I believe my teaching episode went good. There are many things that I liked about my lesson, and a few things that I didn’t like and would like to do differently. It seemed that all students enjoyed the first activity. Students were asked to estimate how much a certain amount of water is, and then check to see if they made the correct prediction. This helped with students to build in their number sense, and help build the concept of capacity. By asking students what strategies they were using in estimating, they got to reflect upon what they were doing, and become aware of the process they are using.When students were predicting the different amounts, it was interesting to see the different strategies they used when predicting. Sometimes students used the reasoning that they knew how much was in the full bottle, and other times they referred to their previous measurements. I liked this activity because it was very hands on, and students can learn visually. It also allowed them to work in groups, so they can construct their knowledge socially. It was so great to see how excited students were when they predicted the correct measurement. Best of all, this activity captured the students attention, I was not struggling to keep them on task. By the student’s reaction, and the minimum noise in the class, I knew students were enjoying this activity, and learning the concept of capacity. In my class, I will be using this activity in the future.
The second activity, did not go over so smoothly. When students were asked to design their own question, it was apparent that the students did not want to do this. How come? Well, it could have been the fact that the class was over, and we were going over time. OR, students was not ready to design their own problem. Why? The problem we asked students to do was abstract, and may have been too abstract. If students were used to doing abstract things that have more than one answer, they may have been able to complete the problem. As teachers, we should have scaffolded students to a higher level. I do not think that students were very clear on the concept of capacity and 1ml = 1cm3. Students should have been given a number of different problems before the problem they had more than one answer. If students are not comfortable with this concept, they will not be able to do higher order questions, such as the one that we asked our fellow classmates to do. It is much easier to answer questions with one answer, but if the question involves more than one answer, it can get a bit tricky. The beauty about letting students design their own question is they can make it as challenging as need be. They can differentiate it to their own ability levels. The greater the understanding of a concept, the more in depth the students can design their questions.
In conclusion, I like that my lesson allowed students to work in groups to socially construct their knowledge. I also liked that students were given manipulative to visually explore the concept of capacity. Students really seemed to enjoy the activity. The activities chosen were evidently motivating and intriguing for students. The second activity did not work as well, I think further scaffolding should have been done for students to grasp the capacity concept. Also one thing that my professor pointed out, is in the lesson I should not say, you can get manipulative’s if you need them. Instead, manipulative’s should have been given and tell students they may use them. By using the word “need”, it makes students feel that when using them, they are not as smart as those that are not using them. Also, thanks to my fellow students, I have learned many different ways in grouping students. In my lesson, I simply asked students to get in groups of 4 or 5, this did not work to well. It would have been better to assign them to groups. I really liked the idea of using different ways to represent a number, to get students into groups (AGAIn, thanks to me fellow classmates). For example, they had six written, the number six, and symbols to represent six. Everyone that represent the number six was in one group. In older grades (this lesson was for grade 6), students can be in groups by matching all fractions that equal eachother. For example; 2/3, 4/6, etc. All in all, I would do this lesson again with some areas to improve on.
The second activity, did not go over so smoothly. When students were asked to design their own question, it was apparent that the students did not want to do this. How come? Well, it could have been the fact that the class was over, and we were going over time. OR, students was not ready to design their own problem. Why? The problem we asked students to do was abstract, and may have been too abstract. If students were used to doing abstract things that have more than one answer, they may have been able to complete the problem. As teachers, we should have scaffolded students to a higher level. I do not think that students were very clear on the concept of capacity and 1ml = 1cm3. Students should have been given a number of different problems before the problem they had more than one answer. If students are not comfortable with this concept, they will not be able to do higher order questions, such as the one that we asked our fellow classmates to do. It is much easier to answer questions with one answer, but if the question involves more than one answer, it can get a bit tricky. The beauty about letting students design their own question is they can make it as challenging as need be. They can differentiate it to their own ability levels. The greater the understanding of a concept, the more in depth the students can design their questions.
In conclusion, I like that my lesson allowed students to work in groups to socially construct their knowledge. I also liked that students were given manipulative to visually explore the concept of capacity. Students really seemed to enjoy the activity. The activities chosen were evidently motivating and intriguing for students. The second activity did not work as well, I think further scaffolding should have been done for students to grasp the capacity concept. Also one thing that my professor pointed out, is in the lesson I should not say, you can get manipulative’s if you need them. Instead, manipulative’s should have been given and tell students they may use them. By using the word “need”, it makes students feel that when using them, they are not as smart as those that are not using them. Also, thanks to my fellow students, I have learned many different ways in grouping students. In my lesson, I simply asked students to get in groups of 4 or 5, this did not work to well. It would have been better to assign them to groups. I really liked the idea of using different ways to represent a number, to get students into groups (AGAIn, thanks to me fellow classmates). For example, they had six written, the number six, and symbols to represent six. Everyone that represent the number six was in one group. In older grades (this lesson was for grade 6), students can be in groups by matching all fractions that equal eachother. For example; 2/3, 4/6, etc. All in all, I would do this lesson again with some areas to improve on.
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