Mathematical Identity Blog Entry 2 – Stepping Into Teaching

      As soon as I entered this elementary school, I felt comfortable and safe. I was greeted by the receptionist in the office and noticed the smiling faces of children in the hallway. I was also particularly impressed by the cleanliness and organization of the school. Not one straw wrapper or dropped pencil lined the floors, and students knew the expectation of walking quietly down the hall in a straight line. The walls were neatly covered by bulletin boards, displaying anything from rules and expectations posters to “My Summer Shorts” stories and colorful student artwork. There were even custodian appreciation notes or thank you posters hung around the school, reflecting the school’s emphasis on valuing all members of their community. This school community extends even beyond students, educators, and staff to include the parents and families of the students. A family support services office is located on site to assist families with their financial, health, and safety needs. Since a majority of students are English Language Learners and families typically have little to no English knowledge, a translator is also offered for support. Parents and younger siblings can be seen in the office or outside the school chatting with each other or teachers while waiting to drop off or pick up their child. I can only hope that schools I work at in the future share this same positive relationship between all their members. 

Although the students under my teacher’s caseload have yet to receive much math instruction due to testing in various areas, I have been able to see a few lessons too. During the test administration, my teacher always reads the problems aloud for the students. With word problems, this detail is essential to the students’ success in math for the simple reason that they are also struggling in reading – While they are in the fifth grade, their reading levels fall between that of a first grader and that of a second grader. Students seem to be engaged in the material at first but several quickly gaze off and may be offered a break to regain their attention. The math lesson I observed was on identifying the four basic operations by their symbol in an algebraic expression, the word expression, or by other related words. The teacher explicitly reviewed the table (shown in picture) but made sure to also explain how learning to use certain words (like less than, more than) for particular operations can at times be confusing, since exceptions to the rule exist. I love how my CT encourages students to ask questions and requires participation from all! She builds to independent practice probes by first providing students with opportunities to discuss problems with a partner before sharing with the group. I find the students to enjoy solving problems on white boards best. This activity has a game-like feel and students sense less pressure to solve the answer correctly. As a bilingual class, students may use both Spanish and English as needed to express themselves fully. During assessment and some class work, students receive a math tri-folder as an aid, which includes math tables like the multiplication chart and hundreds chart, a fraction guide, and more. Having yet to teach math lessons of my own, I am currently observing or participating in these math conversations with the students. I look forward to learning more about their current math abilities and determining their areas of need.

As for my teacher, I know that she favors teaching math over the other subjects. While she views all areas of instruction equally important, math has always come easier for her to teach. She thinks the variety of manipulatives that are available and the ability to go between numerical equations and word problems provide students with many accessible ways to learning the material. I would have to agree with her on this because I too love math and have found it easier than teaching reading or writing. With tactile manipulatives at hand one is able to both show and tell students how a problem might be solved. In this way, you can individualize or accommodate lessons for students as needed. For example, my teacher has already created those math folders that students are able to use during general education instruction. Students are not embarrassed by these study guides and benefit from using them. Nevertheless, I have already experienced some of my own difficulties in teaching math when working with students at lower levels. I mentioned in my earlier blog that my greatest struggle was while working with a life skills student who showed little number sense. Without the ability to even recognize numbers or answer one-to-one correspondence questions, the student showed little progress, which both tested my patience with repetition and often led me feeling unsuccessful as her teacher.

    At the moment, I am feeling fairly confident as a mathematical teacher. Since I enjoy the subject, I hope to share that excitement with my students and to point out the connection of math in real-life experiences to make learning worthwhile. I am worried that for students like the one I had in my life skills placement, I will be unprepared or discouraged to finding alternative teaching strategies. I know that in those situations, I will most likely turn to other peers or teachers for advice on what has worked for them in the past. In my current placement, I am concerned with the minimal amount of time I have with each student. We are expected to get through our entire lesson, which leaves me little time to work with a single student who may be struggling more than the others. I am sure I will be watching my CT as she models appropriate ways to modify lessons for a range of learners. I also hope to collaborate with other cohort members for advice.