Peter+and+Greg

August 27, 2010

Although this week was not very eventful in terms of math we where able to get to know some of our students as it is the first week of school. Most of our first day was greetings. Peter had the kids do a little math game that I thought was effective. It helped the students ease into doing math again and it helped the students get to know the others at their table and learn to work together. This was highly effective.

The remainder of the week we reviewed with the students the algebra the they are going to need for the coming year. This review was effective in the light that the students contributed to the review. In other words the students showed us what step was coming next and they were given a chance to practice on their own and as groups. Although this was mostly effective there were a few student that were a little slow to remember the steps to solving algebraic statements. We will watch these students and help when needed.

September 03, 2010

We started getting into the good stuff this week. It is funny to see how some students really grab a hold of geometry and understand it even when they say they don't get math. We continue to build on concepts from the previous days work. As this happens students are encouraged to help discover the next concept. I did notice on one day this week that when using t as a variable, it is important to have them curl the t under otherwise it looks like a plus sign and can confuse them.

We talked today about the student's difficulty with congruency and decided that next time we will practice congruency and setting lengths of line segments equal to each other and finding variables or actual lengths. We will do the same with congruent angles.

September 17, 2010

In our discussion the other day we discussed possibly working on something different every week with the students (discipline, interest, etc.). It still seems interesting to me that the two classes can be so different. My biggest question with the first class is how to get the students to be alert in class. Several of them are simply content to sleep and allow their companions to take notes for them. Really I have no problems allowing the students to collaborate because it helps the student that is teaching or sharing understand the principle a little better. My fear is that the student being helped will have troubles when testing time comes around.

With the second group how does one get them to quiet down a bit. Don't get me wrong I really don't mind noise but I think that there ins a lack of respect toward Peter and myself and other students when someone "has the floor." I think that productive noise can be a benefit in the learning of these concepts but this should occur when the time is given and should be focused on the task at hand.

October 1, 2010

I was surprised as to the spread of the scores on the test we administrated at the end of last week, It surprises me that the test was the exact same format as the test and yet many did worse than they wanted.

One of the main problems we have with one of our classes is that the students love to talk. This has been an issue since school started. A couple times we have had to threaten to keep them after for taking class time. They have had to stay back at least once this year. While this works (sometimes) it does not seem to work long term and I wonder if there could be a better way. If there is I do not know what it is.

Peter used a great technique this week, I thought. HE asked student to come up with examples and had them solving the problems. He would not simple give them the answer, rather he would wait for them to come up with something. I thought it was very effective and it pulled students into the topic.

I wonder about the purpose of parent teacher conferences. I noticed at ours this week that ninety percent of parents that came are the parents of the students that are well behaved and doing well with their grade. This disturbs me since there is that correlation between the students grade and the parent involvement. How much does parent involvement influence the students success?

October 5, 2010 Greg, it's frustrating to see the lack of parent attendance at Parent Teacher Conferences for those students in the lower-level classes (Algebra 1 and Geometry). At least 75% of the parents I visited with were parents of students in Algebra 2. It really is the struggling, lower-level kids whose parents you want to see at PTC but that rarely happens. I guess that should serve as motivation to be more proactive about contacting parents via phone and email. That has been a struggle for me but I have been working on improving my communication with parents through email. Your comment about not giving students the answer and waiting until they come up with something was good. It took me a long time to feel comfortable with silence, while students process information and think about problems. Most students come to expect teachers to simply give them the information as opposed to having them develop their own understanding. By no means am I any expert, but it's always good to remember that students are not just empty vessels that we fill up with knowledge, rather they are individuals who are capable of making meaning out of information and can/should be more actively involved in their learning and the learning of others in the class.

October 28, 2010

Discipline with the students seems to be my biggest problem. I am starting to get the hang of it. The other day when I moved a student it seemed to help quit a bit. I think that a new seating arrangement will help with some of the problems that we have.

It surprises me how many students don't listen even when we say something is important such as their notebooks and when they were due. Is there something different we can do? I don't think there is.

The other days when a students asked about the way you were doing a problem. What she mentioned was trivial in that case but in another case of the problem. I like how you considered what she said and adjusted your work to show how her idea fit. That was a boost of confidence for that student.

November 4, 2010

Moving problem students is a really effective strategy and is one that we should use more. It's hard when all the desks are full and so it's not as easy to move them without distracting the entire class and making more of a distraction. Our new seating charts have made a big difference in recent days. I definitely think you've made a lot of improvement in your management and discipline. You look and act very comfortable in front of the class and you're not afraid to call-out students that are off task and distracting others. Calling on students (by name) that are misbehaving is also very effective and is a strategy I use often.

As far as students listening, I don't know how to improve it. I know they can hear us because we make sure it's quiet, however, it's the whole listening and processing aspect that they fail in. Even when the information is given explicitly several times there will still be students that just are zoned out and aren't listening (even though they may be looking right at you when you say it). I just don't get it.

January 3, 2011

The first semester of teaching was definitely a learning experience and I have learned quite a bit. Perhaps the biggest thing I learned or had reinforced.was the fact that every class has its own identity and what work well in one class might not work in the next. I think that is what surprised me the most about teaching. I expected differences but not to the extent that I have seen and experiences. This idea was reinforced on a recent visit to West High to observe Cami's classroom. It was nice to see another method to classroom management and teaching style. I just hope to take a little here and a little there in order to find my own teaching style.

I have enjoyed the basis of this mentor fellow relationship and the chance I have to learn by doing and by observing. There is no better way to master a skill than to be doing with the help of someone who knows what the better methods are.

January 27, 2011

I have decided that it is the small things that I do that make a difference. For example, I was going over a review (practice test) with the students after they had a chance to try it. In the past I have make it a point to have the students shout the answers out. Doing so allowed me to see what they needed help with before they took the test the next time we met. Anyway for one reason or another I did not do it this way, rather I just read the answers and the students had no questions about everything we covered.on the review. I think that having the student yell out their answers helped me to know what last thing to cover before the test. Oh well, live and learn.

April 01, 2011

As I work with my classes on group work there are several thing that I am learning. The biggest is about leadership. The groups that have a strong member that takes charge usually are able to understand what they are supposed to do and understand what the lesson is about. Proper leadership has also encouraged students to be involved with their group so that all students are participating. I have also learned that group work needs to be very well planned as there is undoubtedly something that will happen that was not planned and understanding can be confused.

What can I do better after my visit to West High to watch Cami? I loved the way that Cami was able to give every student encouragement. In looking at my teaching I am not always so good at this. I mean there are time when I know the student is frustrated but I tend to forget that little words of encouragement can help students take a step in the right direction. Another thing I noticed Cami do was to make sure that all the new words (vocabulary) was understood. I often forget to see if there is any trouble with new words.