Running Head: CONTENT KNOWLEDGE 1

Content Knowledge

Patricia Moormann

Regent University
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Introduction

One of the top skills that teachers need to be successful in the classroom is an

understanding of the content and how it applies to other areas in the world. One of the questions

that students ask the most in a math class is “why does this matter to me?” It is important that

teachers understand the content so they can answer these questions for their students. Math is all

around us in the world, and it is important for us as teachers to show our students how important

math is for our world.

At Brandon Middle School, we have many very bright students, but they always want to

know where it comes from and why they should know it. Students at Brandon Middle School

want to know why this is important and where this content will show up in their own lives. Many

students do not see where concepts are applied, but we make it a priority at Brandon Middle

School.

This paper includes a lesson plan on translations when we graph figures. This lesson

taught students how to complete translations, and showed where they could appear in the real

world. Attached to this lesson, I have the video demonstrating one of the ways we see

translations in video games. This paper also includes a lesson plan on dilations when we graph

figures. This lesson had students learning how to complete a dilation of a figure, and discussing

where we see dilations in our world.

Rationale For Artifacts

The first artifact is a lesson plan on translations when we graph figures and where we see

them in the world. Translations is part of the standard 8.7 in the math 8 SOLs. Students have

learned translations prior to the 8th grade which makes this concept easier for them to

understand. However, the students did not know where we actually see translations in the real
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world. One of the best ways to make sure students remember and understand the material in a

subject is by applying it to something they know and like. Classen (Classen, 2002, p. 30) wrote,

“Students are more motivated to learn when they are interested in what they are learning and

when they can see its relevance to their lives outside of school.” This is why we discussed how

translations appear outside of school in video games. For this lesson, we started it off by talking

about video games, particularly the Sims. I discussed how when you build in the Sims, there is a

grid on the lot. I explain to them that the building aspect of the Sims relates heavily back to

graphing. I told them about how each room represents a point in a figure, and the entire house

represents the figure. I showed them a video of moving a single room in a house to a different

area of the lot by picking up the room and moving it. I then showed them that you can move the

entire house on the grid by picking up the building and moving it on the grid. I explain that this

is the same as translations when we graph. The simple tool of moving the rooms and/or building

relies on the mathematical concept of translations. This simple concept became a favorite for the

students because it related back to a topic they enjoyed while completing a SOL.

The second artifact is the lesson plan used for learning to dilate figures on a graph which

is part of the standard 8.7 for the math 8 SOLs. In the 8th grade classroom, students have not

learned about dilating figures before, unlike the rest of the transformations section, but students

have learned about the word dilation in the past in science classes. When I asked the students

what the word dilation is related to, they knew the answer was the pupils. I then asked them what

does it mean when we say the pupils dilate. The students were quick to respond with the correct

answer. When I explained that dilations also take place in math, the students had an idea of how

it already worked based on their prior knowledge in science. This is because science and math

are heavily integrated together. In Blending in: Using an adaptation activity to integrate math
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and science, the authors wrote, “Making overt the connections between math and all areas of

science provides students a deeper context for their learning and provides teachers more

opportunities to reinforce important concepts,” (Wilcox, Kruse, & Clough, 2017, p. 66). The

students quickly took to dilations because of the connections to science which reinforce the ideas

in math. The dilations portion of the section in transformations was the best received topic in the

section.

Reflection

Throughout my classes at Regent University, we spent time discussing the importance of

content knowledge in the classroom. Content knowledge applies to a wide variety of topics such

as knowledge of the content being taught, understanding of the standards in Virginia, and being

able to apply concepts. As a math teacher, this is extremely important to us since students always

want to know where this content applies in their life and the world we live in. Many students do

not see math in the world around them, and it is our job as their teacher to show them how math

exists everywhere they go. This is demonstrated in a concept called mathematical literacy. In The

role of prospective mathematics teachers' knowledge of content and students in integrating

mathematical literacy, the authors wrote, “Mathematical literacy is students’ capacity to

formulate, employ and interpret mathematics in a variety of contexts which includes to reason

mathematically and to use mathematical concepts, procedures, facts and tools to describe,

explain and predict phenomena. It assists individuals to recognize the role that mathematics plays

in the world and to make the well founded judgments and decisions needed by constructive,

engaged and reflective citizens,” (Lestari, Juniati, & Suwarsono, 2019, p. 152)(p.152). Math is

used to not only solve equations, but solve problems that students face in their lives. It teaches

them to logically think through their problems. It helps them develop the ability to come up with
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unique solutions to a problem. This is all part of mathematical literacy. Students will have a hard

time developing mathematical literacy if the teacher is not prepared and does not have an

understanding of the content knowledge necessary for the students to be successful.

For our students to be successful, we need to know about the standards that the students

need to understand. We need to know where we are directing our students, and have a plan for

them so they can succeed. We also need to know the content ourselves. This means that we need

to have a deep understanding of why this content is true. While you can teach the process of

division, you need to understand how and why division works for you to be able to answer any

question the students give you. We also need to know how these concepts apply in the world

around us. It is very easy for us to separate math from the rest of the world, but it is important to

remember that many of the things that we enjoy stem from mathematics. The buildings that we

step foot in everyday, the rides we enjoy at amusement parks, the machines we use to wash our

clothes or cook our food come from a mathematical background that made them possible. It is

important for us to teach our students how math lives all around us and is a wonderful creation

from God.
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Works Cited

Classen, M. (2002). Applying math to real life. School Libraries in Canada, 22(1), p. 30.

Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.regent.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&

sid=9ce0a74e-07c4-40bc-9529-3b45e4cde45b%40sessionmgr4008

Lestari, N., Juniati, D., & Suwarsono, S. (2019). The role of prospective mathematics teachers'

knowledge of content and students in integrating mathematical literacy. New Educational

Review, 57, pp. 151-160. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.regent.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&

sid=be6503b3-7efa-4b44-9131-8009a452ae4e%40sessionmgr4006

Wilcox, J., Kruse, J., & Clough, M. (2017). Blending in: Using an adaptation activity to integrate

math and science. Science & Children, 54(9), 60-66. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.regent.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&

sid=2a76a7bf-cace-44cc-b37a-174672f8de74%40sessionmgr4008