Part a: On my second day of student teaching, Julie was out on Wednesday which meant I was in charge of all the teaching aspect and it was a lot. Nonetheless, the teaching content was very doable and I knew the material well because Julie made sure to give me what the students were working on ahead time. The beginning of the day the classes were more laid back. I would do a few example problems and answer questions that students might have—easy peasy. After lunch, it got BUSY. That’s mainly because the last 3 classes the students were either reviewing for their exam and/or they just had a lot of questions. That day I really got a glimpse of how much Julie does.
During math analysis, the students were reviewing for their exam over logarithms & exponents. As I was helpings students with the problems on the study guide, I realized my method for solving logs wasn't the same as what Julie had taught her students. Some students would be okay with using my technique and some students were confused. For me, this situation frustrated me because it is difficult to teach someone your way when they have been taught another way.
Part c: For next week, I want to improve my skills on "Planning for Instruction." This week I have been working with Julie to figure out what students are working on and the curriculum schedule. I plan to be taking over 5th hour (BC calculus) starting next week, but I am hoping to also add in 7th hour (math analysis) by the end of next week. This will allow me to dive into creating/modifying lesson plans!
It is wonderful to read how impactful this week has been! What are some of the goals you have for this semester (e.g., areas to improve, things you want to experience)?
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I want to work on is getting better with teaching alongside technology.
DeleteIt's easy for me to teach math by writing on an example on the SMARTboard and working it out, but when I tried to teach a overarching concept or property I feel like I'm just lecturing. Like my way of teaching is no different than working on a chalkboard. My teacher often teaches the concepts by lecturing and this works for her because she has this amazing personality and is very animated when she teaches. I'm not this way.
Hi Jen- I'm really glad you have jumped right in and that you have such a wonderful mentor. I'm curious aobut what evidence you have seen that makes you believe she is exceptional. you talked about *how much* she does - what makes her *good* at what she does? If you can figure that out then you can start doing it too!
ReplyDeleteWhen she teaches AP calculus, she will provide students tips and examples of what the AP exam graders are looking for in their mathematical work. These tips that she teaches to students aren't just good for test taking but they are just good things to do when doing math. For instance, making sure you show that you took the derivative because if you don't graders don't even bother to grade the rest of your answer.
DeleteJulie is in charge of creating content for BC calculus and AEGIS. Now that I have been working with Julie, I'm starting to notice how strategic she is about what lesson comes after the next. For instance, I recently taught FTC part 1 and I was wondering why the students hadn't learn it yet because they already learned how to take integrals for multiple functions. I had always taught to students the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus first and then I would teach them all the different type of integrals to take. When I watched Julie teach the lesson, I realized that students make better connections to the theorem when they have already gotten use to seeing integrals. It's small things like that, that make me want to learn from her.
Julie has this fun and loving personality that allows her students to feel like they can easily talk to her about anything.
Jen, I like that you were able to bring a different approach to solving logs and could show your students two different methods. Just out of curiosity, what did you do that was different? And did you feel like your students appreciated having two perspectives? You mentioned some students being confused. How did you help them overcome their concerns?
ReplyDeleteJulie taught her students to solve for logs by changing them to exponents but I showed the students that they can cancel the log by exponentiating it. Majority of students preferred Julie's version because in their previous Algebra II class they learn how to do the "heart" for converting logs to exponents, and that method was more comfortable for the students. Julie and I both pushed for students to learn how to cancel logs by exponentiating which some students did prefer.
DeleteMy mistake when I was helping a student cancel a log was that I was verbally explaining it, so that student was trying to use a method to solve for logs that he had never tried before. I learned that it's super important that I show them first exactly what I mean by doing a example so that they can see how things cancel out or are moved around in an equation. Also, this allows me chance to give them warnings on what not to do through my example.
I'm excited for you to continue working with Julie! I am curious about how you will start developing your own approach once you take over some classes - you said that you are "not this way." What are the differences and/or similarities from your teacher in style/approach you see in yourself right now?
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure what is my teaching approach. I think currently, I try to teach like Julie for the most parts. However, I sometimes when I teach a lesson I demonstrate how the math appears in the real world. I really enjoy doing this because 1) it's an easy way to get students engaged and 2) it helps student understand the math better.
DeleteI recently did a lesson plan over hyperbolic trig functions. I show how hyperbolic curve appears using bubbles formed by 2 rings, and I explain how hyperbolic curves are allowing the bubble to stay intact and not pop.
Hi Jen! I totally relate to what you said about the solving logs story. It can be so frustrating to try one approach and then realize it is not working for everyone. When I've had to deal with that or I've seen students using a method I am unfamiliar with, I have a confident student explain to me how they were taught and then I compare/contrast the methods with the students. I like how you said that you learned from that experience and how to handle situations like that in the future! It helps students see that there's not just one way to solve a problem. Relating to your reply to Dr. Brugar, how do you think you will handle students adjusting to how different your personality and teaching style are from Julie's? (This is something I also worry about because the students are so used to how their teacher teaches them.)
ReplyDeleteEven though I am not as bubbly or fun as Julie, I still make sure I let students know that I am available to ask questions by always making sure I walk around the room and asking students if they have any questions after I explain a concept. I hope that showing students that I am there for them will slowly gain their trust.
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