EDUC 4403B Faculty of Education The University of Western Ontario

Classroom Learning Theory and Practice Assignment

Stephanie Kwok (250379123)

Activity #1: The Shape of a Lesson

The lesson I selected for use in this particular activity was a lesson from my Grade 9 Academic mathematics class. This lesson was part of the Unit #4 Solving Equations unit. The topic of this lesson dealt with summarizing everything that has been taught thus far in the unit. I made use of creating foldables to enhance the students understanding of the topic. I have titled this lesson: Solving Equations Summary.

Lesson Introduction: Prior to the commencement of the actual lesson, the students in this particular class are used to taking up homework from the previous days lesson. In this way, the class has the opportunity to clarify any concerns and misconceptions about any of the previous material before proceeding on with new material of the day. Nevertheless, prior to the usual homework take-up, this lesson incorporated a brief, yet thorough take-up of Unit #3 Algebra test. I have attached to this document a copy of the SmartBoard file that I have used for this lesson as well. Subsequent to the take up of the test, we proceeded on with the accustomed homework take-up followed by a homework quiz. These homework quizzes are not issued everyday and are used to assess whether the students are completing homework regularly. It is imperative for students in Grade 9 Academic math to start becoming accustomed to doing homework on a daily basis and to ask questions when unclear on certain concepts. This practice of quizzing students on homework is one method to assist students towards this goal. These homework quizzes consists of choosing three questions from the homework (which have not been taken up in class) and allowing the students only to have their homework in front of them so they can copy over those three questions onto a separate sheet of paper for assessment. This can assist teachers with starting to understand some of the primary means of why a student may be struggling with the unit or even the course as a whole. As well, this information can be presented to parents when discussing the progress of the student. Following the homework quiz, students are then made aware of the purpose of the lesson by being asked to select three different coloured construction paper to make a foldable summarizing the steps to solving equations. The expected learning outcomes from this lesson was for the students to be able to have the steps of solving equations right at their fingertips and to solve equations with ease by following the appropriate steps.

Instructional Strategies: The main goal of this lesson was for students to create a foldable out of three sheets of construction paper that summarized all the steps to solving equations learned in the Grade 9

mathematics curriculum. This method of incorporating the use of foldables in the lesson can accommodate those learners who are kinesthetic and learn through the use of their hands. Foldables allows the students to be creative while staying close to the curriculum. After allowing the students choice in the colour of construction paper to be used in their foldable, the lesson begins by leading the students through a recall of the steps to follow when solving equations. The students are prompted to give these steps since they should be familiar with them at this point in the unit. In the SmartBoard file provided alongside this activity, the steps the students were required to include in their foldables is shown. This activity seemed to engage a majority of the learners because this allowed the students flexibility in terms of decorating their personal foldable making it their own. Below is an image that shows the completed look of how the foldable may look like. Within each tab corresponds to the appropriate steps to be done prior to proceeding on to the next steps. These steps are provided in the SmartBoard file.

When every student has completed their foldable, activity sheets are then handed out so students can practice solving various equations. Some equations are then taken up in class by having student volunteers approach the SmartBoard to show their solution to the particular question. Lesson closure is achieved by assigning homework to the students, requesting students to copy down the homework, and allowing students the rest of the period to work quietly in their seats.

Teacher Knowledge: In this lesson, some students may find it difficult to follow along with the steps required to create the foldable. The reason attributed to this expectation was based on the knowledge that some learners may be excited with the fact that they get to create something unique to themselves and so they lose focus, not paying attention. One was to solve this problem can be to so over the steps slowly while showcasing how the product should look like at that stage and having the students raise their hands to acknowledge that they have reached the same stage in their foldable. This lessons relative success can be beneficial to the students while they study for the unit test. Having the steps to solving equations in an organized, easy to read foldable can aid the students in reviewing the steps required to solve equations.

Activity #2: Classroom Management

Attached to this activity is Oakridge Secondary Schools Code of Conduct. This has been retrieved from the schools course calendar.

Some classroom routines that the students seem to be aware of and usually follow without requiring explicit direction include being on time for class, having the appropriate materials for class including a notebook, textbook and something to write with, and following the appropriate procedures when late for class. Other classroom routines students seem to be aware of include standing for O Canada, providing the teacher with a written and signed note regarding absences and knowledge of school schedules including when classes end and when they begin. Classroom rules/routines that pertain to math courses: Completion of homework Taking up of homework the next day Class individual work class discussions on questions Graphing calculators at the end of class, students return calculators in an orderly fashion Copying down notes in a quiet manner

During my practicum experience at Oakridge Secondary School, I have not experienced any major forms of bad behaviour. However, some minor misbehaviour that I have observed include being disruptive in class, speaking whenever the teacher is speaking, not completing homework, and not using the time given after the lesson wisely to start on homework. Typically, whenever such minor misbehaviour surfaces, my associate teacher will directly address the student or do so in a more discrete manner while still getting the message across. With more serious inappropriate behaviour, it is common for the principal to be contacted as well as the parent of the student. In order to reinforce appropriate behaviour, my associate teacher uses praise words or acknowledges the students good behaviour for the class as an example of what is appropriate. In my opinion, one of the greatest challenges in managing a secondary school classroom is indeed establishing an authoritative role and maintaining order in the classroom. It is therefore important for a teacher to have the students become aware of what he/she expects out of the class in terms of behaviour and has them also become aware that there are consequences whenever these rules are being violated. It is also imperative to be consistent in setting rules in the classroom and to also be consistent with the consequences so the students know exactly what is to be expected when that rule is violated again.

Activity #3: Design My Own Activity

For my third activity I chose to design my own activity with my associate teacher. This activity allowed me to design all the lessons for two units as well as organize and create the worksheets used in the classroom. In addition, I created both unit tests as well as a marking scheme that was used when marking my students tests. I have attached both files that contain my work for both units. I designed Unit #4 Solving Equations and Unit #5 Linear Models I. However, there were one or two days in which I was not able to create lessons for those days because my associate teacher takes part in a Differentiated Instruction Program where she would have various teachers from other schools come to observe her teach. For those days, she would have taught the class.