Professional Portfolio

Fall 2007 EDUC 361 Math in Elementary
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Fall 2007 MSET 365 Microcomputer in Education
Fall 2007 EDUC 361 Math in Elementary
Fall 2007 EDUC 321 Teaching of Social Studies
Spring 2008 EDUC 330 Reading 1
Spring 2008 EDUC Teaching of Oral/Written Language
Spring 2008 EDUC 353 Science Programs in Elementary
Spring 2008 LLSS Educating Ling Diverse Students
Summer 2008 EdPsy 310 Educational Psychology
Fall 2008 EDUC 331 Teaching of Reading 11
Fall 2008 LLSS 443 Children's Literature
Fall 2008 SPCD 493 Working/Special Needs Populations
The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.
                                                         S. Gudder

Course Description:

  • Review the professional literature regarding effective teaching strategies 
  • Explore current practice of effective strategies
  • Connect learning objectives to classroom practice
  • Research strategies to practice and apply in their own classrooms
  • Explore the need for and demonstrate successful use of manipulatives in elementary mathematics instruction
  • Explore the meaning, application and implementation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards and apply to lesson planning and teaching strategies
  • Explore the need for authentic assessment tools to be used in the elementary classroom.
  • Recognize that all students can learn and that learning occurs at different rates and in different styles

Reflection on Course:

As a teacher, it's important to have a theory and a philosophy.  There were a lot of hands-on in this class which is fun and using the kinesthetic area of learning.  One fun hands-on was to bring a "junk" box containing whatever you want.  With this "junk", we learned to use pattern and then we switched seats to sit in someone's seat and try to find what pattern that they had made.  This is more of a thinking game.  Also I learned more in using WebCt for this class.  I learned to use algorithms using addition.  I used that to help a student adding numbers and it helped him; he could understand better adding up numbers.

Practicum Experiences:

I did one elementary classroom observation in mathematics.  I was to look for the objective of the lesson including NCTM Standards, introduction or hook, guided practice, independent practice, modifications, assessment and closure.  I enjoyed the class that I observed at a middle school with 7th grade class. The class played "Factor Game".  It was the teacher challenging students in this game where numbers could be use once.  Each number that was picked had a factor and those had to be circled so it won't be used again.  This game made the students think and they had the calculator to help them.  I learned about factoring again and I did not mind.

I had to give three lesson plans in different grade level. (1) I gave a lesson in first grade using colored beans and some beans were not colored.  This lesson was to find out which numbers added to ten.  I drew blank beans on the paper and the student could roll the beans and find out how many were colored and how many were not colored.  They colored the beans with the number of beans that rolled colored.  Students enjoyed this activity and kept the beans for a long time and they would comment to me when they saw me that they still had the beans.  (2) I taught 6th grade students using decimals.  I used a blank circle and start dividing it up into parts-each divided part represented a decimal number.  I taught that the number right of the decimal point grew to the right that the number got smaller.  To the left of the decimal point; the number got bigger.   (3) This lesson was given to third graders.  This lesson dealt with place value.  I also used beans in this lesson, but it was not as successful as before.  I gave beans to students and they had to place ten beans in each group and if they had more than ten they would put the bean in the next place value.  Later, I had them put beans in columns and I gave them a number to place the beans in the right place value.  This was more successful because the students had to think of how many beans represented the hundreds or tens.

I had to give a math lesson in our classroom with a partner.  Our subject was in math and language arts.  We gave the lesson on how to count money.  There was a problem that we gave and the students had to solve the problem.  This part was about learning to save money or spend money wisely.  I read Alexander, Who used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst.