Mathematics Education Journal

Directions: In this assignment, the pre-service teacher will actively engage in the clinical school settings and complete journal entries following the guided field experiences described. The clinical experiences include:

• Observation Entry 1: One Child’s Experience
  • The purpose of this observation is to focus on one child who has a special need (e.g. gifted, LD, ELL) and observe his or her learning in a lesson. Remember to speak with the teacher about the purpose of the observation and have him or her assist in selecting the student. You will need to be careful that in observing the student you do not make him or her feel uncomfortable. You may use the 8.1 Observation Checklist from the Field Experience Guide as a resource (Bay-Williams, 2013, pg. 84).
• Observation Entry 2: Culturally Responsive Instruction
  • Observe a mathematics classroom teacher to consider the extent to which the lesson is culturally responsive. The following are a few questions you may want to consider while observing – “Does the content include a balance of procedures and concepts? Are students expected to engage in problem solving and generate their own approaches to problems? Are connections made between mathematics topics? In what ways is the content related to familiar aspects of students’ lives?  In what ways is prior knowledge elicited / reviewed so that all students can participate in the lesson? To what extent are students asked to make connections between school mathematics and mathematics in their own lives? How are the interests of students (events, issues, literature, or pop culture) used to build interest and mathematical meaning? In what ways are students invited to include their own experiences within a lesson? Are story problems generated from students and teachers? Do stories reflect the real experiences of students?  Are individual student approaches presented and showcased so that each student sees their ideas as important to the teacher and their peers? Are alternative algorithms shared as a point of excitement and pride (as appropriate)? Are multiple modes used to demonstrate knowledge (e.g. visuals, explanations, and models) valued? Are students (rather than just the teacher) justifying the correctness of solutions? Are students invited to (expected to) engage in whole-class discussions where students share ideas and respond to each other’s ideas? In what ways are roles assigned so that every student feels that they contribute to and learn from other members of the class? Are students given a choice in how they solve a problem? How do they demonstrate their knowledge of the concept? (Bay-Williams, 2013, pg. 86).
• Teacher Interview Entry 3: Student Diversity
  • Create a chart/table that identifies the class learner profile (gender, intellectual disabilities, gifted, culturally/ethnically diverse, English language learners, struggling/reluctant learners). Discuss possible adaptations or instructional strategies that can be implemented to ensure mathematics is accessible and meaningful to all students with the classroom teacher. Include which strategies are used to differentiate a lesson in order to meet the needs of all the diverse learners in the classroom. Include strategies that are used to make the content accessible, but still maintain high expectations for learning the intended objectives (Bay-Williams, 2013, pg. 87).
• Teacher Interview Entry 4: Environment and Students
  • Ask a classroom teacher how they use knowledge of students, family, and community to make decisions for his or her mathematics teaching. Describe how he or she develops an environment with high expectations for all learners. This description might include student cultural or linguistic backgrounds; inclusion and involvement of family learning styles; learning differences; personalities; skills/backgrounds; local community interests/events; interests of individual students; and seasonal considerations (Bay-Williams, 2013, pg. 88).
• Teaching Entry 5: Lesson Adaptations
  • The purpose of this experience is for you to apply what you know about students, what you know about adaptations for various special needs, and your knowledge of mathematics teaching. Adaptations include both accommodations and modifications. Create a three-column chart/table identifying specific accommodations and/or modifications that directly relate to at least five learners in the classroom. Design a task and plan a lesson for a small group of learners.  (Bay-Williams, 2013, pg. 89).
• Teaching Entry 6: Sheltering a Lesson for English Language Learners
  • The purpose of this field experience is to identify and incorporate those instructional strategies that can support an English Language Learner (ELL).  Using an existing lesson from a textbook or teacher resource you will use the technique called “sheltering”; in other words you will take each component of the lesson (the objectives; the before, during, and after; and the assessment) and determine the accommodations or modifications necessary to make it accessible to an English Language Learner (Bay-Williams, 2013, pg. 91).
  • For your School of Education E-Portfolio Reflection, use the following to guide you:
• Provide a brief description of the assignment.
• Select the FEAPs addressed in this assignment and add them to your portfolio in the Standards section. 
• Discuss the potential impact on student learning addressing individual student need’s provides. How does the reflective thinking process enhance teacher lesson design and implementation of instructional strategies and practices?
• Explain how you have grown as an educator as a result of reviewing, evaluating, and designing activities to meet diverse student needs. In other words, explain what you have learned from this assignment.  However, do not describe the assignment.
• Explain what you will do to improve the lesson. 
• Include any APA citations and references.