Math: a subject of exacts. No matter who teaches it, 2+2 will always
equal 4. How it is taught is a different story. In the “Algebra Team: Teacher
Collaboration” video we saw two classroom teachers with very different methods.
Ms. Warburton said that confusion leads to learning. Confusion should be
expected because things will not always come easily and the students will have
to work through them. Ms. Jones’ approach was to build confidence within her
students by requiring them to discuss their answers. Both teachers gave
encouragement when students expressed that they could not do a problem. They
each reinforced that the student could do it, they just had to struggle through
it and figure it out.
Ms. Warburton had a unique way of grading warm-up work. When it was
time to go over the warm-up activity each student would put two stars next to a
problem they got correctly, one star next to problems they got wrong, but
corrected and now understood, and they put a X next to problems they got wrong
and still do not understand. By doing this, Ms. Warburton would have a better
understanding of what she needed to focus more time on and what concepts the
student’s as a whole understood. The way she organizes the warm-up is
reflective of her philosophy of confusion leads to learning.
This blog is written by an Algebra 1 and 2 teacher who was having
trouble grading homework so she came up with a way to simplify the grading process.
Using a simple chart, the teacher can look at one sheet and know if the student
got the answer correct or not. If not, she can then go and look at their work
to see how close to getting it correct they were and then give a grade based on
that evidence.
Ms. Jones uses group work often in her classroom and encourages
students to speak up. When doing problems as a class Ms. Jones split the
students into groups of three or four. Each student had a specific role within
that group. On this day they were learning factoring. One student was the
Multiplier, one was the C.T.E. –er or Combine Like Terms, and one or two were
the Lead Writers. First Ms. Jones modeled how she wanted to see the groups work
together. The multiplier was in charge of multiplying problem. The C.T.E.-er used
the information the multiplier came up with to combine the like terms and find
the answer. The lead writer or writers then wrote out the answer and correct
math for the problem. By having this process, each student in the class as a
responsibility and cannot simply sit in the group and do no work. It builds
their confidence and allows them to learn from their peers. During the group
work time, Ms. Jones comes around to each group to see how things are going and
to provide encouragement where needed. After group work, one student from each
group comes to the board and writes the group’s answer and another student
explains how they reached that answer. Everyone has a part.
This site talks about ways to make group work run smoothly in the
classroom. It gives tips on what should be expected of the group and ways to
get everyone involved. Some ways it suggests to get involved are by pulling
name sticks to see who presents; rolling a die with a specific number being the
presenter, and calling on a struggling student who you know has the correct
answer. This produces participation and builds confidence.
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