The challenges of teaching in high-need Memphis City Schools
Teaching is a noble profession whose main goal is to impart knowledge to those in need of it for the purpose of creating an elicit generation. The enthusiasm and interest in teaching that I have for Memphis city schools are one of the main reasons for this expression. As an experienced teacher, my prior interaction with students has really equipped me with the essential skills to handle an available curriculum as well as to interact with people of all kinds.
I also strongly believe in continuity theories and strategies, the reason for me giving teaching credit over all other professions. This is to imply that unless I transfer what I have to others to benefit from it too, the level of the legacy that I leave may not be explicit. More so, I love the teaching profession in its rationale for leaving a critical legacy in another individuals life, which may enable them to reach their destiny. This ensures the continuity of life as well as that of promoting the concept of learning and performance in a dynamic world.
On the other hand, I have gained much experience from my earlier teaching that will make me adapt easily to the challenges I encounter in teaching at Memphis schools. Teaching at schools situated in low-income communities has been part of me, owing to the fact that knowledge has to be imparted regardless of situations. I also like interacting with these kinds of students not only to impart knowledge but also to act as a living example and offering social, emotional, cultural, as well as moral support.
I am also eligible in accomplishing educational goals in areas of necessity and I consider working in a challenging environment noble in the molding of characters. Thus, I am optimistic about teaching in Memphis, as well a becoming and creating over-comers in all realms of education.
Mathematics goal achieved with the students
Learning concept gets accomplished via the achievement of those goals that are considered critical in the educational grounds. The recent years have seen the achievement of mathematical goals become a critical issue for consideration in its regard to acting as a driving force for all other goals. In my experience as a lead teacher for five years, I have made it to achieve an ambitious mathematics goal in my prior teaching.
The goal I have always been enthusiastic about is that of making education as simple as possible via complaining about team play. The students should be equipped with corporate reading and handling of difficulties together to ease their educational burdens. I engage students in group discussions to handle assignments so that learning can be reckoned to them as easy.
The rationale for teamwork is the enhancement of understanding from one another. The teamwork also enables the students to carry each others burdens and concerns that learning becomes interesting to all including the weak. The grouping I have priory done mingles all student levels, including the brightest as well as those that are exceptional in the educational realms. The evaluation of the importance of this goal can be assessed in class during teaching sessions by asking questions by the teacher. The level of willingness to answer challenging questions by the students is an indication of the achievement of the goals.
I also intentionally give them a teaching assignment in class as I listen to everyones ability and courage to rate whether the corporate work is yielding. My confidence in the achievement of this goal was built on the fact that every student is very much willing to take part in the learning activities of the class environment. Thus, I consider that a mathematical goal is achieved at such a level.
Whole group instruction is a term used to describe a teaching method that entails giving lessons to the whole class without considering the individual abilities of the students. In whole group instruction, the teacher assumes that every student has the chance and ability to grasp something as he or she delivers the lesson. Whole group instruction is best suited when a teacher is looking to deliver general content in subjects like social science and mathematics. After the lesson, a teacher using this content delivery method evaluates the understanding level of his or her students. If the majority of the students grasp the concept, the teacher moves on to the next lesson, but if the majority is still struggling with the ideas presented, he or she is obliged to revisit the topic discussed in the lesson.
This method is particularly efficient, where students have average understanding abilities for the content taught in class. Whole group instruction would be ineffective in a class where the majority of the students have limited ability in understanding. Whole group instruction is important because it allows students to practice their learning ability. The teaching process is simple and geared toward providing general knowledge to students. The instructor must develop a teaching pace that is fair to all students, and his or her evaluation methods must be standardized to give accurate projections of the understanding levels of the individual members of the group. Whole group instruction is an easier method of teaching because the goal of the instructor is not to have individual students grasping the same amount of ideas; rather, it involves the development of a group with varying general knowledge on a particular topic (Victoria, 2014).
Ability grouping
Ability grouping in class is a teaching technique that entails splitting students into small groups based on the ability of the individual students to learn. In every classroom, the learning ability of students cannot be the same; thus, teachers have to spend more time teaching some students, whereas others learn faster. Ability grouping is normally done when the students in a class are naturally split into two or three extremes with reference to their learning ability. Instructors normally develop three groups of students, one with the fast learners, another with the slow learners, and a third group of the average pace learners. This grouping method is efficient in producing high performing students in the fast learning group and the average pace learners, and it also ensures that the slow learners are provided with more intense lessons to help them learn faster.
Ability grouping may yield positive results if it is used to motivate different students to learn, but it can also yield negative results if the students feel discriminated. This is especially common among slow learners; hence, instructors must develop ways to motivate the different groups to view the grouping from a positive perspective. Ability grouping allows instructors to develop specific learning goals for the students based on their ability, and this is beneficial to the students who have limited ability to set personal learning goals. It is appropriate for technical subjects like science and mathematics. While critics still claim that this method of grouping is unethical, it can help in the unification of learning abilities in children in their early learning stages if enough effort is placed to ensure that all groups acquire enough knowledge in different subjects (Yee, 2013).
Flexible grouping
Flexible grouping in the classroom setting is one of the most effective methods of influencing team learning. In this grouping method, instructors are impervious of the age and learning ability differences in their students. Teachers identify the fast learning members of their class and the slow learners, and they develop groups where the number of fast learners and slow learners are equal. The main aim of this type of grouping is to ensure the fast learners help their slower counterparts to grasp ideas through group discussions. The instructors normally provide the groups with tasks that they should deliver as a group to influence group discussion and teamwork.
This method is appropriate in the handling of technical subjects like science, and it results in even learning among the group members. Teachers are also inclined toward reshuffling the groups for different subjects because students have different learning abilities in different subjects. Flexible grouping is particularly effective in areas where cultural diversity is deeply rooted in the schools to enable students to develop skills in developing interpersonal relationships with their counterparts from different cultures. Flexible grouping influences collaboration among students in different subjects, and the instructors have the chance to use the fast learners in different subjects to help the slower learners.
This grouping method is appropriate for language subjects and mathematics because it sharpens students skills in using language tools and mathematical formulas through their group mates. The teachers work in this grouping method is just to give working procedures and facilitate discussions, whereas the students execute the learning process among themselves (Valentino, 2003).
References
Valentino, C. (2003). Flexible Grouping. Edu Place. Web.
Victoria: Grouping for Instruction: Whole Class. (2014). Web.
A professional teachers portfolio can be regarded as a kind of manifestation of the teachers knowledge and experiences. The school administrator can evaluate the teachers professionalism while reading the teachers portfolio. Therefore, the portfolio should contain the most important artifacts.
First, it is important to reveal the teachers philosophy in the portfolio (Seldin et al., 2010). This section will include the teachers ideas concerning the role of the teacher and students expectations. Admittedly, teaching is an art that is not confined to certain materials or teaching techniques. The teacher should formulate his/her own beliefs on the major aims and goals of teaching. The teacher should also point out precise goals to be reached.
Teaching is also a science that requires precision. Therefore, the portfolio should contain a methodology section. This section will contain a list of certain methodologies to be used by the teacher (Seldin et al., 2010). Here the teacher should be quite precise it is important to comment upon all major methods and techniques which he/she will use. The portfolio should contain methods of students assessment as the assessment is the main way to check students understanding (Kauckak & Eggen, 2011). The teacher should highlight all types of both formal and informal assessments which he/she is going to use. Of course, the teacher should justify the use of this or that method or technique. It is not enough to enumerate some methods, the teacher should prove that the methods used will help him/her to achieve the goals mentioned in the portfolio.
Finally, the teacher should include particular examples of his/her work (Seldin et al., 2010). The teacher should provide some materials used during his/her class (some activities, some innovative approaches, visual aids, etc). The teacher can include a teaching plan for one of his/her classes. It can be also effective to include some students works (Seldin et al., 2010). These works prove the effectiveness of the teachers methods.
These sections (philosophy, goals, methodology, particular materials used during classes, students works) will help the school administrator to evaluate the teachers professionalism.
Reference List
Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2011). Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Seldin, P., Miller, J.E., Seldin, C.A., & McKeachie, W. (2010). The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.
Performing mathematical operations successfully is dependent on the students understanding of the relationships between different operations. This paper discusses the relationship between additions and multiplication. It also shows how a good perception of the relationship aids students to understand the operations besides discussing the link between commutative, associative, and distributive properties.
Relationship between multiplication and addition operations
Multiplication is also termed as repeated addition (Reys, Lindquist, Lambdin & Smith, 2012). Good understanding of how to carry out additions can incredibly help students to carry out multiplication successfully and with accuracy. The relationship between the two perhaps explains why addition skills are taught first in the elementary levels (Bassarear, 2008).
Examination of this relationship is perhaps well accomplished through consideration of an example. Consider a solution for 3*4. It can also be expressed as 3+3+3+3, which can be interpreted as adding the number on the left of the multiplication operation sign to itself for the number of times shown in the right of the multiplication sign.
How understanding the relationship between multiplication and addition helps in understanding of the operations
A simpler way of explaining the relationship between multiplication and addition is by considering practical scenarios. For instance, in a class of 10 students, each student may require two books.
If a student is asked how many books are required together, in case the student has good addition skills, the easiest approach is to add up the number of books required by each students for 10 times to get 20 as the solution (I.e 2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2=20). This operation can be simplified as 2*10=20.
The case shows how multiplication extends addition concepts through multiplication of groups for total products. The relationship implies that students need to learn how to formulate rather than memorize while attempting to learn multiplication from addition principles.
Although this approach is a bit lucid and one that is characterized by many challenges for students with low mathematical skills, it helps to explain the relationship that persists between multiplication and addition thus enabling students to execute multiplication with precision by relating it with addition skills.
Commutative, associative, and distributive properties
As a property of numbers, the term commutative is derived from the word commute, which literally means moving around. In mathematics, it means moving numbers around. When this moving is done, the sum or product is not affected by the changes.
For instance, 2+3=5, the same expression can also be written as 3+2=5. For multiplication, 2*1=2. When the numbers are tuned around, 1*2, the product is the same. Therefore, commutative property holds that the outcome of addition and multiplication remains the same regardless of the order of the digits.
Associative property means that numbers in the mathematical operations can be grouped or associated. In case of addition, the solution to 1+2+3 can be accomplished in two ways. The first approach is to add 1 and 2 first and then add 3 to the resulting sum {(1+2) +3}.
Alternatively, one can add 2 and 3 first and then add 1 to the sum . The total sum for these two approaches is 6. Hence, the operation is said to be associative. When a similar concept is applied in multiplication, 1*(2*3) is expressed as (1*2)*3.
Distributive property underlines the capacity for a multiplication sign to distribute over addition signs. For instance, 2(5*3) means (2*5) + (2*3). Whenever a mathematical question demands application of the distributive property, it simply means taking multiplication sign across parenthesis (brackets).
How commutative, associative, and distributive strategies relate with students thinking strategies
Some of the thinking strategies used by students include counting by twos, fives, groupings, or by sets of items and adding several equal groups together (Reys, Lindquist, Lambdin & Smith, 2012). For the distributive case, 2(3*2) would be interpreted as counting items in groups of twos for 3 times and then groups of the sum two times.
In case of associative property, to get the sum of 1+2+3, students can group 6 items in three groups. The first group has 1 item, the second 2 with the third group having 3. Therefore, the order of these groups is not necessary upon applying the concepts of associative and commutative properties.
Conceptual errors in mathematics
One of the common errors in multiplication and addition would arise from erroneous understanding of the application of the addition and multiplication signs especially when operating on large numbers. For instance, 12+12 may be interpreted as 1+2+1+2. To help in avoiding this error, as an instructional strategy, the concept of grouping needs to be developed in students.
Therefore, 12 means a group of 12 items but not two groups with one having one item while the second has two items. Adding 12 to 12 would mean putting twelve items together followed by another group of twelve items with the two groups being separated by some space (representing addition sign) and then counting the two groups.
Students who have poor multiplication skills but good addition skills have probabilities of confusing the signs so that 2*3 is interpreted as 2+3. This case may happen particularly when students are to use addition skills to formulate a multiplication mathematical question. To mitigate this error, the teaching strategy required is an emphasis on understanding the meaning of different signs.
References
Bassarear, T. (2008). Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers. New York: Cengage Learning.
Reys, R., Lindquist, M., Lambdin, D. & Smith, N. (2012). Helping children learn mathematics. Hobokon, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Being a teacher is an everyday challenge; being a special education teacher is a constant challenge that will not leave even as the classes end. Although the given practice as a special education teacher can be considered only a short-term contract with the peculiarities of special education, it has served as a real eye-opener and became a true revelation to me. Although the role of a special education teacher (SET) is often misdefined as the process of providing the students with the amount of knowledge that they can grasp due to the specifics of their mental state (Hart, Whitmore & Willems, 1999, 13), in the course of practice, it can be outlined after using the proper leadership techniques, critical thinking and progress evaluation as the need to offer the students the required amount of knowledge and the ability to acquire further skills and information on their own, as well as integrate into the society successfully.
There is no secret that leadership practices are the key to success in most teaching processes. As long as the leadership style is chosen fits the goals of the students, the teacher can come up with an efficient way to address the needs of every student, which is especially important when working in the special education environment. It is important to mention that my assignment was to teach the primary students (aged 5 to 8 years old) with minor learning disorders, such as dyslexia, and minor developmental disorders, such as ADD and Asperger syndrome.
In the course of the practice, I was supposed to help the children learn about the rules of Addition and the underlying mathematical logic. Therefore, it was most reasonable to adopt several leadership practices and combine them to attain a desirable outcome. Primarily, using one leadership practice to meet all the requirements seemed acceptable for me. However, in the special education settings, it became clear that only by combining several strategies into a single framework that could allow better cooperation with the students and closer track of the progress that they made, I could achieve the required results and help the students both absorb the course knowledge and learn to apply them. To be more exact, at first, it was decided that the autocratic leadership style should be chosen to provide close contact with the students and make sure that they learn the required material properly.
However, after a while, the students started displaying a close dependency on the guidance of the teacher, which resulted in their inability to acquire knowledge on their own. Therefore, it was required to adopt the participative leadership strategy in order to get the students involved in the learning process. However, it was unlikely that the students were going to get too far on bare enthusiasm, which predetermined the necessity to apply the charismatic leadership strategy, setting the example for the students to follow. As soon as the students enthusiasm started to drop, the application of charismatic leadership allowed raising the level of performance. The changes in the latter are displayed in the diagram below:
However, the mere application of leadership strategies in random succession could hardly help in the education process. It was only after understanding the course concepts that I managed to come up with the ideas on which strategies to use. According to the provided curriculum guide, the key course concepts and skills presuppose that the student is able to 1) make sense of problems and preserve in solving them (Leong, Griffin & Lavelle, 2010, 51); 2) reason abstractly and quantitatively (Leong, Griffin & 2010, 51); 3) construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (Leong, Griffin & 2010, 52); 4) model with mathematics (Leong, Griffin & Lavelle, 2010, 52); 5) use appropriate tools strategically (Leong, Griffin & Lavelle, 2010, 53); 6) attend to precision (Leong, Griffin & Lavelle, 2010, 53); 7) look for and make use of structure (Leong, Griffin & Lavelle, 2010, 53); and 8) look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning (Leong, Griffin & Lavelle, 2010, 54).
By understanding the course concepts, I was able to set the appropriate goals for the students to achieve by the end of the course, taking the specifics of each students development into account. For example, to help the students with dyslexia, a multi-sensory teaching approach was adopted (Malatesha, Dahlgren & Bourware-Gooden, 2002), which predetermined the choice of participatory leadership strategy. Thus, the analysis of the course material and its proper understanding have led to choosing the appropriate leadership strategy and, therefore, training my leadership skills greatly, as well as understanding the process better, which has expanded my knowledge on special needs students.
Finally, I realized what behavior I expect from the students (a responsive one) and what behavior strategy I must adopt. In fact, at certain stages, the Hawthorn effect could be observed; as soon as the students realized that I supervised them closely and analyzed each of their assignments carefully, their scores improved considerably. For example, at the very beginning of the practice, I assigned each of the students with individual assignments and checked each of them carefully the next day, which made the students aware of my leadership over the group.
While in the course of the given practice, I could not act as a full-fledged special education teacher and was only training to work in a specific environment that special education creates, it seems to me that I managed to learn much more about the needs of the students, the teaching practices and their efficacy, and the role of a teacher more than I did when studying the theory of special education. Speaking of the latter, it has eventually been outlined clearly. The role of a special education teacher combines the necessity to provide the students with the primary skills and knowledge, at the same time helping the students integrate into modern society efficiently despite the specifics of their emotional and psychological development.
Although there is still a lot to be learned, and a number of skills to train, it seems to me now that I finally have the grasp of what being a teacher of students with special needs means. Being able to lead an entire class and at the same time take into account the specific needs of each student alone in order to provide the students with the necessary skills and learn to acquire further skills by themselves, the task of a special education etcher is complicated, yet attainable, once proper professional, leadership and communicational skills have been trained properly.
Reference List
Hart, H., Whitmore, K., & Willems, G. (1999). Neurodevelopmental approach to specific learning disorders. London, UK: Mac Keith Press.
Leong, M., Griffin, L. & Lavelle, L. (2010). Teaching by design in elementary mathematics, grades 23. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Malatesha, R. J., Dahlgren, M. & Bourware-Gooden, R. (2002). Teaching reading in an inner city school through a multisensory teaching approach. Annals of Dyslexia, 52, 229.
The teaching profession has existed since the historical point of view. As the need for better education increases, several teaching techniques have emerged making the teaching profession more complex and interesting.
However, teachers training to become experts in the teaching profession, henceforth known as pre-service teachers have consistently faced several challenges, especially while handling normal classroom activities consequently affecting their performance appraisal.
Considerable educational research studies have recognized such challenges as contributing factors to failure in educational performance. Holmes and Holmes (2011) postulate that teachers, face the responsibilities and pressures of the accountability movement where the lessons they plan must continue the momentum of the curriculum required by the state, district, school and classroom teacher (p.144).
It is always the teachers responsibility to plan lessons for students with different intelligence abilities, varying levels of cultural knowledge and languages as well as varying language experiences. For this reason, this study provides a comprehensive report on Classroom Instructional Planning & Designing.
B1 Contextual classroom factors
As postulated before, several classroom contextual factors prove challenging to the pre-service teachers while on their Pre-Clinical Experience (PCE) assessment. As the teaching profession needs a classroom as the main practical zone where practical interaction between the teacher and students occur, any interference in this environment proves imperative.
During the Pre-Clinical Experience (PCE), contextual factors necessary for undertaking social sciences included physical class appearance and available resources, students characteristics and behavioral traits as well as students skills are essential consideration while designing instruction and assessing learning plan.
In this context, the researcher assessed several contextual factors observed in the classroom during the teaching practice.
Physical features, technology equipment/ resources, rules and regulation
During the Pre-Clinical Experience assessment, three important classroom factors were core and observable in this assessment. The elements observed included physical classroom visual aspects, handiness of technology materials, as well as classroom rules/routines.
For smooth running of the classroom activities, the class environment in which can be in physical appearance matters a lot. Gurney (2007) affirms, The classroom environment should mirror the teachers reflective practices that would be central to the learning environment (p.91). Availability of resources and modern technology is also essential. Finally, rules and routines governing the class are also imperative.
Physical features Physical features is the apparent environment observed in the classroom. In terms of physical appearance, the classrooms were quite spacious, well ventilated and with attractive wall paintings providing a conducive student-centered learning atmosphere.
The furnished classroom furniture is inclusive of tables, desks and chairs. There were 24 desks for the children, each with a chair, arranged in three rows parallel to each other with each row having eight desks. This arrangement aided in avoiding off-task behavior to occur.
There is one teachers table with a chair located in front of the classroom, clean, equipped with teachers classroom teaching aids. There are partitioned shelves located next to the white board, where children locate learning material.
The classroom floor is nicely carpeted, suitable for young children. The class had good roofing providing pleasant atmosphere. The class had properly ventilated, with four adjustable widows, walls painted in cream non-reflective color.
Technology equipment/ resources Ideally, availability of learning material and modernity of such learning resources are two crucial considerable factors in a classroom setting. Technological advancement in all spheres of life has greatly influenced the delivery of services globally.
During this assessment, the researcher observed that the classroom had ample learning resources capable of accommodating the learning needs of the entire school populace. In the context of the technological equipment in the classroom, technological devices found in the class included a large digital media enclosed at the black of the classroom wall.
The digital media was a computerized LCD screen in form of a projector, connected to computer system with internet support. The digital primary source in this system produced physical features in the large screen, where it provided options for touch. Once touched, the name or feature touched produces the necessary description. This was the latest digital media integrated across several different sectors in U.S.
Classroom rules and routines classroom rules and routines formed an important part before undertaking instructional planning and designing for the classrooms. Classroom rules ensured existence of classroom order and sanity hence providing a quite learning environment.
The class had the following rules, Rule 1: All students should remain disciplined throughout successive lessons. Rule 2: Students must report to classes on time and should seek permissions in and out from respective authorities. Rule 3: Students must arrive in classroom early in the morning as indicated in the arrival time.
Rule 4: It is the duty of children to maintain classroom order in teachers absence. Rule 5: Students must perform well in all subjects. Rule 6: They must duly complete given assignments and homework in slated time. Classroom routines were available and this aspect enhanced the smooth running of the activities within the classrooms.
Students arrive at 7.30 am in morning; attend two lessons each 40 minutes, followed by a short break of 40 minutes, resume classes for two lessons of 40 minutes each, then break for lunch for about 2 hours. The afternoon session begins at 2.30 pm with two lessons of 40 minutes each. Afterwards, students attend clubs and set for home at 4.30pm.
B2 Student characteristics
Student characteristics or rather traits are essential in determining the progress of the learning process. Personalities in students can either ease the teachers work or provide them with hard time. In this case, before and during designing instruction and assessing learning progress plan in the classroom, it was important to consider observable student traits to enable effective teacher-student connection.
Special needs and the levels of abilities and skills were two student characteristics that coherently assisted in determining the procedures undertaken during the process of designing instruction and assessing learning progress plans. Some students had greater aptitude, with great ability to respond to tests provided, while others were slow learners.
Students with special needs actually needed special attention compared to students with high levels of abilities and skills. In a scenario where teachers are unable to identify, the two aspects while handling classroom matters, the general classroom performance remains unstable throughout successive years.
B3 Student skills and prior learning
Student skills are among the classroom factors considered in the teaching profession, which have an impact on the level of individual learners understanding. Teaching is a practical interaction between the teacher and students for the purpose, of enhancing students learning in some specific knowledge/information skill or attitude (Malik & Khurshed, 2011, p.531).
Since the level of understanding, differ from one individual student to another, students skills and knowledge consideration is key to effective lesson planning and assessment (Singh, 2005). Lesson planning is a crucial teaching technique that involves setting up goals and objectives necessary for each successive teaching period.
A goal or objective is successful when the planner is capable of making considerable achievement based on targeted goals. The teacher will consider asking oral questions on the prior topic related to the lesson.
Achievement of a teaching goal appears when all learners are capable of comprehending from the teachings and put them into practice. After asking the relevant questions pertinent to the study, the teacher will manage to identify available student skills and prior learning.
Teaching is a profession that involves instructional approaches where students receive instructions from their teachers and respond accordingly. This scenario appears normally during class time and after class hours as well. For teachers to determine whether the teaching has achieved its set goals and objectives, a frequent assessment is usually essential.
The teacher will ensure students participate in goal-oriented assessment, to examine if they are capable of handling individual assessment activities that encourage learning through personal experience. Pre-assessment of students abilities will be done immediately before introduction of the study unit.
Instructions from teachers to students go hand in hand with assessments done by teachers. Intellectual students are capable to handling complex instructions and in a pace much faster compared to dull students. With the levels of abilities differing from an individual learner to another, it is important for the teacher to consider these factors before giving instructions and assessing learners.
D1 Learning goals and objectives (General Teacher Objective)
For any teacher to remain successful in the teaching profession, it is important to have learning goals and objectives necessary for performance achievement. Several educational research studies specialized in the teaching profession have concluded that learning objectives are essential for providing direction and guidance in teaching and overtly determine the overall teachers achievement at the end of the lesson.
Holmes and Holmes (2011) postulate, Teachers must keep the learning goals and objectives in mind to avoid a scatter-brained student outcome (p.147). During the assessment period of Pre-Clinical Experience in this school, the student designed the following goals and objectives for a lesson of 30-40 minutes.
The main goals for the lesson were to ensure that students have equally achieved the theme of the topics taught. Objective 1: at the end of the lesson, students are capable of handling assessment tests pertinent to physical features, especially hills and mountains. Objective 2: involved students must be able to apply the knowledge on a practical basis outside classroom.
Learning goals for Social Sciences
To commence, under the specified subjects assigned to the pre-service teacher that is social studies and art subjects, specific goals and objectives were equally important to deliver the teaching concepts. For the social studies, several factors are important towards the end of the lesson.
The following objectives guided the lesson. Objective 1: at the end of the lesson, students should be able to understand all terminologies used in explaining the physical features. Objective 2: Students should be in a position distinguish between hills and mountains, from names to description, within the physical features Unit.
Objective 3: Learners should be in a position to compare and differentiate physical features (hills and mountains) within the region.
Objective 4: Students should relate the teachings with real life experiences and explore the discussed features continentally. Objective 5: All students involved in the social science class must be capable of responding to all assessment tests provided by the teacher from the concepts and themes discussed during the lesson.
Learning goals for Arts
Since it was a combination of two subjects in a single lesson, the art lesson possessed different objectives. For the arts, which was core to this Pre-Clinical Experience (PCE) assessment, drawing skills and producing cutouts were the assessable part of art teaching.
Several goals accompanied the visual art subject. The pre-service teacher ensured all goals and objectives affiliated with artistic skills in the classroom. Objective 1: For testing the art techniques, learners in this class should think critically and creatively on how integrate the art taught to develop simple mountains and hills as tutored.
Objective 2: Learners should develop skills in understanding the use of sophisticated technology and its related techniques in arts. Objective 3: Students at the end of the lesson should be able to develop skills and techniques necessary for the production and understanding art using simple resources like magazines, newspapers and photos.
Objective 4: Prior to the end of the lesson, all students should be able to be familiar with arts and imagination to interpret environment.
D2 Alignment of goals with local, state and national standards
Each goal or objective set by professional teachers in guiding their classroom activities and school functionality must always consider rules and regulation governing the local, state and the national standards. According to Holmes and Holmes (2011), lessons they plan (referring to teachers) must continue the momentum of the curriculum required by the state, district, school and classroom teacher (p.144).
The local and state standards in this region carry similar aspect for this topic. In respect to the social studies, there are local and state standards set.
According to local and national standards, According to local and national standards, students should manage to interpret information on physical features from their definitions, and distinguish between hills and mountains using the provided learning aids including photographs. 4b. students should be able to relate the information given on physical features to the real world experiences and employ the desired technology to validate the concepts.
In art, the national and local standards state that students must understand all applicable arts used by teacher to enhance understanding. The teacher ensured confirmation of these standards before setting objectives. Based on the provided objectives by the teacher, both social studies and art applied necessary techniques to deliver the two concepts.
E1 Assessment plan
Contrary to the past where teaching was not priorities as such, teachers in the new world have become assessment reformers where the assessment plan has emphasized on closer substantive connection between classroom assessment and meaningful instruction.
According to Gurney (2007), assessment enhances processes of peer tutoring, co-operative learning, reciprocal teaching through predicting answers, questioning, clarifying and summarizing and collaborative reasoning (p.94).
Based on the subjects assigned for the pre-service teacher, teaching social studies had a different assessment compared to the arts subject. Assessment plan generally involved all activities undertaken by the teacher to acquire information about a topic prior to the lesson and after the lesson.
Pre-assessment plan for ascertaining if students achieved prior teachings and if they possessed any idea of the topic intended for discussion, the teacher conducted pre-assessment. The pre-assessment enabled the teacher to discover prior knowledge and allowed the teacher present the new information in appropriate manner.
For the pre-assessment, the teacher will introduce the topic with few verbal questions to bring students into attention and test the level of present knowledge. The pre-assessment plan will also involve providing students with simple quiz pertaining to the topic that the teacher intends to introduce, which is physical features (hills and mountains).
The teacher will also produce all the teaching aids including photographs, magazines and newspapers containing images of hills and mountains for the students to describe and distinguish. The teacher will develop simple drawings of hills and mountains on the whiteboard for the students to identify, as the teacher provides correct answers for the tests.
Formative assessment- Formative assessment simply describes evaluation methods employed by teachers to keep track and check-up of the discussed themes and concepts. To ensure that the teacher achieved both personal and lesson objectives it will be essential to undertake formative assessment.
During the proceedings of the teaching, the teacher will ensure consistent questioning and simple testing to ascertain the level of understanding. After delivering all concepts and discussion of the themes in the subject, the teacher assess students understanding using a matching worksheet, in which each individual student will try to match features with the respective description.
After successful matching in the matching sheet, this does not guarantee total achievement of the concept. To provide a deeper insight into the discussed concepts and themes, the teacher will provide set of ten questions to test the student understanding. Each of the students will respond to the questions individually after which the teacher will collect the answer sheets for marking.
Post- assessment plan- Post-assessment is an appraisal technique used by teachers to ascertain successive understanding and progress in students on the taught topic. Post assessment in this aspect too the summative approach. Summative assessment is a form of assessment criteria used by teachers to obtain information about what students have learnt basing on student, classroom, and school levels.
For this study, a summative assessment will involve successive assessment where every day, during the first three minutes of small-group instruction the teacher assessed the level of understanding in consecutive lessons discussing physical features. Summative assessment will involve evaluating unit tests, performance tasks and portfolio review.
Student undertaking these tests during summative assessment must attain about 75% as their pass mark throughout successive periods of testing. The teacher will provide students several assignments on the discussed physical features to undertake during weekends.
The school will provide continuous assessment tests as in school routines. Subsequently, fall, winter and spring school-wide district assessors will administer assessment.
E2 Alignment of assessment with goals and objectives
Alignment with social studies objectives Based on the correct meaning of the word assessment and its relative relationship with the teaching profession, assessment is the technique used by teachers to collect data on learning and instruction progress.
For teachers to understand progress in their classroom teachings, which is in guidance of the set goals and objectives, assessment of the learning progress is essential. These factors and their relative procedures are inseparable.
For the social studies lesson, students should be able to understand all terminologies used in explaining the physical features, should be in a position to compare and differentiate physical features (hills and mountains) within the region and that students should relate the teachings with real life experiences and explore the discussed features continentally.
The assessment plan ensured that the student had the ability of learning individually and in groups, using the teaching aids used prior to the lesson. The teacher used tests to access the students understanding to ensure that student equally benefited from the lesson.
Alignment with art objectives To test the art as discussed in the topic and concepts achieved, similar observations undertaken to indicate how the assessment correlated with the set goals and objectives.
The social studies objectives stated that students should be able to understand all terminologies used in explaining the physical features, students should be in a position distinguish between hills and mountains, from names to description, within the physical features Unit.
To commence, should be able to develop skills and techniques necessary for the production and understanding art using simple resources like magazines, newspapers and photos. They should also be able to develop skills and techniques necessary for the production and understanding art using simple resources like magazines, newspapers and photos.
Finally, the students must be in a position to familiarize with arts and imagination to interpret environment. The assessment ensured that all art-teaching aids, inclusive of the sophisticated digital media were in comprehensive use to enhance deeper understanding of the social concepts in relation art.
E2 how assessments authentically measured student learning
After setting comprehensive goals and objectives meant for guiding the teacher throughout the teaching plan, assessment was essential to determine the level of achievement in the teaching. As postulated in the lesson plan, the teacher will employ both formative and summative assessment in the assessment procedure.
Consumption of the two important assessment techniques will ensure that students achieved the learning goals immediately after the lesson and in the successive days (Singh, 2005). In determining how the assessment plan authentically measured the students learning, it is important to consider the forms of assessment.
Three assessment approaches including pre-assessment, formative and post-assessment were paramount. The employment of these approaches enhanced understanding of the concepts, thus aligning with goals.
Formative assessment acted as the shortest assessment criteria as Summative assessment since it is a form of assessment criteria used by teachers to obtain information about what students have learnt basing on student, classroom, and school levels, provided long time assessment.
General Information
Fifth grade classroom, this class contains 24 students, approximately 10 boys and 14 girls. Students will be sitting at desks arranged three rows parallel to each other, comprising of eight desks in each respective row.
Sitting on desks during the lesson will be principally for presentation of new information and thereafter, the arrangement of the desks will change for predetermined pairs for guided practice during the group discussions. Most of the teaching moment students will be seating on desks as the teacher explains and demonstrates the teaching concepts for the lesson.
During the lesson, students will posses instructional learning materials including photographs, magazines and newspapers, drawing books, painting materials and wall charts, bulletin boards and posters, which will provide relevant information pertinent to the topic. (The lesson will cover reading strategies as well)
Standards, Goals And Objectives
Your State Core Curriculum/Student Achievement Standard(s)
Social studies Standards: Foundational Skills (K-5), Grade 5 students, 4 a: According to local and national standards, students should manage to interpret information on physical features from their definitions, and distinguish between hills and mountains using the provided learning aids including photographs. 4b. students should be able to relate the information given on physical features to the real world experiences and employ the desired technology to validate the concepts.
Lesson Goal(s): Main goal and objective
The main goals for the lesson were to ensure that students have equally achieved the theme of the topics taught. Secondly, at the end of the lesson, students are capable of handling assessment tests pertinent to the topics discussed. We should note that the national standards correlate with the local standards in the teaching of social studies.
Competency Goals: Social Studies Standards (Content subject1)
Objective 1: at the end of the lesson, students should be able to understand all
terminologies used in explaining the physical features.
Objective 2: Learners should be in a position to distinguish between hills and
mountains, from names to description, within the physical features Unit.
Objective 3: Students should relate the teachings with real life experiences and explore the discussed features continentally.
Objective 4: All students involved in the social science class must be capable of responding to all assessment tests provided by the teacher from the concepts and themes discussed during the lesson.
Competency Goals: Visual Art Standards
Based on the available standards, the national and local standards state that students must understand all applicable arts used by teacher to enhance understanding.
Competency goal 1: Prior to lesson end, Learners in this class should think critically and creatively on how integrate the art taught to develop simple mountains and hills as tutored.
Competency goal 2: Students at the end of the lesson should be able to develop skills and techniques necessary for the production and understanding art.
Competency goal 3: Prior to the end of the lesson, all students should be able to become familiar with arts applied in teaching.
Competency goal 4: Prior to the end of the lesson, all students should be able to be familiar with arts and imagination to interpret environment.
Reading Standards: (Content Subject 3)
National and local standards- Learners should manage to use all terminologies coherently as taught for each topic.
Competency goal 1: Students should be able to read accurately and eloquently all used in explaining concepts at the end of the lesson.
Competency goal 2
Lesson Objective(s)
Social studies:
When given all the learning aids inclusive of photographs, magazines among others, students should correctly identify the discussed features.
When given facts designed for the topic taught, students will manage to match each fact with respective feature.
When given the matching worksheet, students should manage to match the features with their correct description.
When given assessment tests pertaining to the physical features taught, students should manage to pass the assessment.
Measureable objectives (Social Studies)
Competency goal 1: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to respond the matching sheet with at least 85% accuracy.
Competency goal 2: By the end of the lesson, learners should manage to score at least 8/10 in the assessment questions.
F1 lesson aids
Matching worksheet
Assessment quiz
________and________ are physical features
Is a mountain small?
Which one is bigger (a) mountain (b) hill
__________has snow
A hill is_____ than a mountain
A ____________ is steeper.
Mountains are_________
True or false: Hills have a lot of snow________
True or false: Hill are only found in Europe.
A mountain has a __________ shape.
F2 Visual aids/ arts
Given the drawing material designed for this topic, students should manage to draw the physical feature.
Students should manage to produce cutouts from the provided magazines and newspapers at the lesson end.
Given the computerized digital media, students should manage to locate the feature on the screen display.
Given the photos, students should manage to distinguish between hills and mountains as discussed.
Given the magazines and newspapers, students should manage to produce cutouts of discussed features.
Reading skills
Students will manage to read the newly introduced vocabulary articulately observing sounds and pronunciation patterns.
Materials And Resources
Instructional Materials: Leveled text that is appropriate for each student-Two copies of each.
Notebooks/drawing books
Pencil/Colored pencils/crayons/markers/erasers/
White Board & Markers
Twenty five copies of text used to model
Newspapers and magazines
Charts and collage sheets
Samples of magazine cutouts
Pre-assessment question sheets
Instructional Plan
Sequence of Instructional Procedures/Activities/Events (provide a description and indicate approximate time for each):
Identification of Student Prerequisite Knowledge and/or Skills: (1.5 minute)
For the teaching of the subject to be successful, the following are the skills needed: Review of previous definitions of terms and concepts
For instance, the study of earth surface, its shape and features: Introducing the purpose of the lesson
Today we will study physical features, mainly distinguishing between mountains, hills among others.
Presentation of New Information: (7 minutes)
Physical features:
1 Definition- they are elements found on the earth.
They are present everywhere across the world
We will explore two features (hills and mountains)
2 Mountain-it is a risen land high above its environment
The top bears a name peak
They are the highest features on earth
They form triangular shapes thin a tops and thick at bottom
Some have snows flowing from top
3 Hill A hills is a slightly risen part of earths land.
It is smaller and shorter than a mountain
It is also less steep than a mountain.
Hills do not have snow
Guided Practice: instructional game (8 minutes):
Instruct the students that they will undertake a game that will provide an insight into the topic studied. Inform them that they we will use the whiteboard to cultivate the ideas. To start with,
Draw the two features on the top of the whiteboard and provide a column running down each of the features.
Arrange the students in only two groups, where each of the individuals will have a chance to demonstrate his/her ability.
Summon each of the students to distinguish between the hill and the mountain by writing the exact name for each of the drawn features.
Students from each of the groups will earn their groups points based on correct naming of the features drawn.
Independent Student Practice: You do (15 minutes):
Students then will go back to their respective sittings where the teacher will guide them to engage in responding to Matching Worksheet, which has features discussed in the class during the lesson.
The teacher will set more classroom questions for the students to respond questions in individual terms and in groups.
The teacher will supplement the understanding with consecutive tests undertaken on a regular basis to affirm the understanding.
Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: 5 minutes:
The teacher will produce samples of the magazine cutouts and a number of magazines and newspapers to for pupils to develop skills in producing cutouts of the desired shapes and features.
Thereafter, the students will use these features to trace the drawings in their books and putting labels on them. Naming of such features will also continue from the notebooks.
The teacher will then provide a comprehensive assessment assignment that will cover all aspects of the discussed topic for continuous assessment.
Technology:
The teacher will try to integrate the knowledge achieved in the topic using technology. The device intended for use is the digital media comprising of computerized photographs and words matching each respective item. The device produces words in which students touch to produce the respective item.
Similarly, photographs produced by this device, enabled students understand physical features. Each student will touch on a physical feature in given directions. The device then provide names for the touched photograph
Student Assessment/ Rubrics:
Pre-assessment plan for ascertaining if students achieved prior teachings and if they possessed any idea of the topic intended for discussion, the teacher conducted pre-assessment. For the pre-assessment, the teacher introduced the topic with few verbal questions to bring students into attention and test the level of present knowledge.
The pre-assessment plan also involved providing students with simple quiz pertaining to the topic that the teacher intends to introduce, which is physical features (hills and mountains).
The teacher used all the teaching aids including photographs, magazines and newspapers containing images of hills and mountains for the students to describe and distinguish. The teacher further developed simple drawings of hills and mountains on the whiteboard for the students to identify, as the teacher provides correct answers for the tests.
Formative Assessment: To ensure that the teacher achieved both personal and lesson objectives it will be essential to undertake formative assessment. During the proceedings of the teaching, the teacher will ensure consistent questioning and simple testing to ascertain the level of understanding.
After delivering all concepts and discussion of the themes in the subject, the teacher assess students understanding using a matching worksheet, in which each individual student will try to match features with the respective description. After successful matching in the matching sheet, this does not guarantee total achievement of the concept.
To provide a deeper insight into the discussed concepts and themes, the teacher will provide set of ten questions to test the student understanding. Each of the students will respond to the questions individually after which the teacher will collect the answer sheets for marking. Each student must score at least 85% in the matching sheet and score at least 8/10 in the assessment questions.
Summative Assessments: This will include approaches necessary in assessing the entire learning process and the development of learners in successive learning periods. For this study, a summative assessment will involve successive assessment where every day, during the first three minutes of small-group instruction the teacher assessed the level of understanding in consecutive lessons discussing physical features.
Summative assessment will involve evaluating unit tests, performance tasks and portfolio review. Student undertaking these tests during summative assessment must attain about 80% as their pass mark throughout successive periods of testing.
The teacher will provide students several assignments on the discussed physical features to undertake during weekends. The school will provide continuous assessment tests as in school routines. Subsequently, fall, winter and spring school-wide district assessors will administer assessment.
H1 Data analysis on pre- and post-assessment
After a serious process of developing instructional planning and design, instructional presentation and follow-up, it was important to ascertain whether the objectives and goals were achievable from the teaching period. The pre and post-assessment papers and programs were submitted to the assessor in charge of the pre-clinical experience assessment.
The teacher undertook pre- and post-assessment data analysis for individual students. The teacher chose student X for pre and post assessment. At the beginning of the lesson, student X was unable to distinguish between hills and mountains in photos, magazines, and newspapers. The student could not establish the description for each of the features.
Due to this aspect, an estimation of about 8 students out of 24 students had an idea of the theme. At the end of the lesson, the teacher analyzed data from student X performance. The score for student X in the matching worksheet was 96%. On assessment given about the topic, students X produced 9/10%. Highest scorers produced 100% and 10/10 in the matching sheet and the assessment assignment respectively.
Evaluation
The lesson took the substantial time and followed all the protocols governing the school and the class routines. On aspects related to time, the teacher managed to use the time productively, with each component taking considerable time.
On top of this, the lesson ended 10 minutes ahead, giving the teacher ample time to go through the assessment components. Prior to the pre-clinical experience assessment, several activities transpired that made me to evaluate my performance.
Students were at least able to comprehend to the questions, tests and successive assessments in post assessment. Sophisticated technology remained imperative and students were able to assimilate with the available technology, where computerize digital media become familiar to students.
Reference List
Gurney, P. (2007). Five Factors for Effective Teaching. New Zealand Journal of Teachers Work, 4(2), 89-98.
Holmes, K., & Holmes, S. (2011). Hierarchy for effective lesson planning: A guide to differentiate instruction through material selection. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(9), 144-151.
Malik, K., & Khurshed, F. (2011). A Proposed Constructive Instructional Design (CID) for Teaching of Social Studies at Elementary Level. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23(4), 531-552.
Singh, H. (2005).Teaching Practice: Lesson Planning. London, UK: APH Publishing.
Cases of school shootings have increased especially with the large number of guns among civilians. A recent case in Sandy Hook in which a crazed individual shot more than 20 students and a teacher is evidence of a disaster that will visit any other school, eventually. Educators and lawmakers have debated the merit of allowing teachers to carry guns in schools in a bid to improve safety in schools. The move would help tame school shootings. This would reduce students death because teachers will stop crazed shooters. However, opponents argue that presence of guns in schools does not increase safety for anyone. Instead, schools need more computers, books, and other learning resources. This paper will demonstrate that arming teachers is a positive step towards curbing rising school shootings by crazed individuals.
Kohn argues that arming teacher is the only way to prevent loss of innocent lives through crazed shooters (6). If some teachers have guns, gunmen would be hesitant to attack schools. The capacity for self-defense will make schools safer for children. Opponents of the move cite the presence and efficiency of calling 911 in case of emergency. Calling 911 is not an option especially when the nearest police station is more than 10 minutes away. Within these 10 minutes, a crazed individual can kill many people.
Chuck Wright, the Sherriff of Spartanburg County in South Carolina, argues that calling 911 is not always the best option in times of emergency. Instead, arming some teachers and training them on gun use will reduce death and injuries. Teachers too deserve a fighting chance whenever confronted by crazed shooters in school. It is illogical to expect teachers to defend children against crazed gunmen while they are also vulnerable. Gunmens intention is to kill and failing to arm some teachers is tantamount to allowing criminals to have their way
Experience shows that arming some teachers with guns will reduce exposure of students to danger. In 1997, a crazed student decided to open fire to his colleagues in Pearl High School. He killed two students before the armed assistant principal of the school could intervene. It would have been catastrophic if the teacher did not have a gun. The crazed student would certainly have shot more students before the arrival of police. A different scenario played out in Sandy Hook. Victoria Soto was helpless before a crazed shooter. All she could do was lie that children are in the gym. If she had a gun, she could probably have saved her live and many more. Those against arming teachers argue that schools will transform into battlefields and hurt more, deliberately or inadvertently. Experiences point to the contrary. Schools that have some of their teachers armed are saver than those with no armed teachers.
It is impossible to fight fire without fire. Arming some teachers with guns will make students feel more secure and thus concentrate more in class ( Exploring Gun Use in America12). Kohn conducts a study on students worst fear in schools and report that attack by gunmen ranks among the highest (3). Most schools in America rely on resource officers to protect students. However, some schools have a high number of students and one resource officer would not be useful. In Arkansas for instance, Clarksville High School has one armed resource officer to guard 600 students (Spitzer 5).
This does not inspire safety among students. Arming some teachers will go a long way to making students feel secure. This is because students would entrust teachers with their security more than they would entrust it to another person (Lott 5). There are those who argue that teachers should focus on their core role of teaching and leave security to trained professionals. This smacks of extreme naivety considering that gunmen strike when least expected. While it is important to observe security measures like reporting suspicious characters, it is no harm being prepared in case of lapses in early detection.
Kenneth Trump, Canadas President of National School Safety and Security Services, makes a strong case against arming teachers. He argues that arming teachers is tantamount to imposing a liability that teachers are untrained for. To him, the few hours of training teachers in gun handling amounts to deriding security professionals. Teachers training inculcates values that are antithetical to security officers training. It is thus difficult for teachers to transform from their supportive and nurturing role and develop the mindset of a killer within a flash of a second.
As persuasive as it is, the argument by the school safety veteran misses the key point on arming teachers. Arming some teachers and training them on gun handling does not usurp the role of trained security officers. Rather, teachers complement security officers. It is the teacher, not security officer, who is in contact with the students most of the times. In Sandy Hook, the gunmen bypassed security officers before unleashing heinous acts on children. In Pearl High School, the gunman was an insider. An Armed teacher stands a better chance, as a last resort, to protect students.
Arming teachers with guns is admittedly not the panacea to gunmen attacking schools. In America, there are more guns in the hands of civilians than in any other country in the world. This means that children are at risk even at home. All stakeholders need to sit together and come up with a holistic solution to the problem of crazed gunmen in schools. However, as a precautionary measure, some teachers should have guns in schools for self-defense. Sandy Hook incidence is a testimony that tragedy can strike any time and schools need to be prepared. It is therefore imperative that some teachers possess guns to protect children.
Works Cited
Exploring Gun Use in America. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2004. Print.
Kelly, Taylor. Should Teachers Carry Guns? Principal Leadership Journal 8.1 (2008): 1-3. Print.
Kohn, Abigail. Shooters: Myths and Realities of Americas Gun Cultures, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.
Lott, John. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Print.
Spitzer, Robert. Gun Control: A Documentary and Reference Guide, Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2009. Print.
Rounding of mixed decimals is a significant mathematical concept. This concept as presented in the paper targets students who are in the fifth grade. Students at this level ought to be clearly taught how to round off numbers involving decimals to the nearest tenth as a foundation for the concepts in the upper grades to curb any difficulties in dealing with related concepts in the future.
Prerequisite concepts and skills learnt before the lesson
One of the required concepts and skills that students should have is the ability to round off whole numbers. The second most fundamental skill is on place value. These concepts will be heavily relied upon in teaching how to round off mixed decimals to the nearest tenth. Students who do not understand these two concepts may have difficulties in understanding this concept.
Concepts and skills in this lesson
This session will provide the idea and proficiency of rounding off decimal numbers to the nearest tenth. Activities and resources that will be used in this activity will be geared towards making it easier for the learner to grasp the concept. A systematic format will be used to ensure that learners understand the basics of the concept in a bid to proceed to its mastery.
How to teach rounding with decimals to the nearest tenth
When teaching students the concept of rounding decimals to the nearest tenth, one has to begin by ensuring that every student understands some basic concepts. The teacher has to probe the students in order to evaluate their understanding of rounding whole numbers and place values.
According to Reys (2012), understanding mathematical concepts should be reinforced through examples and practice. After affirming that they understand these basic concepts, the teacher may proceed to explain that, when one wants to round decimal numbers to the nearest tenth, he or she has to begin by rounding the number that is located immediately after the decimal.
This step is followed by an explanation that the tenths figure is the beginning number on the right hand side of the decimal. It is crucial also for the teacher to give the learners a hint that numbers after the tenths place assume the hundredth and thousandth positions consecutively.
Students are also made aware that, when solving questions on rounding with mixed decimals to the nearest tenths, they have to apply similar procedures like those of rounding whole numbers. The teacher goes on to exemplify to the students that, when the hundredths place value is, say 50 or beyond, the tenth place value will have to increase by one.
Similarly, if the hundredths or thousandths place value is less than 50, the tenths figure remains unchanged. It is crucial to note that, once the rounding off has been done, all other numbers after the tenth place are dropped completely so that the only number appearing after the decimal is the tenths digit. The teacher then goes on to solve a number of examples as students move with him or her.
Students are also allowed to ask questions concerning these concepts. According to Atkinson (1966), individuals perception of understanding of a task motivates him or her to do it without failure. Allowing students some time to ask makes the concept simpler for them.
The tutor also needs to circulate handouts that show learners how to perform the rounding operation to decimals numbers to the nearest tenth as teaching resources. Finally, the teacher offers some questions for students to solve on the same concept as a way of affirming that they have understood the concept or not.
Description of activities and tasks applied
The activities and tasks that I will use will include giving of examples like solving problems on the textbooks, short evaluation quizzes from past examination papers, and correction of procedural and conceptual errors made by students.
Conceptual and procedural errors, difficult concepts, and their remedy in rounding with mixed decimals to the nearest tenths
Learners do some common mistakes when performing the rounding off exercise. The most common one occurs when students round whole numbers on the left to the nearest tenth in place of the decimal number to the right. The other error occurs when students fail to round up.
In such incidences, students only give their answers as the tenth place value numbers as it were originally on the question. Some problems may be difficult for the students. For example, 6.61 may be erroneously rounded to 7.0 instead of 6.6 following the misconception that that the exercise is the same as when they are handling whole numbers.
Another difficulty is seen when they round 6.51 as 6.6 instead of 6.5 when one is less than 5. However, this challenge can be solved by the use of a number line to realize the place value of the number. Students should also be cautioned against changing the whole numbers.
Reference List
Atkinson, J., & Feather, N. (1966). A theory of achievement motivation. New York: Wily and sons.
Reys, R., Lindquist, M., Lambdin, D., & Smith, N. (2012). Helping children learn mathematics Hobokon, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
In recent years, it is becoming increasingly clear that programs or projects hardly survive in the absence of an evaluation. A program evaluation, among other things, provides formative feedback that inarguably assists to guide the program during the implementation phase.
Among the deliverables, an evaluation provides summative information that evidently demonstrates the effectiveness of the program towards achieving its stated goals and objectives (Royse et al., 2010). More importantly, this information can be used to optimize the programs results, efficiency, and quality (Fink, 1995). Below, this paper addresses some questions relating to an evaluation of Teacher Education Training (TEP).
Evaluation Questions
According to Fink (1995), evaluation questions are mainly posed primarily to judge the programs merits, that is, if goals were met, benefits achieved, and standards of achievement, among others. As such, the following are the evaluation questions:
To what extent did the TEP achieve its goals and objectives in terms of enhancing your teaching methods?
Has the TEP impacted you in any way in terms of imparting knowledge to the students you teach?
Have there been any changes in the way you comprehend the subject you teach after undergoing the TEP?
In your opinion, do you think the TEP is worth been replicated in other curriculums of other universities?
Do you still employ the TEP techniques you learned?
How has the TEP changed your general perspective in teaching your subject?
Standards
According to Fink (1997), setting the standards means deciding on the information needed to provide convincing evidence of a program& The standards that are decided upon must be appropriate, measurable, and credible. In the case example, the following are the standards:
Testimonials from teachers who have undergone or are in the process of undergoing the TEP about trends of improvement
Observations by the evaluators on teaching methods between those in the proposed curriculum (TEP program) and past graduates
Comparison of student achievement records, i.e., those taught by TEP trainees and those taught by past graduates
Observation for possible differences in performance for teachers on TEP in terms of age, interest, and experience
Design
The evaluation design is the structure or backbone of any project evaluation process since it does not only document outcomes that can conclusively be linked to the intervention, but it also gives direction on how the subjects will be compared to record possible differences.
The design selected by the evaluators has far-reaching ramifications on the project final outcomes (Fink, 1995; Creswell, 2003). In the case study, the design employed is to compare teachers who have undergone TEP with previous graduates in terms of changes in teaching methods, knowledge of subject taught, and student performance. The measures employed include:
Testing and surveying all subjects in the proposed two year TEP and internship program
Observing subjects on an yearly basis from entry into TEP until two years after graduation
Data Collection Measures
A data collection measure is basically a tool or instrument that has been designed, tested, and validated for purposes of collecting data from the field (Sekaran, 2006). In the case example, the following data collection measures are used:
Achievement Tests
Observations
Survey Questionnaires
Published Literature
Additional information
To successfully complete the evaluation, you need to know how to analyze the data received from the participants. Here, the methods of analysis are dependent on aspects of the evaluation items, how the variables are determined, and issues of reliability and validity, among others. In the case study, all the variables categorical, ordinal, and numerical have to be used. Finally you also need to know how to objectively report the results that must include:
Purpose of evaluation
How evaluation was done (methods)
Results
Implications
The evaluation reports can either be orally read or in written form. In the case study, a written report will be ready in six months
Reference List
Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc
Fink, A. (1995). Evaluation for Education and Psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc
Royse, D., Thyer, B.A., & Padgett, D.K. (2010). Program Evaluation: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Sekaran, U. (2006). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach, 4th Ed. Wiley-India
The successful upbringing of children depends on quite a number of other important stakeholders apart from their families. These stakeholders may have a positive or negative effect on the lives of children as they grow up. The people in the neighborhood play a significant role in shaping a childs future. It is important to mention that teachers have a very special role compared to neighbors and families when it comes to raising children and taking care of their personal interests. Teachers spend a lot of time with students and should always be aware of the various challenges that students go through whether at home or school. Teachers should act as parents when students are under their care for them to notice whether a child is facing any problems from home or not. Teachers can only impact the lives of students in a great way if they give each student some personal attention. This course helps teachers to understand the various challenges that families face when raising children. Teachers play a very significant role in the life of a child that many people do not seem to appreciate. A teacher is always in a better position to notice whether a child has a problem or not.
Main Body
Different members of society encounter unique challenges that need some special attention. Volunteer agencies research the various difficulties that families face and have the responsibility of educating society according to their findings. Women and children are special groups that society needs to give some special attention to because of the many difficulties that they go through. Many people are ignorant of the fact that children and women face a lot of challenges compared to other groups of people. The world is very dynamic with a lot of happenings that make women and children very vulnerable to many dangers. The media has been very instrumental in highlighting some of these issues but the authorities concerned do not take the information seriously. Many families do not have access to basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. Consequently, children in such families can not even access basic education as a result of the many challenges that their families face.
This course should help people to be in a better position to identify the various issues affecting society and come up with appropriate solutions. The course is very important to those people who have never experienced the real challenges that families face. Aspiring teachers should take a keen interest in understanding family problems in order for them to have a successful teaching profession. Owning a school is a long-term career goal for many teachers and it important to note that understanding family issues is essential in realizing this goal. An experienced teacher should have the ability to identify family problems and come up with amicable solutions.
Conclusion
It is very important for aspiring teachers to learn fundamental family issues before coming up with big ideas. Every teacher should be aware of the various dangers that students and their families are likely to encounter and know where to find help in case of any problem. Teachers should not only be concerned about the welfare of their students, but also that of the students families. Teachers should be in touch with all the necessary agencies and authorities for them to make their work simple when dealing with issues affecting students. Field placements for teachers should make them be passionate about what they do by putting the interests of their students first.
