In this video, you will view a middle school lesson on how to factor a trinomial. What immediately came to your mind? Why?

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Thinking of factoring trinomials makes me realize how much I really forgot about many of the math concepts I learned in the past. It makes me think, how can I be a competent teacher in the future if I can’t even remember some of the basic math skills? I also think about my past experiences in math and how I can redesign lessons around math to make them more engaging for students. I think about all of these things because like many others, math was a subject that was a means to an end for me and I did not truly enjoy doing it.

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Did this snippet of a lesson reflect what you initially thought the lesson would resemble? Why? How was it different than what you originally considered? OR How was it the same?

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When I think of a math lesson in my head, I picture a teacher at the front of the room lecturing about math concepts while children are either listening in silence of solving math problems in repetition. The video that I watched did not resemble the classroom that I imagined. The educator in the video was extremely enthusiastic and passionate about math (which I think is the most important thing to being in student engagement). Students were able to build discussions around math, and the educator created a safe space in the classroom where it was ok to fail. Messing around with math was the goal and the students talk and language were around mathematics. The educator got students to feel as though they understood math, which could ultimately lead to a love of learning and a love of math.

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Now consider the LP Template (section 8). Remember, not all lessons we view will be perfect BUT consider how in this this clip, the teacher has organized the instructional experience for her students. Consider specifically: 1. How is the teacher "presenting" information? (e.g., is she "talking at" students or "telling students" information for an extended period of time? Is there an isolated "teacher" time? Is there an isolated student "activity or work" time?) 2. How are the students responding?

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I think that the instructional experience was very well laid out. The educator acted as a guide to learning rather than a lecturer. She first started with a hook to get students thinking about math. The educator then started showing the math concept that they were learning, but rather than just talking at students she was getting them to come up with the answers and guiding the learning. She encouraged conversation, note taking and “messing around” with the numbers. She provided problems that children could solve, but ultimately got them to do the work and prove that they knew the concepts and understood the math that was taking place. There was no real distinction between teacher time and student work time. It seemed as though everyone in the classroom was working together, taking notes and coming up with answers all at the same time.

 

What is your key take-away from this video clip?

 

My key take-away from this clip was that teaching math does not have to be the same experience of math that I had when I was younger. As long as I am passionate about what I teach and creating learning experiences that will engage and allow students to be independent learners, I can make math exciting and hopefully help students love math as well.