). Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement. Journal of School Health, 74(7). Retrieved 29 Jan. 2012, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08283.x/abstract

Fernandez, A.,  (2006, October 12). The Art of Changing the Brain:Interview with Dr. James Zull. Retrieved from http: www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/10/12/an-ape-can-do-this-can-we-not/

Middleton, J. A. (1995). A Study of Intrinsic Motivation in the Mathematics Classroom: A Personal Constructs Approach. Journal for Research in Mathematices Education, 26(3). Retrieved 29 Jan. 2012, from http://www.jstor.org/pss/749130

Stickney, D. (2005). Response to Intervention. Retrieved 1 Mar. 2012, from http://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/resources/articles/assessment/responseintervent/index.php

Wall, Sarah. (2006). An Autoethnography on Learning about Autoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5(2).

Page 18: Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics to Elementary Students

Contact Information:Wynona Walker

Email: [email protected]