W3+3K = 6

Dear fellow m4th fr13nd5,

We have reached our final week together. This blog post will mark my last math learning post in teacher's college!

I have learned so much along this math journey and I have a lot of final thoughts to share with you. So please, enjoy!


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Assessment and Evaluation

In my math class this past week, we looked at our final topic of the term: assessment and evaluation. One of the main things that I have struggled with so far in regards to assessment would be overassessing. I tend to try and look for too much when assessing both formatively or summatively. For example, if I would be taking anecdotal notes, I would try to observe way more than possible. One thing I keep learning about this is to narrow down what I am looking for in each assessment. Trust me, it is easy to get overwhelmed and when you are trying to do too much, you might end up being the least productive!

In addition, I learned that check-lists and class lists make for quick and effective assessment tools. Having the students' names and a few categories (such as the learning goals for the particular lesson) that could be checked off, help teachers narrow down their 'look-fors' and help them record that data quickly (by literally putting a check-mark in✔). I plan to use check-lists often because I believe it will keep me organized and will help me stay on track!

Another important idea that we discussed together in class also comes in the form of a check-list. It is a check-list for teachers to use when planning for authentic assessment and giving descriptive and meaningful feedback to students. Without both the of the prior, students' learning experiences will not be at their highest potential, and teachers will not have gathered the best evidence for assessing! Furthermore, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010) states that, "[...] assessment, evaluation, and reporting practices and procedures must be fair, transparent, and equitable for all students" (page 2). To make sure that each student in my class receives the most equitable assessment, I plan to use this tool and check in with my own assessment practices during my next placement (which by the way, is coming up soon!).
 Here is the handy check-list below. ⬇

Criteria for Planning Feedback during a Teaching-Learning Cycle. (2018). Image. Retrieved from: Week 6 Assessment Slides by Rebecca Bunz

My Math Learning Reflection 

One of my favourite parts of this math journey was learning about the strategies and ways to differentiate to all learners in a math classroom, including English Language Learners (ELLs). I found that I often came across this issue during my last placement, and I did not always know how to approach it in the best way. In my opinion, ELLs are at a huge disadvantage in the math classroom. I had a lot of questions about the way ELLs are assessed because I noticed students would understand the math, but would not understand the question that is being asked of them. This resulted in them receiving lower grades because they could not show their knowledge of math due to their language barrier. Thankfully, we covered a lot of tips and strategies to incorporate in a classroom with ELLs. According to an EduGains document titled, 'Tips for English Language Learners in Mathematics' (2005), some tips I will personally find helpful and will focus on include:

• using images and video to support text
• using an extensive variety of manipulatives and technology
• having bilingual dictionaries accessible at all times 
• providing students with organizers that help them sort the information required 

There are many more strategies to use in that EduGains document and I will be checking back to it as much as possible. Understanding these tips was probably one of the most important and helpful things for me during my six weeks of math learning!

My Current View on Math Education

Going into teacher's college, I held a very traditional view of mathematics. I was not even aware of the current ways that math teachers were teaching in junior/intermediate classrooms. I never knew that math became so student-centred and less teacher directed. I also did not expect the use of technology to be so beneficial in the math classroom.

I now know that students need to work through rich problems that relate to their everyday lives in order to increase their learning engagement. They need less time with the teacher talking and more time problem-solving and collaborating as they work through complex and layered math problems. 'Math talks' is a new term for me that will also stick with me when teaching in my own classroom. Having students bounce ideas off of each other AND learn from each other is one of the most effective ways to promote mathematical brain growth! One way to incorporate rich tasks and math talks is through inquiry-based learning. My colleague Ayda goes into detail about this topic in her blog here, take a look!
Never forget: THE GROWTH MINDSET (please refer to week 2's blog post!) 🙋

I think Jo Boaler describes this phenomenon (i.e., getting stuck and thinking in a traditional way about math) even better in this video below, and apparently, I am not the only one who went through it!

A great learning growth for me occurred once I completed my lesson's for our unit plan assignment; I was able to plan and take what I learned throughout this six-week course into consideration. I aimed to incorporate student-centred activities and opportunities for math talks into the math lessons. I also had a better understanding of how to differentiate tasks (e.g., having parallel tasks, open ended questions and student choice, etc.) and how to create rich math problems that used all aspects of the achievement chart: knowledge & understanding, thinking, communication and application! 

I plan to keep applying this knowledge I've built into my practice!

Final Thoughts

It has been an enlightening and busy time for me over the past six weeks. I had a lot of questions answered, and my way of approaching math in the modern day classroom has absolutely changed for the better. Moreover, I do hope that technology and math apps created will keep up with our modern day learners. Ideally, I would love it if there were an app made for each grade level and strand of the math curriculum, so students could practice math at home and on their spare time anywhere and at anytime, as long as they have access to a device! I also plan to keep up with my own professional development and keep learning about ways to make math class the most fun, equitable, safe, exciting and rewarding place for my students!

Thank you friends for spending your time with me so far, and keep checking my blog for any future posts!

I will leave you with a quirky math joke below, in preparation for Halloween in a few days!

👻Are monsters good at math? No, unless you Count Dracula. 👻

Take care math scholars and have a safe and Happy H4110w33n!

Love,

Teddy

WE3K F1V3

H3110 m4th 10v3r5!

Thanks for checking back in with my math blog. As promised, this week's blog will definitely be worth your while. We covered a lot of ground in math class this week and I have a lot to share! I wanted to start by asking you the question:

What are some things that students in Grades 4-10 need to know and/or use to help with their learning and lives, in their 21st-Century math classes?

Well, the answer to that is not so simple. Modern day learners, as you might already know, are exposed to a lot more than when you and I were in a math class, years ago. Now, students' lives and learning are digitalized and they have instant and unlimited access to the internet. Additionally, students are entering a diverse and challenging global economy. That's why I believe that these kids should be taking advantage of the digital tools created to help them in the math class. I also believe that our students need to be regularly exposed to concepts in financial literacy, to help them prosper in the future. Thus, scholars, today I will be talking about exactly these two things: digital math resources and financial literacy.

Math Apps, Online Math Games & Video Games


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When I was in school, the only digital resource we had in the math class was the scientific calculator. Now, there are so many digital tools and resources that help students practice, solidify, understand and challenge their math knowledge and skills. I had the wonderful opportunity to witness and use some of these resources during my first placement. The school I was teaching in really focused on the integration of technology and use of digital resources. During my time there, I was able to attend many professional development meetings that brought various apps and games into the spotlight, with the aim for teachers and staff to use them in their classrooms. I think that having these regular professional community meetings played an important role because teachers felt supported and more aware through this integration process. Especially if some teachers were not the most comfortable about using and teaching with technology.

Some examples of the technology and apps (that could all be used in a math class) I had seen in placement were: Kahoot, Prodigy, iPads, iPad apps for the differentiation to autistic spectrum learners and students with intellectual disabilities, FlipGrid, Google Read and Write, ChromeBooks, Google Classroom, personal laptops for fine motor skill development, DoInk (green screen app), online graphic organizer apps, Google Slides & Powerpoint, Dash-N-Dot robots and Scratch (coding app). I might have missed a few, but I really did have a lot of exposure to these digital resources none-the-less! Knowing about and seeing these digital apps in use will surely help me when having to plan my instruction for my next lessons.

This week in class, we learned more about what makes a good math app and game. Below, I will talk about some of the things to consider when looking for good math games and apps. This, along with my placement experience, will help me clarify the use of digital tools in my math class even more!

The Bunz Model of Technology Integration and Evaluation

The Bunz Model. (2017). Image. Retrieved from: How to Integrate and Evaluate Educational Technology by Rebecca Bunz

Lucky for me, my current math instructor has specialized in the evaluation and integration of digital tools in the classroom, catered to our modern day learners. This week, she talked about her research and gave us insightful recommendations in order to help us pick and choose the best and most appropriate math apps and games for our students!

Above is an important model my instructor created and shared that is designed to help educators with evaluating and integrating digital tools, titled the 'Bunz Model of Technology Integration and Evaluation'. She further mentioned the importance of each step in the model. For example, it is important to first develop proactive and collaborative professional learning communities, where all professionals are on the same page and ready to search out some digital resources (like having frequent staff meetings). Second, teachers should think about the pedagogy behind the tools they choose, for example, ensuring the tool can be used to differentiate. Next, the math app or game should reflect the purpose of instruction, for example, targeted to independent learning. Then, the math app should be functional and ready to be used. Now, after all of these ideas have been sorted out, the teacher or professional community should search to find a math app and evaluate it, based on the prior criteria identified. Finally, if the found app hits all the check-marks, it should be planned into the math class and then used by the students. My colleague Emily went into detail in her blog and described the app that she chose in class after following this process. Check that out here.
In addition, my instructor created a self-check quiz that will help me and other educators tackling this issue. The link to this helpful quiz is here!

Financial Literacy

I want to also reflect on the webinar that my colleague and I hosted this week. We discussed financial literacy, which is a topic not a lot of teachers nor students are very familiar with. Financial literacy is a dense subject. My colleague and I believe that no child from Grades 4-10 is too young to work on this topic! The main goals of our webinar were to highlight key concepts that should be taught in schools, such as personal financing and the financial system and economy as a whole. We then talked about ways in which teachers could integrate financial literacy: through gamification and finding cross-curricular links. Please watch the video below to see 4th graders share their investing strategies in the stock market!

Gamification

Lastly, to tie things together, I wanted to mention how gamification (digital tool integration) could help with integrating financial literacy. Since we wanted teacher candidates to know that they can use gamification to support financial literacy concepts, we wanted to share some of the games and apps that we found along the way! We didn't have the Bunz Model of Technology Integration and Evaluation when we were looking, so the next time we do search, it will be much more effective! Nonetheless, we happened to stumble across a great website that identified some of these games and apps for students. They include, 'Financial Football & Soccer', online 'Monopoly' and 'The Stock Market Game'. Here is a link to website with much more apps and games to choose from!

Conclusion to My Post

Before we end things off, I would like to mention an interesting point another colleague of mine stated. He said that in his opinion, GOOD math apps are actually pretty hard to find, especially for the older intermediate grades. I really hope that as the digital age expands, better apps, games and video games will be created to help students and teachers with math in the classroom!

Thank you for reading this week, I hope to see you s00n for my sixth and final post!

Best Wishes,

Teddy