A Showcase Story: My Reflections on the Field Work for the Math Lesson Plan Cycle E332 | ECE math methods

Background

As your field/lab work for this course, you planned and enacted a series of teaching episodes with your focus student around the strand of number and computation. You have completed ALMOST all of the Teaching and Learning Cycle depicted in the diagram below. For this assignment, you will pause, look back and reflect on the entire Teaching and Learning Cycle, and compose a Showcase Story revealing why this field/lab work matters to you and what you learned in each step of the cycle--about the child's mathematical understanding and about yourself as a mathematics teacher.

First, let's think about the whole Teaching and Learning cycle you have completed. Below is a diagram of the process. You started with the "pre-assess" (brown arrow) step. You engaged your focus student in 3 'get to know you' sessions. You did some activities together with the goal of gathering informal data about the child's background (family, interests) and what they knew about counting and number sense.

Assignnment Description

Knowledge:

• You will apply your understanding of the Teaching and Learning cycle by identifying an artifact for each of the 4 phases (pre-asses/get to know student's thinking, plan a lesson, teach/assess, analyze student's thinking). [These are the 4 interactions you had with your focus student--3 get to know you sessions and 1 lesson.]
• You will apply your knowledge about the components of effective and equitable mathematics teaching (from course readings) by identifying if, and explaining how, any of those components are evident in your own teaching practice. [Think about your Core Values for Effective and Equitable Math Teaching. Did you apply and enact any of those as you interacted with your focus student?]
• You will apply your knowledge about the development of children's mathematical thinking about number and computation by analyzing data and summarizing one student's strengths and needs. [Think about the learning trajectory for number and computation, specifically, the age/grade level expectations in the IN standards for your focus student.]

Skills:

• You will develop the skill of reflection via storytelling by crafting a story (with an introduction, body, and conclusion) about your learning about becoming an effective and equitable mathematics teacher.
• You will develop the skill of grounding your reflections in research by using in text citations throughout the story, as well as creating a properly formatted reference page, all in APA-7th edition.
• You will develop digital literacy skills by creating your story, using the digital tool, Adobe Creative Cloud Express Page (like this one!).

What? Tell a Story Showcasing & Reflecting on Your Fieldwork & Learning

GUIDING QUESTION: How do all four parts of our field/lab work this semester fit together into a story that celebrates YOU BECOMING an effective and equitable mathematics teacher?

How? Use an Adobe Express Page to Create your Story

You will develop digital literacy skills by creating your story using the digital tool, Adobe Creative Cloud Express Page (like this one!). HERE is a Powerpoint with 6 steps/instructions on how to create an Express Page.

Your Showcase Story must include the following:

1. An introduction that addresses the Guiding Question, explains what the story is about, and hooks the reader;
2. A Body--For each of the 4 phases: Artifacts--polished, 'final' versions of Rough Drafts 1-4 of Lesson Plan Cycle with your focus student AND Reflections--explanations of why each phase matters in effective and equitable mathematics teaching and what you learned about yourself as a mathematics teacher;
3. A conclusion that summarizes and celebrates your learning about becoming an effective and equitable mathematics teacher; and
4. Frequent connections to course readings and research throughout the entire story, using APA-7 format.

Why? Reflection Creates Meaning from Experiences!

"Reflection has deep philosophical and pedagogical roots, reaching from the works of John Dewey to the field of culturally responsive pedagogy. Reflection is a rigorous and systematic way of thinking that generates new knowledge by helping us create meaning from our experiences. It forces us to ask difficult questions of ourselves and to have the courage to find meaningful answers." Here, we ask ourselves the questions, “What did you learn about your student? How will you use this information in your future work with students to support and empower them? What did you learn about your teaching? What are your areas of strength as well as areas that still need growth? What has changed in your teaching practice and why?... By using [these kinds of] open-ended questions, teachers [begin] asking themselves increasingly critical questions and seeking to find honest answers. And by doing this work [together,] in community, we worked to create a space where teachers are safe to take risks in their reflection" (Retrieved, and adapted, from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/reflection-important/).

When & Where?

Due April 27, 2022. Please submit the URL to your Showcase Story in the Canvas assignment. Also, be prepared to CELEBRATE and share your Showcase Story with a small group of peers during our final class session.

How will you be assessed?