I interviewed my practicum supervising teacher, Tracy Thornton at Parrish Middle School.
1) How does the CMP curriculum align with the national Common Core and NCTM standards?
a. Does not completely align with common core.
b. District goes and makes scope and sequence (when and what to teach according to standards) but have had to make modifications because not 100% aligned.
2) Numerous students are a year or more behind in the basics. How does one address the needs of these students on a daily basis so they can get up to grade level and also experience success in the inquiry to investigation philosophy of the CMP?
a. Providing tools to be successful and on grade level math (multiplication tables, divisibility books, sentence starters, small group instruction and some calculator usage).
b. Don’t focus on the basics…look at what you need to know and how those basics will support the lesson. Example: can do and master PEMDAS without knowing the basic multiplication.
3) What is the role of homework (and accountability) in CMP?
a. Accountability is high. Homework is a necessity for the practice part. They get the inquiry in CMP, but not the practice.
4) CMP investigations compose of small-groups (pair-share, teamwork, cooperative learning). Describe several classroom management techniques that ensure all students are actively engaged. Eg, how are individual roles established? Accountability (Group, individual)? On going assessment(s) and checking for understanding?
a. Print out group norms. Why is it important to do math in teams? What does cooperative group work look like?
b. No assigned roles (moderator, scribe) etc.
c. Spiral journals and having everyone write makes them accountable for the information.
d. If teacher randomly goes up to group and asks random person, all group members should know answer.
e. Weekly or other week quizzes also holds them accountable. Their grade relies on the work being done.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Inquiry & CMP Research
The Inquiry Based Learning Model is an instructional method that focuses on active learning and much interaction where progress is assessed by how well students develop experimental and analytical skills rather than how much knowledge they possess. This is quite different from simply making students memorize information.
CMP to seems to be more inquiry based as opposed to the traditional direct instruction. The guiding principles for CMP are:
-coherence; it builds and connects from investigation to investigation, unit-to-unit, and grade-to-grade.
-focuses on inquiry and investigation of mathematical ideas embedded in rich problem situations.
The creators of CMP believe in helping students grow in their ability to reason effectively with information represented in graphic, numeric, symbolic, and verbal forms and to move flexibly among these representations.
The CMP model follows 3 phases: launch, explore and summarize. The launch phase entails the teacher launching the problem or new topic with the whole class. The teacher will ask questions, clarifies definitions and reviews old concepts which will all help connect together to blend into a cohesive lesson which blends old material and new concepts to build a new task. The explore phase can be done individually, in groups, and even a whole class. Students dousing the explore phase will gather data, share ideas, look for patterns, make conjectures, and develop problem-solving strategies. The teacher's role during this phase is to move about the classroom, observing individual performance and encouraging on-task behavior. The last phase (summarize) guides the students to reach the mathematical goals of the problem and to connect their new understanding to prior mathematical goals and problems in the unit. The summarize phase of instruction begins when most students have gathered sufficient data or made sufficient progress toward solving the problem. In this phase, students present and discuss their solutions as well as the strategies they used to approach the problem, organize the data, and find the solution. Additionally, with CMP homework is not to drill and kill, but is used to help grasp the concept.
Although the CMP model has many inquiry based qualities, it does hold some direct instruction --> guided practice --> independent work qualities as well. CMP is based off of concepts, skills, or procedures that support the development of an developed sequence. Through the CMP model in which the teacher is required to teach is introduces concept, model, and then individual work. Both the CMP and direct instruction model both review prior material to help build into new concepts. I think that is a great and important way to keep material fresh and unforgotten. I think both the creators of CMP and those who are direct instruction followers understand that reviewing material and looping is imperative.
The sixth grade math class where I am doing my practicum uses the CMP model and I think students are able to relate the concepts more to the real world which seems to help with retention. I really like what I've seen so far with CMP.
sources:
http://connectedmath.msu.edu/pnd/principles.shtml
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index_sub4.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning
CMP to seems to be more inquiry based as opposed to the traditional direct instruction. The guiding principles for CMP are:
-coherence; it builds and connects from investigation to investigation, unit-to-unit, and grade-to-grade.
-focuses on inquiry and investigation of mathematical ideas embedded in rich problem situations.
The creators of CMP believe in helping students grow in their ability to reason effectively with information represented in graphic, numeric, symbolic, and verbal forms and to move flexibly among these representations.
The CMP model follows 3 phases: launch, explore and summarize. The launch phase entails the teacher launching the problem or new topic with the whole class. The teacher will ask questions, clarifies definitions and reviews old concepts which will all help connect together to blend into a cohesive lesson which blends old material and new concepts to build a new task. The explore phase can be done individually, in groups, and even a whole class. Students dousing the explore phase will gather data, share ideas, look for patterns, make conjectures, and develop problem-solving strategies. The teacher's role during this phase is to move about the classroom, observing individual performance and encouraging on-task behavior. The last phase (summarize) guides the students to reach the mathematical goals of the problem and to connect their new understanding to prior mathematical goals and problems in the unit. The summarize phase of instruction begins when most students have gathered sufficient data or made sufficient progress toward solving the problem. In this phase, students present and discuss their solutions as well as the strategies they used to approach the problem, organize the data, and find the solution. Additionally, with CMP homework is not to drill and kill, but is used to help grasp the concept.
Although the CMP model has many inquiry based qualities, it does hold some direct instruction --> guided practice --> independent work qualities as well. CMP is based off of concepts, skills, or procedures that support the development of an developed sequence. Through the CMP model in which the teacher is required to teach is introduces concept, model, and then individual work. Both the CMP and direct instruction model both review prior material to help build into new concepts. I think that is a great and important way to keep material fresh and unforgotten. I think both the creators of CMP and those who are direct instruction followers understand that reviewing material and looping is imperative.
The sixth grade math class where I am doing my practicum uses the CMP model and I think students are able to relate the concepts more to the real world which seems to help with retention. I really like what I've seen so far with CMP.
sources:
http://connectedmath.msu.edu/pnd/principles.shtml
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index_sub4.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Closure and Anticipatory Set
Closure:
The purpose of a lesson plan closure is to review the day's lesson and essentially wrap-up the day. During closure students are reminded what they have learned (or what they should have learned). In the Salem-Keizer district teachers are required to write and go over their learning target throughout the lesson. The learning target is essentially the big picture of what students should know and accomplish throughout the lesson. If closure is done correctly students will be able to see the importance and relevance of their learning target. Additionally, closure will help evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson, not the strength of the way it was presented.
Throughout my research I also picked up that closure of a lesson is not "a teacher activity, but an act of a learner" (http://www.okbu.net/ed/398/set.htm). Students should internalize the lesson during the closure. That is not something I really knew about closure, but I definitely see the importance. If students are able to internalize the lesson then students should be able to retain the information to a higher capacity.
Closure will also help the teacher decide if:
1. additional practice is needed
2. whether you need to reteach
3. whether you can move on to the next part of the lesson (http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/closure.htm).
Anticipatory Set:
The purpose of an anticipatory set is to draw focus and get the attention of the students. It is also suppose to generate interest of the next lesson. Additionally, it is "provide a brief practice and/or develop a readiness for the instruction that will follow" (http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/anticipa.htm).
An important point about an anticipatory set is that it should be done in student-friendly terms and should be engaging and not simply the teacher talking at the students.
I like to use warm-ups as an anticipatory set. Students are able to realize that there is a routine with warm-ups and help them settle down from earlier in the day, whether it be whatever happened at home prior to school or the prior classes they have attended. Also, I could also throw in questions that students may not be able to answer in the warm-ups. I can throw in a question from a unit that has not been covered to get students thinking about how to solve the problem which will increase their critical thinking skills as well wet the student's appetite on how to solve the problem.
Resources:
http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/closure.htm
http://www.okbu.net/ed/398/set.htm
http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/anticipa.htm
Madeline Hunter's Lesson Plan
http://k6educators.about.com/od/lessonplanheadquarters/g/anticipatoryset.htm
The purpose of a lesson plan closure is to review the day's lesson and essentially wrap-up the day. During closure students are reminded what they have learned (or what they should have learned). In the Salem-Keizer district teachers are required to write and go over their learning target throughout the lesson. The learning target is essentially the big picture of what students should know and accomplish throughout the lesson. If closure is done correctly students will be able to see the importance and relevance of their learning target. Additionally, closure will help evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson, not the strength of the way it was presented.
Throughout my research I also picked up that closure of a lesson is not "a teacher activity, but an act of a learner" (http://www.okbu.net/ed/398/set.htm). Students should internalize the lesson during the closure. That is not something I really knew about closure, but I definitely see the importance. If students are able to internalize the lesson then students should be able to retain the information to a higher capacity.
Closure will also help the teacher decide if:
1. additional practice is needed
2. whether you need to reteach
3. whether you can move on to the next part of the lesson (http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/closure.htm).
Anticipatory Set:
The purpose of an anticipatory set is to draw focus and get the attention of the students. It is also suppose to generate interest of the next lesson. Additionally, it is "provide a brief practice and/or develop a readiness for the instruction that will follow" (http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/anticipa.htm).
An important point about an anticipatory set is that it should be done in student-friendly terms and should be engaging and not simply the teacher talking at the students.
I like to use warm-ups as an anticipatory set. Students are able to realize that there is a routine with warm-ups and help them settle down from earlier in the day, whether it be whatever happened at home prior to school or the prior classes they have attended. Also, I could also throw in questions that students may not be able to answer in the warm-ups. I can throw in a question from a unit that has not been covered to get students thinking about how to solve the problem which will increase their critical thinking skills as well wet the student's appetite on how to solve the problem.
Resources:
http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/closure.htm
http://www.okbu.net/ed/398/set.htm
http://www.edulink.org/lessonplans/anticipa.htm
Madeline Hunter's Lesson Plan
http://k6educators.about.com/od/lessonplanheadquarters/g/anticipatoryset.htm
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