Phase 3: Action Plan
Desired Results
The goal of all teachers is to ensure students master concepts explored. The challenge is how do teachers get their students to the highest level of learning. The research of Bloom’s Taxonomy has revealed a learning continuum where recall is the lowest level of learning and evaluation being the highest level. Recall is the lowest level because the information can be forgotten over a span of time. Concentrating instruction on roe memorization is basically teaching a discipline. On the contrary, the goal for my students is for students to gain an enduring understanding that surpasses recall, comprehension, and application. The purpose of my Imagine-It project is to provide students with learning adventures that embraces analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of mathematical concepts. To achieve this level of learning, instruction will be focused on cultivating disciplined minds.
Gardner explains that students can develop disciplined minds when the following components are present: Essential topics, depth in content exploration, multiple approaches to explore topic, and performance of understanding. I will be incorporating these four concepts in in my Imagine-It project so students can master math content as evident through their ability to synthesize and evaluate math problems. My Imagine-It project will increase students’ awareness for math around them in everyday life through problem based learning (PBL). My desired goal is for students to transfer their learning into lifelong experiences by making sense of the world around them using math.
Acceptable Evidence
Students will be given four PBL projects over the course of the school year to provide them with opportunities to apply their content knowledge learned. Problem Based Learning projects will be used as a form of summative assessments, as well as, an activity to expose students to real world experiences. These projects will be used for students to apply what they have learned in a new situation. Using it as a culminating activity will also allow students to expand on what they have learned and present it in an observable way. Project based learning promotes performance of understanding by giving students the chance to go beyond textbooks and lectures.
PBL projects will be explored quarterly allowing students to experience real world math problems in depth. Students’ concept knowledge and comprehension building up to the quarterly projects will be assessed daily using a variety of assessment tools. The formative assessments will require students to explain, interpret, and apply their learning. There will be multiple assessment for each topic allowing students to demonstrate their understanding at their level of comfort. Differentiating the product increases student achievement.
Daily assessments will be both formal and informal. Examples of informal formative assessments include peer discussion, instructional observation, exit slips, math journals, and student created notes. Formal assessments will include written quizzes, pre and post test, and journal reflections. Assessments will be living documents with immediate feedback for students to re-evaluate their thinking.
Learning Experience and Instruction
Context:
This will be my first year in the role of a math resource lab instructor. I will provide students with math intervention and enrichment as an ancillary prep class. Classes that will receive this weekly prep were selected off their most recent NWEA RIT scores. Sixth grade was in the 3rd percentile for academic growth on the NWEA and 9th percentile for grade level attainment. Making them a target group math instruction. They will be participants in the math resource lab once a week in efforts of providing them with additional academic support. There are two gender homogeneous 6th grade class. An all boys class and an all girls class. Our class are separated by gender to help students focus on academics and to curve disruptive behavior.
In addition to whole class instruction, I will also facilitate weekly small group sessions. Students in grades 6-8th were selected to participate in the small groups based off their RIT scores. Groups will be academically homogeneous with blended genders. Groups will target students in the 10th growth percentile and lower, as well as students in the 70th attainment percentile and higher. Small groups will meet one to two times a week.
Content:
My Imagine-It project will cover math content including, but not limited to integers, factors and multiples, rational numbers, operations with fractions, operations with decimals, ratios and rates, percents, equations and relationships, area, surface area and volume. My goal is for students to be able to expand on these concepts outside of textbooks and printed materials. Students will explore these foundational elementary math concepts using the Common Core mathematical practices. The practices includes making sense of problems and persevering in solving them, modeling with mathematics, using appropriate tools strategically, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, and attending to precision.
The goal of all teachers is to ensure students master concepts explored. The challenge is how do teachers get their students to the highest level of learning. The research of Bloom’s Taxonomy has revealed a learning continuum where recall is the lowest level of learning and evaluation being the highest level. Recall is the lowest level because the information can be forgotten over a span of time. Concentrating instruction on roe memorization is basically teaching a discipline. On the contrary, the goal for my students is for students to gain an enduring understanding that surpasses recall, comprehension, and application. The purpose of my Imagine-It project is to provide students with learning adventures that embraces analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of mathematical concepts. To achieve this level of learning, instruction will be focused on cultivating disciplined minds.
Gardner explains that students can develop disciplined minds when the following components are present: Essential topics, depth in content exploration, multiple approaches to explore topic, and performance of understanding. I will be incorporating these four concepts in in my Imagine-It project so students can master math content as evident through their ability to synthesize and evaluate math problems. My Imagine-It project will increase students’ awareness for math around them in everyday life through problem based learning (PBL). My desired goal is for students to transfer their learning into lifelong experiences by making sense of the world around them using math.
Acceptable Evidence
Students will be given four PBL projects over the course of the school year to provide them with opportunities to apply their content knowledge learned. Problem Based Learning projects will be used as a form of summative assessments, as well as, an activity to expose students to real world experiences. These projects will be used for students to apply what they have learned in a new situation. Using it as a culminating activity will also allow students to expand on what they have learned and present it in an observable way. Project based learning promotes performance of understanding by giving students the chance to go beyond textbooks and lectures.
PBL projects will be explored quarterly allowing students to experience real world math problems in depth. Students’ concept knowledge and comprehension building up to the quarterly projects will be assessed daily using a variety of assessment tools. The formative assessments will require students to explain, interpret, and apply their learning. There will be multiple assessment for each topic allowing students to demonstrate their understanding at their level of comfort. Differentiating the product increases student achievement.
Daily assessments will be both formal and informal. Examples of informal formative assessments include peer discussion, instructional observation, exit slips, math journals, and student created notes. Formal assessments will include written quizzes, pre and post test, and journal reflections. Assessments will be living documents with immediate feedback for students to re-evaluate their thinking.
Learning Experience and Instruction
Context:
This will be my first year in the role of a math resource lab instructor. I will provide students with math intervention and enrichment as an ancillary prep class. Classes that will receive this weekly prep were selected off their most recent NWEA RIT scores. Sixth grade was in the 3rd percentile for academic growth on the NWEA and 9th percentile for grade level attainment. Making them a target group math instruction. They will be participants in the math resource lab once a week in efforts of providing them with additional academic support. There are two gender homogeneous 6th grade class. An all boys class and an all girls class. Our class are separated by gender to help students focus on academics and to curve disruptive behavior.
In addition to whole class instruction, I will also facilitate weekly small group sessions. Students in grades 6-8th were selected to participate in the small groups based off their RIT scores. Groups will be academically homogeneous with blended genders. Groups will target students in the 10th growth percentile and lower, as well as students in the 70th attainment percentile and higher. Small groups will meet one to two times a week.
Content:
My Imagine-It project will cover math content including, but not limited to integers, factors and multiples, rational numbers, operations with fractions, operations with decimals, ratios and rates, percents, equations and relationships, area, surface area and volume. My goal is for students to be able to expand on these concepts outside of textbooks and printed materials. Students will explore these foundational elementary math concepts using the Common Core mathematical practices. The practices includes making sense of problems and persevering in solving them, modeling with mathematics, using appropriate tools strategically, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, and attending to precision.