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How are the quality teaching elements you have identified achieved within the lesson?
400
100 3
100 3
100 3
100 3
12
Hence the answer is $12
25 Teacher to hand out first principles percentage Teacher: Hand out worksheet S
minutes graded worksheet. and monitor class. Differentiate
activity to student needs as
Teacher to walk around the class and monitor required.
students. Provide extra assistance to students who
are still struggling to understand the concept. For Student: Engage in the
advanced learners (once finished worksheet), completion of the worksheet.
extend to concept to involve percentages greater
than 100%. E.g. How would you apply this method if Resources: Worksheet 1 - First
you had to find 150% of $300? When would you Principles Percentage
have a percentage greater than $100 in real life?
What does it mean.
Ans:
150% means $150 for every $100.
300
100 150
100 150
100 150
450
Conclusion Get students to share how they solved the Teacher: Encourage student S
questions. If they discovered any faster methods or contribution
10 general patters? If so, get them to explain why it
minutes works. Student: Share possible
algorithms to compute
percentages more quickly
Resources:
Reflection
What have I learned about the teaching and learning process when preparing this lesson?
This lesson has provided me an understanding of how relational learning can be applied in a secondary school
maths environment. In comparison to traditional textbook based approaches, I believe this format is more
engaging for students as they develop a conceptual understanding.
Other considerations
Complete the table blow by inserting the AISTL graduate standards that you are demonstrating and
indicates the evidence from this lesson that should comply with the standard.
WHS
What are the key risk issues that may appear for and need to be reduced/eliminated in this lesson? Using your
syllabus and support documents as well as other WHS policy- Outline the key WHS considerations that are to
be applied in this lesson?
None
Resources Attached:
See Appendix
Lesson Plan 2
Topic area: NA Fractions, Decimals Stage of Learner: Syllabus Pages:
and Percentages Stage 4, Year 8
Mixed ability class
Focus is percentages component
Students have completed
outcomes ACMNA152-8,
ACMNA184 and ACMNA186
Cross Curriculum themes & General capabilities Explicit subject specific concepts and skills
Using a skills based (instrumental) approach, help
students understand how we can find percentages of
quantities, and later apply this to determine percentage
increases and decreases.
Quality Teaching Elements (lesson focus) Highlight the appropriate areas
Intellectual Quality 1.1 Deep knowledge 1.4 Higher-order thinking
This refers to pedagogy focused on producing deep understanding of 1.2 Deep 1.5 Metalanguage
important, substantive concepts, skills and ideas. Such pedagogy treats understanding 1.6 Substantive
knowledge as something that requires active construction and requires students 1.3 Problematic communication
to engage in higher-order thinking and to communicate substantively about knowledge
what they are learning.
Quality Learning Environment 2.1 Explicit quality 2.4 Social Support
This refers to pedagogy that creates classrooms where students and teachers criteria 2.5 Students’ self
work productively in an environment clearly focused on learning. Such pedagogy 2.2 Engagement regulation
sets high and explicit expectations and develops positive relationships between 2.3 High Expectations 2.6 Student direction
teacher and students and among students.
Significance 3.1 Background 3.4 Inclusivity
This refers to pedagogy that helps make learning more meaningful and knowledge 3.5 Connectedness
important to students. Such pedagogy draws clear connections with students’ 3.2 Cultural knowledge 3.6 Narrative
prior knowledge and identities, with contexts outside of the classroom, and with 3.3 Knowledge
multiple ways of knowing all cultural perspective. integration
How are the quality teaching elements you have identified achieved within the lesson?
Resources: Worksheet 2 –
Percentage Change
Conclusion Teacher to emphasise main learning goals of lesson: Teacher: Recap key points of T
- Today we learnt a quicker way to find the lesson.
5 minutes percentage of quantity.
- We also learnt how we can increase or decrease a Student: Recall what they have
quantity by a percentage. learnt today.
Resources:
Reflection
What have I learned about the teaching and learning process when preparing this lesson?
In the preparation of this lesson, I have learned to be selective with the examples I provide students and the
questions I select for them. Following a conventional teaching methodology, I would have provided students
an example of all the different types of questions and shown them the procedure how to solve them. Whilst
this is still a skills based lesson, I have chosen to let students discover some aspects/shortcuts independently
(e.g. using 110%*value for percentage increase).
Other considerations
Complete the table blow by inserting the AISTL graduate standards that you are demonstrating and
indicates the evidence from this lesson that should comply with the standard.
WHS
What are the key risk issues that may appear for and need to be reduced/eliminated in this lesson? Using your
syllabus and support documents as well as other WHS policy- Outline the key WHS considerations that are to
be applied in this lesson?
None
Resources Attached:
See Appendix
Lesson Plan 3
Topic area: NA Fractions, Decimals Stage of Learner: Syllabus Pages:
and Percentages Stage 4, Year 8
Mixed ability class
Focus is percentages component
Students have completed
outcomes ACMNA152-8,
ACMNA184 and ACMNA186-7
Cross Curriculum themes & General capabilities Explicit subject specific concepts and skills
Using a constructivist approach, students understand the
importance of percentages in everyday life. Students must
work together in groups and use previously learnt
knowledge to devise solutions.
Quality Teaching Elements (lesson focus) Highlight the appropriate areas
Intellectual Quality 1.1 Deep knowledge 1.4 Higher-order thinking
This refers to pedagogy focused on producing deep understanding of 1.2 Deep 1.5 Metalanguage
important, substantive concepts, skills and ideas. Such pedagogy treats understanding 1.6 Substantive
knowledge as something that requires active construction and requires students 1.3 Problematic communication
to engage in higher-order thinking and to communicate substantively about knowledge
what they are learning.
Quality Learning Environment 2.1 Explicit quality 2.4 Social Support
This refers to pedagogy that creates classrooms where students and teachers criteria 2.5 Students’ self
work productively in an environment clearly focused on learning. Such pedagogy 2.2 Engagement regulation
sets high and explicit expectations and develops positive relationships between 2.3 High Expectations 2.6 Student direction
teacher and students and among students.
Significance 3.1 Background 3.4 Inclusivity
This refers to pedagogy that helps make learning more meaningful and knowledge 3.5 Connectedness
important to students. Such pedagogy draws clear connections with students’ 3.2 Cultural knowledge 3.6 Narrative
prior knowledge and identities, with contexts outside of the classroom, and with 3.3 Knowledge
multiple ways of knowing all cultural perspective. integration
How are the quality teaching elements you have identified achieved within the lesson?
15 Students present their solutions to the teacher. Teacher: Teacher to interrogate T and S
minutes student solutions and form an
Teacher to walk to the individual groups and listen assessment of students’ level of
to the solutions provided by students. Teacher must understanding
challenge students to defend their solution,
ensuring the reasoning provided is robust. Based on Student: Explain solutions as a
the reasoning students provided, the teacher can group to teacher
assess their current level of understanding.
Resources:
Conclusion Teacher to emphasise main learning goals of lesson: Teacher: Recap key points of T
- Today we went through an example of how lesson.
5 minutes percentages are used in the real world
- Real world problems are often more open ended. Student: Recall what they have
What if the new pasteurisation tank cost more to learnt today.
maintain. Installation costs.
- If you haven’t gotten the answer yet, try to do it at Resources:
home. We will go over the answer next lesson.
Reflection
What have I learned about the teaching and learning process when preparing this lesson?
In this lesson, I wanted to get students learning from each other to solve a problem that is realistic in
nature. In doing so, I have learnt how group work can be involved in mathematics. Solving problems
as a part of a team also more closely mimics a real workplace environment.
Other considerations
Complete the table blow by inserting the AISTL graduate standards that you are demonstrating and
indicates the evidence from this lesson that should comply with the standard.
WHS
What are the key risk issues that may appear for and need to be reduced/eliminated in this lesson?
Using your syllabus and support documents as well as other WHS policy- Outline the key WHS
considerations that are to be applied in this lesson?
None
Resources Attached:
“Cheese Making Process”
Academic Justification
With an emphasis on increasing student engagement and developing an understanding
of mathematics, three lesson plans were designed for the stage four unit “Fractions,
Decimals and Percentages.” The lessons focused on the percentages component of
this unit of work and explored them through a conceptual, skills based and a team
based problem-solving approach. Key pedagogical frameworks such as the NSW
Quality Teaching (QT) Model and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
(APST) helped shape the techniques and strategies employed (NSW DET, 2003; aitsl,
2012). This justification explores the rationale behind each lesson plan, with reference
to academic literature exploring what makes effective pedagogy for mathematics.
The first lesson plan utilized a conceptual approach, exploring the concept of
percentages. In his 1976 article, Skemp explores what is meant by understanding,
distinguishing between relational understanding, that is knowing both what to do and
why, and instrumental understanding, possessing a rule and the ability to use it.
Relational mathematics involves building up an idea conceptually so that the student
can produce an infinite number of plans to reach any finishing point, given a starting
point (Skemp, 1976). Current research recognizes mathematics as a highly
compressible subject, being difficult to learn but once thoroughly understood, can be
recalled quickly and completely. Flexibility of numbers and compression of concepts
were associated with high achieving students (Boaler, 2010 p.218). Ergo, a conceptual
approach was used to introduce the notion of percentages. The lesson began by
students completing a table which revises their ability to interchangeably convert
fractions, decimals and percentages. This activity acts as a pre-assessment, in which
the teacher can recognize and revise concepts students may not have previously
understood, and provide feedback to students on their learning in accordance with the
APST (aitsl, 2012). Next, the teacher stimulates discussion in the class regarding what
their concept of percentages is, engaging the students and allowing them to share any
background knowledge they may have. Three examples are then used to build up how
to find a percentage of a quantity based on a first principles approach (First principles
percentage, n.d.). A graded worksheet that increases in difficulty is then given to
students. Students can solve questions using the first principles approach or apply any
algorithms they may have discovered. The lesson concludes by students sharing
methods they found that allows to solve these problems more quickly, foreshadowing
the skills based approach used in the next lesson.
With the concept of percentages being explained relationally in lesson one, lesson two
then built upon this to demonstrate procedurally how percentages of quantities can be
determined and the application of this to increase or decrease quantities. Improving
upon traditional mathematical pedagogy, one recommendation by Ley (2014) includes
to begin the lesson by writing five questions on the board which revise content learnt,
and introduce concepts that will be learnt in the future. This five-question approach
was used to revise algebraic techniques that will be used for future percentage
questions. Students are also introduced to the term GST, which they must define and
quantify based on their own research, incorporating elements of connectedness and
metalanguage from the NSW QT model (NSW DET, 2003). During this time, the
teacher also talks to each student, providing individual feedback (Ley, 2014). Next,
the teacher demonstrates examples of how to determine percentages of quantities
using an instrumental approach. The same examples as the previous lesson are used so
students compare both methodologies directly. Students are then given select
examples to complete. Finally, real world applications in the form of percentage
changes are introduced, accompanied by a graded worksheet for students to complete.
Concepts are taught using a step by step approach and it is up to the students to
determine shortcuts to the procedure. Pairing of students to complete activities
provides social support (NSW DET, 2003). Practice activities provide students
opportunities to improve their computational fluency and problem-solving skills, and
examples were connected to everyday life where possible (Anthony & Walshaw,
2007).
The final lesson of the sequence aims to apply what students have learnt in the
previous lesson, to a genuine realistic problem. Once again, a five-question approach
is used as a lesson starter, revising concepts in the process (Ley, 2014). Question five
of the starter extends students, requiring them to use their mathematical knowledge to
work backwards to find the original value. A group based problem solving activity is
then introduced to students. The use of open-ended projects as a pedagogical tool has
shown to be effective in a mixed ability class setting for mathematics, with many
students achieving higher grades than their peers being taught through a more
examination oriented approach (Boaler, 2010). Context for the problem is first set
with a video outlining the cheese making process, increasing connectedness which
forms effective pedagogy as per the NSW QT model and Anthony & Walshaw
(2007). Following the Japanese model for mathematics, students then attempt to solve
the problem individually before being divided into groups where they collectively
attempt to find the solution (Takahashi, 2006). Towards the end of the lesson, the
teacher then discusses with students what methods they have applied, ensuring the
reasoning provided is robust. Based on student response, the teacher can formatively
assess student understanding and what content needs to be revised in future lessons.
Hence, through application of conceptual, skills based and team based problem
solving approaches, the designed lesson plans provide stage 4 students an introduction
to percentages. Academic research into effective mathematical pedagogy, along with
pedagogical frameworks such as the NSW QT model and the Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers (APST) were central in shaping the lessons, placing emphasis
on increasing student engagement and developing an understanding of mathematics.
References
Anthony, G., & Walshaw, M. (2007). Effective pedagogy in mathematics. Wellington:
International Academy of Education (IAE).
200
100
100
350
100
100
100
50
14
11. Find 4.75% of $250 12. What are some limitations of this
approach?
Worksheet 2 – Percentage Changes
5. In order to make a larger profit, Pat 6. Before a discount, a car costs $20,000.
wants to raise his gym’s membership fee After a discount, it now costs $18,320.
by 18%. He currently charges $82.50 for How much of a discount was given on the
membership. How much will the new car? Write your answer in dollars first
membership fee be? Show all working and then convert to a percentage.