When i think of math, i usually think of math as numbers or symbol. Miki Murray book made me have a different prepective of mathematics. I enjoy reading about the different techniques the teachers uses in the classroom and I started thinking about how I could use these techniques in my classroom. I love of idea of having students collaborate in creating a rubic as a class project. It gives students the opportunity to brainstorm. Another technique that she uses is keeping a journal. Since, I started my master at Pace, I notices that every class has me keep a journal on the reading that we have to do for the class. I never thought about keeping a journal for math but it's a great idea. Doing these techniques helps students developed a better understanding when it comes to learning. You built a stronger vocabulary, writing skill, reading skill, organizational skills and brainstroming skills. All important skills that will help you problem solve any challenges in life. As teacher our goal is to prepare of students for the future.
Writing definitely helps students understand math because they have to think about what they are thinking. Having writing incorporated in the everyday classrooms students will get used to writing what is going on in their head. Writing out explanations and reflections benefit students in so many ways. It increases their reasoning skills, requires active involvement in thinking, making sense, constructing, and learning math, requires them to use the HOTS ( higher order of thinking skills), and creates clarification, reinforcement, and deepened conceptual understanding. It also allows the teacher to see what the students are thinking and understand where there may be misconceptions. Writing is so important to learning, but in order to write, vocabulary is essential. Having a rubric is very important so the students know what you expect from them and how to improve on their writing. In addition to a rubric, the teacher needs to show the students examples of exactly what they are looking for from the students. In addition to this, it is also very important to involve the students as well so creating a journal or reflection together as a class will allow the students to see and take part in creating what the teacher wants. I think that journals are a good idea for students because it requires them to write things the way they interpret it and they must include visuals and examples to support their notes. They also need to include vocabulary as well as a reflection on each day of the lesson. This gives them something to reference back to for information. The challenge with this is to get students to write about their thinking instead of just writing down exactly what the teacher says because that does not show that they understand it. I also liked reading about the workshop model. I had thought that it had to follow the structure more with a do now, homework check, mini lesson, group work, student share, and closure. However, the way this article made it seem was basically as long as the students were doing a majority of the thinking and talking it was okay to not have some or any of the specified time slots. “don’t say anything the muffins can say.” I also liked how they included “the catch” as part of this model. Sometimes as you send students off to work on their own or with partners, they start to head down the wrong path or they might be confused from the start. In these cases you need to bring the class back together as a whole and straighten up whatever you saw that was directing the students in the wrong direction and get them back on the right track. Then you have to send them back on their own to try again. I also agreed with BT Williams about standardized tests. I liked when he was talking about the writing portion of the SATs and thought that it was ridiculous to have students show that they have the ability to succeed in higher education by writing an extended critical prose in 25 minutes. He compared it to using a person’s ability to back a car down a driveway to judge their ability to drive in rush hour traffic. Yes, it is still driving, but it is not testing the appropriate skills. It is also nice to know that people are no longer grading these standardized tests and we are getting lazy enough to have computers determine essentially what school these students can attend.
The readings for this week have opened my eyes to the role that writing takes on in the classroom. I always thought of writing as an essential part of assessment. In fact, writing is a great way to assess your students and to self-assess, but there is more to it than just that. Miki Murray uses writing in her classroom to communicate with her students. In the beginning of this book she stated that vocabulary is a vital aspect of mathematics. The only way to become “fluent in math” is to use mathematical terms in your everyday language. Writing in math practiced the use of math vocabulary. Murray also used writing as a way to “peak into her students’ minds”. She encouraged her students to write as they think and what they think, which forces them to focus on the main points and ideas of what their input is. Writing links to careful reading, whether the writing is for informal/ formal assessment or for neither. The connection made to this would be the purpose of the reading dialogue journals and the post-its. I found that when I had to use post-its or write a journal on our readings that I had a high concentration level. When students feel that there is a purpose to their reading or doing, they tune in even more. Unfortunately, the last time I have seen a journal facilitated by a teacher being used was when I was in middle school English. However, I feel that having a journal in a math classroom would be a plus. A journal can be used for numerous amounts of things; reflection on the class/ lesson, check for understanding, communication, self-assessment, teacher evaluation, etc. Sadly, I have never seen a journal be used in a math classroom but it something that has worked extremely well for Murray and something I am strongly considering for my classroom. I would not construct the use of a journal to be a daily routine, but definitely weekly. My purpose of the journal would be to see where my students’ confidence level is on a certain unit. Also, it would give me feedback on what certain strategies I used that were unclear and need tweaking. My students’ purpose for the journal would be for them to have a chance to write their thoughts on paper. They can have that “voice” in the classroom that they have not had the opportunity to have. Also, they can easily identify their strengths and weaknesses with the unit. They can gain that confidence they need to move on or reach out for help. While in the mind state of thinking about writing and the role it has in a classroom, I came up with question that BT Williams generated for me. He stated that standardized tests are not an accurate way to determine whether someone is smart or not. Connecting this to writing, when an essay is graded, who and how is someone to determine if it is a “good” or an “A” essay? I just remember always getting confused on how to write. Some teachers made me feel comfortable enough to create my own style in writing, while others restricted me of this opportunity and wanted me to write a certain way. I have always struggled with the different strategies teachers have proposed to me. One teacher would always tell me to conclude my essays by stating “In conclusion…”, while another teacher took off 15 points for concluding this way. Another teacher even stated that conclusions are not vital. So is it efficient to test students on essays that are merely opinionated? What happens when one teacher gives me a C on a paper that a different teacher helped me write? What message does this send out to students.
Zailyn, I could not agree more about the rubric. I thought that this was a way for students to thoroughly understand what their task is. It is going beyond reading the directions, instead they are evaluating them.
Jacki, In addition to your agreement on journals, you proposed a challenge. Often students have trouble reflecting because they become overwhelmed of "what does my teacher want hear?" A great question this brings up is how can we encourage students to write thoughtfully but still with structure?
Being able to write mathematically is just as important as reading math. This week’s focus was primarily on writing and opened my eyes as to how writing math can benefit the student’s vocabulary. Writing the steps to how students got to a certain answer reinforces key ideas and concepts. Math is known for patterns and if you do enough of a certain problem, you can solve problems without understanding why you are doing it. The journal keeping forces students to think about these steps and increase their math vocabulary and go beyond the “read and regurgitate.” The journals help with the vocabulary because it allows the students to use terms they normally would not use. Margaret Biggerstaff said, “as students look at others’ work, they will begin to see a need for clearer communication about their strategies.” I could not agree more. In one of the examples, I noticed that a student wrote, “Then I tried to find my rule.” I noticed during observation at the White Plains Highlands Middle School that they also call “writing an equation” “finding a rule.” This confuses me and makes me wonder how much the math terminology changed since I graduated High School. I was also quite impressed with how sophisticated the writing was. It is hard to imagine that these are middle schoolers writing these reflections. This made me wonder how long students have to write these reflections. Is it something done quickly at the end of the period or do they work on them throughout the week? In one of the classrooms, I thought it was a great idea that the students make their rubric for their reflections. This gives the students responsibility and incentive to work toward the rules they set. I loved the idea of a homework journal. It not only keeps the students organized but it gives them responsibility to do their homework and keep track of it. I too enjoyed BT Williams views on standardized testing. I think it is outrageous that a five hour exam (specifically the SAT) can determine the fate of a student entering college. Standardized tests are for students that know how to take a test. It does not show any understanding of material. It is terrible that four years of hard work goes unnoticed and one four digit score can keep a student from achieving their dreams.
Jacki- I also agree with you when it comes to standardize test. Student shouldn’t be judge by a few digital as Aril said. One thing that I question about the article is “how affluent students are taught to “game” standardize test. I do believe that something you social class and school environment affects your ability to lean, write and have a better understanding of what is being taught in school . However, thinking back of the article about the African students, teachers have a big impact on student’s ability to learn. As Gerardo Munoz believes, all students want is a teacher that cares. I truly believe that students will perform better if they realized that they have a teacher that cares.
Melissa- These reading also open my eyes to how important writing is in a classroom and overall in life. I also found that by keeping post it and writing little note on my paper help me have a better concentration level when I am reading. Another things that you mention and that I also was taught but never really thought about it is how when ending a essay , I was also taught to end it with “ In conclusion” and it actually stuck with me for years. I do find interesting on how teacher grade, I think its because everyone thinks differently that why I realized that having a rubric is very important and it’s a better idea to have student help you to create one , so as you said they know what is expected of them.
Ariel- Honestly, I never thought about keeping a journal or learning vocabulary words for math. However, after reading this book, I have a different perceptive. I realized how important learning vocabulary words and writing it to math. Personally, when it comes to math I also taught about numbers and symbols, that’s all I remember learning in school but that was many moons ago. I believe that the structure of teaching is changing for the better.
A majority of our reading consisted of rubrics, journals, and writing. Melissa made a good point how she found it interesting that part of the reading focused on the rubric. In our experience, we were never exposed to a rubric in our math classes. Also, we never had to do journals for math or any other class. Jacki wondered where this kind of teaching was taking place because we only see traditional teaching. However, we all agree that teaching in such a way can greatly benefit the students. A majority of our conversation consisted of the issue of time. We noticed that the reflections of the students were incredibly detailed and we were impressed by the vocabulary usage. But, the book never mentioned when these reflections were taking place. Is it for homework? Is it during class? Jacki said if she were to introduce journals into her classroom, she would have them be at the end of the unit after the exam if students finish early. Then Professor Clayton said, "Is it a writing to learn strategy if it is done after the exam?" The issue of time is definitely always up for debate.
I'm sorry that I was late in posting. I appreciate the dialogue that was beginning to develop online even before the in class discussion. It seems that there is more consensus on things than disagreements - a good thing, generally, but maybe hard for having a discussion. I like how Melissa as Discussion Director reads through these posts here and tries to identify some of the challenges posed. Sometimes playing "devil's advocate" is necessary to probe the assumptions we have - journals are good. I find it interesting that we all seem to see the benefits but have no experience of seeing or experiencing the use of much writing in math. Countryman is a reference you should check out - the authority on writing and math.
8 comments:
When i think of math, i usually think of math as numbers or symbol.
Miki Murray book made me have a different prepective of mathematics. I enjoy reading about the different techniques the teachers uses in the classroom and I started thinking about how I could use these techniques in my classroom. I love of idea of having students collaborate in creating a rubic as a class project. It gives students the opportunity to brainstorm.
Another technique that she uses is keeping a journal. Since, I started my master at Pace, I notices that every class has me keep a journal on the reading that we have to do for the class. I never thought about keeping a journal for math but it's a great idea. Doing these techniques helps students developed a better understanding when it comes to learning. You built a stronger vocabulary, writing skill, reading skill, organizational skills and brainstroming skills. All important skills that will help you problem solve any challenges in life. As teacher our goal is to prepare of students for the future.
Writing definitely helps students understand math because they have to think about what they are thinking. Having writing incorporated in the everyday classrooms students will get used to writing what is going on in their head. Writing out explanations and reflections benefit students in so many ways. It increases their reasoning skills, requires active involvement in thinking, making sense, constructing, and learning math, requires them to use the HOTS ( higher order of thinking skills), and creates clarification, reinforcement, and deepened conceptual understanding. It also allows the teacher to see what the students are thinking and understand where there may be misconceptions. Writing is so important to learning, but in order to write, vocabulary is essential.
Having a rubric is very important so the students know what you expect from them and how to improve on their writing. In addition to a rubric, the teacher needs to show the students examples of exactly what they are looking for from the students. In addition to this, it is also very important to involve the students as well so creating a journal or reflection together as a class will allow the students to see and take part in creating what the teacher wants.
I think that journals are a good idea for students because it requires them to write things the way they interpret it and they must include visuals and examples to support their notes. They also need to include vocabulary as well as a reflection on each day of the lesson. This gives them something to reference back to for information. The challenge with this is to get students to write about their thinking instead of just writing down exactly what the teacher says because that does not show that they understand it.
I also liked reading about the workshop model. I had thought that it had to follow the structure more with a do now, homework check, mini lesson, group work, student share, and closure. However, the way this article made it seem was basically as long as the students were doing a majority of the thinking and talking it was okay to not have some or any of the specified time slots. “don’t say anything the muffins can say.” I also liked how they included “the catch” as part of this model. Sometimes as you send students off to work on their own or with partners, they start to head down the wrong path or they might be confused from the start. In these cases you need to bring the class back together as a whole and straighten up whatever you saw that was directing the students in the wrong direction and get them back on the right track. Then you have to send them back on their own to try again.
I also agreed with BT Williams about standardized tests. I liked when he was talking about the writing portion of the SATs and thought that it was ridiculous to have students show that they have the ability to succeed in higher education by writing an extended critical prose in 25 minutes. He compared it to using a person’s ability to back a car down a driveway to judge their ability to drive in rush hour traffic. Yes, it is still driving, but it is not testing the appropriate skills. It is also nice to know that people are no longer grading these standardized tests and we are getting lazy enough to have computers determine essentially what school these students can attend.
The readings for this week have opened my eyes to the role that writing takes on in the classroom. I always thought of writing as an essential part of assessment. In fact, writing is a great way to assess your students and to self-assess, but there is more to it than just that. Miki Murray uses writing in her classroom to communicate with her students. In the beginning of this book she stated that vocabulary is a vital aspect of mathematics. The only way to become “fluent in math” is to use mathematical terms in your everyday language. Writing in math practiced the use of math vocabulary. Murray also used writing as a way to “peak into her students’ minds”. She encouraged her students to write as they think and what they think, which forces them to focus on the main points and ideas of what their input is. Writing links to careful reading, whether the writing is for informal/ formal assessment or for neither. The connection made to this would be the purpose of the reading dialogue journals and the post-its. I found that when I had to use post-its or write a journal on our readings that I had a high concentration level. When students feel that there is a purpose to their reading or doing, they tune in even more.
Unfortunately, the last time I have seen a journal facilitated by a teacher being used was when I was in middle school English. However, I feel that having a journal in a math classroom would be a plus. A journal can be used for numerous amounts of things; reflection on the class/ lesson, check for understanding, communication, self-assessment, teacher evaluation, etc. Sadly, I have never seen a journal be used in a math classroom but it something that has worked extremely well for Murray and something I am strongly considering for my classroom. I would not construct the use of a journal to be a daily routine, but definitely weekly. My purpose of the journal would be to see where my students’ confidence level is on a certain unit. Also, it would give me feedback on what certain strategies I used that were unclear and need tweaking. My students’ purpose for the journal would be for them to have a chance to write their thoughts on paper. They can have that “voice” in the classroom that they have not had the opportunity to have. Also, they can easily identify their strengths and weaknesses with the unit. They can gain that confidence they need to move on or reach out for help.
While in the mind state of thinking about writing and the role it has in a classroom, I came up with question that BT Williams generated for me. He stated that standardized tests are not an accurate way to determine whether someone is smart or not. Connecting this to writing, when an essay is graded, who and how is someone to determine if it is a “good” or an “A” essay? I just remember always getting confused on how to write. Some teachers made me feel comfortable enough to create my own style in writing, while others restricted me of this opportunity and wanted me to write a certain way. I have always struggled with the different strategies teachers have proposed to me. One teacher would always tell me to conclude my essays by stating “In conclusion…”, while another teacher took off 15 points for concluding this way. Another teacher even stated that conclusions are not vital. So is it efficient to test students on essays that are merely opinionated? What happens when one teacher gives me a C on a paper that a different teacher helped me write? What message does this send out to students.
Zailyn,
I could not agree more about the rubric. I thought that this was a way for students to thoroughly understand what their task is. It is going beyond reading the directions, instead they are evaluating them.
Jacki,
In addition to your agreement on journals, you proposed a challenge. Often students have trouble reflecting because they become overwhelmed of "what does my teacher want hear?" A great question this brings up is how can we encourage students to write thoughtfully but still with structure?
Being able to write mathematically is just as important as reading math. This week’s focus was primarily on writing and opened my eyes as to how writing math can benefit the student’s vocabulary. Writing the steps to how students got to a certain answer reinforces key ideas and concepts. Math is known for patterns and if you do enough of a certain problem, you can solve problems without understanding why you are doing it. The journal keeping forces students to think about these steps and increase their math vocabulary and go beyond the “read and regurgitate.” The journals help with the vocabulary because it allows the students to use terms they normally would not use. Margaret Biggerstaff said, “as students look at others’ work, they will begin to see a need for clearer communication about their strategies.” I could not agree more. In one of the examples, I noticed that a student wrote, “Then I tried to find my rule.” I noticed during observation at the White Plains Highlands Middle School that they also call “writing an equation” “finding a rule.” This confuses me and makes me wonder how much the math terminology changed since I graduated High School. I was also quite impressed with how sophisticated the writing was. It is hard to imagine that these are middle schoolers writing these reflections. This made me wonder how long students have to write these reflections. Is it something done quickly at the end of the period or do they work on them throughout the week? In one of the classrooms, I thought it was a great idea that the students make their rubric for their reflections. This gives the students responsibility and incentive to work toward the rules they set. I loved the idea of a homework journal. It not only keeps the students organized but it gives them responsibility to do their homework and keep track of it.
I too enjoyed BT Williams views on standardized testing. I think it is outrageous that a five hour exam (specifically the SAT) can determine the fate of a student entering college. Standardized tests are for students that know how to take a test. It does not show any understanding of material. It is terrible that four years of hard work goes unnoticed and one four digit score can keep a student from achieving their dreams.
Jacki- I also agree with you when it comes to standardize test. Student shouldn’t be judge by a few digital as Aril said. One thing that I question about the article is “how affluent students are taught to “game” standardize test. I do believe that something you social class and school environment affects your ability to lean, write and have a better understanding of what is being taught in school . However, thinking back of the article about the African students, teachers have a big impact on student’s ability to learn. As Gerardo Munoz believes, all students want is a teacher that cares. I truly believe that students will perform better if they realized that they have a teacher that cares.
Melissa- These reading also open my eyes to how important writing is in a classroom and overall in life. I also found that by keeping post it and writing little note on my paper help me have a better concentration level when I am reading. Another things that you mention and that I also was taught but never really thought about it is how when ending a essay , I was also taught to end it with “ In conclusion” and it actually stuck with me for years. I do find interesting on how teacher grade, I think its because everyone thinks differently that why I realized that having a rubric is very important and it’s a better idea to have student help you to create one , so as you said they know what is expected of them.
Ariel- Honestly, I never thought about keeping a journal or learning vocabulary words for math. However, after reading this book, I have a different perceptive. I realized how important learning vocabulary words and writing it to math. Personally, when it comes to math I also taught about numbers and symbols, that’s all I remember learning in school but that was many moons ago. I believe that the structure of teaching is changing for the better.
Some notes on from our discussion on Thursday...
A majority of our reading consisted of rubrics, journals, and writing. Melissa made a good point how she found it interesting that part of the reading focused on the rubric. In our experience, we were never exposed to a rubric in our math classes. Also, we never had to do journals for math or any other class. Jacki wondered where this kind of teaching was taking place because we only see traditional teaching. However, we all agree that teaching in such a way can greatly benefit the students. A majority of our conversation consisted of the issue of time. We noticed that the reflections of the students were incredibly detailed and we were impressed by the vocabulary usage. But, the book never mentioned when these reflections were taking place. Is it for homework? Is it during class? Jacki said if she were to introduce journals into her classroom, she would have them be at the end of the unit after the exam if students finish early. Then Professor Clayton said, "Is it a writing to learn strategy if it is done after the exam?" The issue of time is definitely always up for debate.
I'm sorry that I was late in posting. I appreciate the dialogue that was beginning to develop online even before the in class discussion. It seems that there is more consensus on things than disagreements - a good thing, generally, but maybe hard for having a discussion. I like how Melissa as Discussion Director reads through these posts here and tries to identify some of the challenges posed. Sometimes playing "devil's advocate" is necessary to probe the assumptions we have - journals are good. I find it interesting that we all seem to see the benefits but have no experience of seeing or experiencing the use of much writing in math. Countryman is a reference you should check out - the authority on writing and math.
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