Reflective Analysis:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of mathematics underlying and included in the elementary grades curriculum. (Elem Gen Std 4)
· I demonstrated this by understanding the standards that needed to be met for our mathematic concept/topic. The standards based on what our cooperating teacher, Mrs. Allison, said and what we found. These standards show the objectives and mathematical ideas that we wanted our students to understand and further explore. We planned our lesson based on these standards that Mrs. Allison suggested to us. Our objective for our students was to find different combinations of coins that add up to a specific amount.
· Math 3.5.10 Find the value of a collection of coins and dollars. Write amounts less than a dollar using the cent symbol and write larger amounts in decimal notation using the dollar symbol.
· Math 3.5.11 Use play or real money to decide whether there is enough money to make a purchase
2. Demonstrate instructional skills integrating lesson planning, appropriate teaching behaviors, and professional behaviors. (ElEd Dev Stds #1 – 6: Elem Gen Stds 4)
· Through our lesson planning, we really took into consideration our previous instruction with the student’s from Mrs. Allison’s room. We were unsure of which students we would have for our lesson, but we previously worked with the majority of them on money. We knew that the students’ understood what each coin was worth and how to make a certain dollar amount (with paper money). Because we knew this, we wanted the students to understand how to use coins better. Meaning, we wanted the students to be able to make 10 cents, more than with a dime or 10 pennies. We wanted the students to understand how to make multiple combinations for a particular dollar amount.
· Also, I learned appropriate teaching behaviors because these students were not on their best behavior. The day we did our follow up lesson, the students became very competitive. So competitive, that they were shouting and couldn’t control themselves. I had to learn patience and realized that the students needed to be reminded of the proper hallway and behavior procedures/expectations. Because of this experience, Brittany and I learned about professional behavior. We discussed afterward how we could individually handle the situation better. What could we have done better to get the intended outcome—total student engagement and respect.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of and Identify and Select curriculum materials and professional resources appropriate for specific content and instructional goals. (ElEd Dev Stds #1 – 6: Elem Gen Stds 4)
· I believe that I demonstrated the knowledge to identify and select curriculum materials and professional resources that were appropriate for our specific content and instructional goals by collaborating with Brittany. We put our heads together and found an appropriate children’s literature piece that was located at Central Elementary Library. This book was all about using coins and asked “how much more do I need?” This book was perfect for a starting point into our lesson. We found a basil text in the Butler University Library that addressed 3rd grade money standards. We found a lesson that we could easily adapt to fit our students needs. These lessons addressed the same monetary goals that we had planned for our students.
· These texts and resources helped us meet our instructional goals and objectives for our students. I realized that it is important to use your resources around you—even if that means people!
4. Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies appropriate for specific content and for a diversity of student needs. (ElEd Dev Stds #1 – 6: Elem Gen Stds 4)
· For our first lesson, I noticed that students were not collaborating well together. I grabbed two of the boys, who were a bit pretentious, loud and obnoxious, and tried to settle them down. I wanted to get them out of the way of the other students trying to learn. The girls, who worked with Brittany, were much more reserved and focused. I focused on redirecting the boys to the activity. This was a bit of an instructional task. At first, i was unsure of how to keep them focused, but I figured out that I needed to change what we were asking of them. I modified the activity and made it a little bit simpler for the boys. Instead of having them subtract the amount from their specific dollar amount, I had them just make change for each item they chose to purchase. This seemed to work a little better and they didn’t seem as overwhelmed. It still took a lot of motivation for them to finish their sheets. This is something that I would like to learn more about—motivation. I would like more help trying to understand how to intrinsically motivate students.
· To help students understand what we were asking of them, we gave them plastic play coins to manipulate. This made it easier for them to understand how to add and subtract coins to get the right amount that was needed.
· The boys that I worked with needed a lot support. I thought it was appropriate for them to work together on the first two or three problems to completely understand what was going on. But, working together led to them just copying the other. When this happened, I had them work on “buying” different items individually.
· When we were doing our follow up lesson, the money ball, I had to sit in between the boys to calm them down. Brittany and I had to use many redirecting prompts because the students were not cooperating or doing what they were told. This was frustrating, because I felt like we didn’t get anywhere. What do you do when some students are holding others back?
Other:
Overall, I don’t think that this lesson tanked, but I don’t think that the lesson was amazing. There were things that could’ve gone better, but strengths as well. I think it would’ve helped Brittany and me if we knew the students that we would be working with. This way, we could plan according to their specific needs. When we were given the students I was a little nervous because of their personalities. Also, I would’ve liked to have a little more communication between Brittany and myself on who would teach what. Brittany took charge right away and hardly let up—which isn’t a bad thing! I felt like I couldn’t get a word in. This is when I took students off to the side to help try and calm the group down and give those students more support. I feel more comfortable handing smaller groups of students who need a little extra little support.
The lesson was a good lesson for some students. I think that the girls really understand and enjoyed the lesson. The lesson was strong with the manipulative we provided for the students, but those manipulative were a distraction at some points.