Advanced Mathematics

While doing my level one experience through the University of Northern Iowa I had the privilege of working in the third grade classroom of Mrs. Marshall. During this time I led a group of six third graders who were advanced in mathematics. These were students who already knew how to perform the concepts being introduced in the normal classroom setting and were ready for more challenging problems. The project I had the students do was look at a picture sheet of four gardens and the different numbers of crops being grown in these gardens. They then had to read through complex word problems and determine which garden the problem was talking about. The skills necessary to complete these problems were multiplying, adding, and subtracting skills.

During this activity the students got the problems right at about a 85% rate. I noticed that the hardest part of the assignment for them, was knowing when to use the right concept (multiplying, adding, or subtracting). To help them in this area I explained to them that certain words in the problems could serve as clues. Some examples of these include, or means to subtract, total means to add, and by means to multiply. The students found these tips very helpful while reading through the word problems. After giving them these tips I felt proud that I had in a very small way helped them better grasp the material I was presenting them.

I think that in the future I might explain the material more thoroughly ahead of time instead of in the middle of the project. By this, I mean I would explain maybe what the overall goal of the lesson was and also the hints that I waited until later to give them. I did feel that the lesson was a success and the students got out of it what they needed to. I also feel that this project was something that I could use in the future to help students who were advanced in math.

New Age Math

While recently searching the internet for ways to get elementary students interested in mathematics I came across many answers. However, a couple answers kept popping up, they were: get the students more involved, and use current technology. A couple of the ways I found to accomplish these two tasks were through the use of online gaming, and Smartboards.

According to Jeff Lewis, a 4th grade teacher at Commerce City, Co., the Smartboard helped underachieving students learn the curriculum better. In his blog entitled, Mr. Lewis’ World Learners, he explains how he used the Smartboard to help his students better understand the concept of multiplication. He did this by having the students circle arrays of dots on the Smartboard, then by finding the area of the portion they had circled. I thought this seemed like a great way to get students more involved with the lesson, and also was good usage of current technology. Smartboards are also a great way to teach other math concepts. Some of which include:

Graphing
Counting
Adding/Subtracting
Multiplying/Dividing
And Geography

I think his overall goal of the blog was to demonstrate different ways that he was using technology in the classroom, which is the reason that I selected this blog. I also think that the writer of this blog uses it to convey some personal opinions but mostly just to share his experiences with how his students respond to technology in the classroom setting.

Another method I discovered in keeping students interested in mathematics is online-gaming. The bog entitled, Bits, talks about a new website available for elementary students called, DreamBox Learning , which teaches math through the use of online-gaming. The concept is let the students think they're playing a game while they are actually learning important math skills. The sites math concepts were chosen by a team of teachers using the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Guidelines. I think once again this method does a great job of keeping students involved and also implements current technology that will help them later in life. There are also two other e-learning sites to choose from similar to DreamBox Learning but they are intended for teenagers. They are:

· Indian Math Online
· And Brightstorm

The overall goal of this blog is to inform its readers of the technological advancements being made in mathematics and the effect they have in the classroom setting. I selected this blog because I felt it did a good job of explaining about the websites that are starting to be used to teach math in a fun way that interests students. I also felt that the blog did a good job of describing things related to the theme (technology) and providing links to resources.

My First Blog Posting

This is my first blog entry. I hope it works.