The Goals Before Designing Lessons

This paper will demonstrate the pre-service teachers’ understanding of mathematical practices as part of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. It will address two specific standards for Mathematical Practices, describing the essence of both and providing a description of how teachers facilitate these practices and how students are engaged in the practices.

When the practitioners are planning, they can also ensure that they involve all children no matter what the mathematical ability to allow group learning and supporting one another which Vygotsky (Richard Culatta, 2015) says is how children learn best. Practitioners should plan for an enabling environment that promotes maths by surrounding the children in mathematical concepts and language, to support emergent maths. Practitioners should praise children. Practitioners should support all children’s development to ensure children and school ready and they are developing their emergent

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was first implemented in 2010, nine years after I graduated from high school. Although I wasn’t personally affected by the new academic standards, it has a direct impact on the current and future generation of leaders, innovators, and world changers including my future children. The initial purpose of the Common Core Standards is to set high-quality learning goals designed to prepare students to be college and career ready. Given the current controversies surrounding CCSS, studies have shown that although the intent was to benefit students in the long-run it may actually be hindering their mathematical and reading skills. To further explore the arguments behind the Common Core initiative, I will

This program is appropriate in a diverse, 4th grade general education classroom. The modules are made up of “Topics” and “Lessons” that are aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Each module provides the foundational standards needed for the lessons (i.e. CCSS from the previous grade), as well as the focus grade level standards. The first module introduces concepts which are then spiraled within the next module’s focus. While the modules are thematic and based on each mathematics domain (base ten numbers, geometry, fractions, data, algebraic thinking), some standards are seen across topics and lessons. Each lesson has allocated time to four major components: fluency practice, concept development, application problems, and student debrief.

The new Common Core State Standards for Mathematics bring a new opportunity to the classrooms of the United States that many people view as a controversial. According to the NCTM (2013) “The Common Core State Standards offer a foundation for the development of more rigorous, focused, and coherent mathematics curricula, instruction, and assessments that promote conceptual understanding and reasoning as well as skill fluency” (par. 1). While some people believe that the Common Core State Standards may hinder progress in the classroom for many reasons including too much government control, teaching to the test, an excessive focus on language arts and math, and wasted resources, others agree with the NCTM statement about that claims the standards help increase conceptual understanding, reasoning, and skill fluency.

Artifact: The artifact is to execute a mathematics learning plan for fourth graders that facilitates and encourages both individual and group motivation whilst encouraging social interaction while both levels of motivation are being fostered. As suggested by the assignment and principle, heavy use will be made of technology as it is proven that technology can be used to facilitate and speed the learning process as well as interactions among the group.

This chapter explores the underperforming United States education system that does not prepare students to be creative, think critically, work collaboratively, or communicate effectively to be ready to participate in society (Ferguson, 2011, p. 7). In addition to overall underwhelming performance in academics, the failure to incorporate real world everyday experiences in mathematics prevents students from developing critical thinking and logic skills so that they will be responsible and active citizens of society and have access to jobs in the fields science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM).

A classroom with a critical and creative thinking environment provides opportunities for higher-level thinking within authentic and meaningful contexts, complex problem solving, open-ended responses, and cooperation and interaction. Many students see math as right or wrong and they don’t question or explore more. As a future math teacher, I want students to learn to question, be critical, and be creative. I want my future students to feel engage in exploration and investigation. I want to equip my students with higher levels of thinking and engagement and make mathematics more relevant and meaningful.

This artifact addresses the standards of content/subject matter, diverse learners, instructional strategies, and methods of teaching in several different ways. The artifact deals with the content of 8th grade math, in this particular artifact it deals with slope, proportionality, and slope intercept form. With using these concepts, I used a variety of strategies including creative thinking and problem solving to make questions. I was also able to create opportunities for diverse learners in this lesson with the strategies and methods of the 8th grade math content. When creating this lesson it was not my goal to interconnect these four standards, it was after reflecting on the lesson that I observed I connected these four standards in my lesson

In 2010 majority of the states in the U.S. adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). These new standards were built on the best of high-quality math standards from states across the country. They also draw on the most important international models for mathematical practice, as well as research and input from numerous sources, including state departments of education, scholars, assessment developers, professional organizations, educators, parents and students, and members of the public. The CCSS provide clarity and specificity rather than broad general statements. The CCSS stress conceptual understanding of key ideas, but also by continually returning to organizing principles such as place value and the laws of arithmetic to structure

“Helping students develop mathematical dispositions in which they share their ideas, discuss others’ ideas, and so on, is always a challenge,” (The National Council of Teachers Mathematics, 2003, P. 151). I found this quote and reading to be very relatable, in the sense that students can often struggle to come up with their own ideas. This was definitely true for me and my group when we were working on the locker problem in class. In the book and in class, discussions can really benefit students and keep them engaged. “To encourage all students to contribute to discussions, the teacher should ask other students to explain their classmates ideas,” (The National Council of Teachers Mathematics, 2003, P. 153) this statement made me think of dialogic teaching. Dialogic teaching is students having a rich discussion amongst each other while being guided by the teacher. The students find out the answer on their own and the teacher does not tell them. So social norms and classroom management plays a big role when students problem solve.

Lastly, of the discussed topics, one that was continuously touched upon was the recent implementation of an accelerated learning program, exclusive to mathematics. Currently active in only a few elementary schools, the program allows for students who find themselves completing the allotted workload in advance to progress at their own pace. The function of such an initiative is to both encourage and foster the growth of precocious students in the mathematical field, and to give said students a greater degree of control over their own educational

In today’s society mathematics is a vital part of day-to-day life. No matter what a person is doing at home or at the workplace, he/she is constantly using different mathematics skills to simply function. Then what does this mean for mathematics education? When someone needs to utilize a skill every day then he/she needs a strong background in the skill. Therefore, today’s students need more than a just a working knowledge of mathematics or enough knowledge to pass a test. Today’s students need to understand how mathematics works and how to utilize mathematics skills in the best way possible.

Maths is ubiquitous in our lives, but depending on the learning received as a child it could inspire or frighten. If a child has a negative experience in mathematics, that experience has the ability to affect his/her attitude toward mathematics as an adult. Solso (2009) explains that math has the ability to confuse, frighten, and frustrate learners of all ages; Math also has the ability to inspire, encourage and achieve. Almost all daily activities include some form of mathematical procedure, whether people are aware of it or not. Possessing a solid learning foundation for math is vital to ensure a lifelong understanding of math. This essay will discuss why it is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence (Anghileri, 2006, p. 2) and why mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri).

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.