Week Nine Reflection

I think that I'm definitely at a Level 2. Because I understand these concepts at a more complex and developed level, I believe that as a teacher, I'll be able to help my students understand shapes and geometry at a basic level, but with the opportunity to improve and grow on what they already know. Geometry, like any math, is such a fundamental building block skill that has to be slowly learned through more and more information being grasped. As an instructor, it's important to understand your skill and content area at a deep and complex level before trying to teach them to students without a basis of knowledge at all.

Week 8 Reflection Questions

1. In class, we worked with collecting data through measurements. When we were collecting this data, we had to be very specific about what tools we were using, units of measurement, where exactly we were measuring to and from, and what we were rounding to. We found that everyone in class was doing different things, and we weren't all on the same page, therefore, our data couldn't be presented to the class accurately. In Chapter 11, the book discusses different ways and styles of collecting data. Chapter 11 shows that not only are there different styles of collecting the data, but also very different ways to present the data. At the end of the chapter, it discusses how to describe a set of data, and lists the different ways that data can be described and explained to an outside eye.

2. I am very fortunate to have been able to teach my math lesson on data collecting, and building graphs. The students were very attentive, and listened carefully to learn how to collect the data. I've noticed that they're very good at it, and really like to ask questions and write down responses. As third graders, they are very inquisitive, and they also like to compare their answers, and work with their classmates. It's good to allow this from a mathematical standpoint, so that they can collect information, and be able to see the differing ways a problem can be solved. Each day, a lunch count is taken by the class "helper" and they take a count of who is going to eat what each day. I like that they do this in class so that they can really collect data and record it on a daily basis. It will help them in the long run not to forget how to do this task.

3. Looking at the SC Kindergarten Standards, it tells us that data is organized in the form of drawings and pictures. As the grades get higher, data is displayed more numerically, and is represented more accurately. Chapters 11 and 12 describe more completely how to teach this concept of data collection and representation, and gives ideas for teachers on how to approach these standards in a tangible way in their classrooms. I really like having this book relate directly to the standards by giving us ideas to work with after we've reviewed and read the standards.