Curricular Micro-teaching

 Teachers: Maxine, Jason and Jimena

Lesson Plan

Graphing Relations and analyzing: 15 minutes

1. MUSICAL CHAIRS GAME 5 minutes

Setup:

• Place all in two rows back to back.

• Make the students walk around while the music is playing.

• When the music stops, the students sit down in the closest chair.

• In the second round, the teacher takes 2 chairs out and plays again.

Discuss what happened. Tell the students to talk about the variables involved and how they relate to each other.

2. REAL WORLD SCENARIOS - UBER FARES 5 minutes

Setup:

• Post real UBER fares in Vancouver.

• Groups answer some questions, and groups respond to another group’s inference.
  Questions for analysis: 

• What does it mean low demand, and rush hour?

• How much does it cost to travel 10 km in rush hour?

• How much does it cost to travel 10 km in low demand?

Assessment: Teacher notes on the use of mathematical vocabulary during discussions
Metacognition: How did other groups’ ideas challenge or support your thinking?”

3.  Human Coordinate Plane- 5 minutes

Goal: Experience graphing physically and collaboratively.

Setup:

• Use tape or chalk to draw a large coordinate plane on the floor.

•  Assign students as points (x, y) from given relations (e.g., y = 2x + 1, or y = |x|).

• Students move into position, then discuss what they notice about the pattern, symmetry, slope, etc.
  
  

Critical Thinking: Visualizing and reasoning spatially.
Teamwork: They must organize themselves accurately and communicate effectively.

 

One of my art workshops about Jackson Pollock

I agree with the artistic approach of mathematics. As a VFX artist, I work constantly with the artistic power of math to create simulations and animations in virtual worlds.

I don’t agree with the comparison with art such as music or painting, because the origin of these fine arts root in different human needs. The origin of Mathematics shows us how men needed math to communicate with each other in terms of economy. Math is attributable to the origins of commerce and then evolved towards the interpretation of nature. Both were external needs. Arts like music and painting have their origin within the person.

I will defend this argument with the fact that while Newton was working on the discovery of calculus, Leibniz was also working on calculus. If Newton hadn’t been born, then Leibniz would have been the only father of calculus. But only Beethoven created “Für Elise”. If he hadn’t been born, we wouldn’t have this masterpiece. And for this reason, the similes with the mandatory classes of paint and music do not resonate with me.

              I agree with  the concepts of Relational learning and practical learning that Skemp mention, inclining my preference for the relational learning which I think is the closest Skemp can be from Lochart in the need to foster curiosity, and also believe math is part of nature and inhabits inside us, for this reason, we would live happier if we understand a little bit this language that connects us with nature and helps us to interpretate nature. I think that it needs to be taught with love, passion and rigour to allow us to enjoy their concepts.

Microteaching Reflection . Watercolour Minilesson.

 

Ten minutes is a lot of time, but ten minutes passed so quickly!!

I learned two important things:

• No matter how many times you have taught a lesson, it will always be a new one depending on external factors like the location, the learners, the number of learners, the background of the learners, and, in this particular case, the availability of the materials, and internal factors as the focus of the teacher, the mood, sleep, and previous knowledge of the group of learners.
• I need to work on my time management. I am always short, so I need to do something different. Something like recording the lesson to give myself feedback and improve the time allocation for the different parts of the lesson.

I felt happy with the outcome of the micro teaching because we accomplished our goal, but I felt as stressed as the students when we had to run through the steps to complete them on time.

Overall, it was a fun lesson with full engagement. It has the potential to be combined with some math subjects, too.

Conflicts within Math Education

Image from a Math Exam in China

Image from the movie Death Poets Society

As soon as I finished the reading, I  declared myself a "fluid progressivist"!

But I need to emphasize that the freedom and autonomy that Progressive ideology demands commitment and dedication, which might sound like a sacrifice from the perspective of the teacher. In my point of view, it is not a sacrifice; it is the price that needs to be paid in order to have a fulfilled career in  Math Education, where you need to grow and evolve along with the students.

 I was surprised that the factors contributing to the dislike of math are mainly spread by math teachers who lacked the capacity and willingness to address the difficulties that represent a good math learning environment. The fact that elementary teachers fear math due to a lack of knowledge and confidence is a crime against the upbringing of new generations.

I do agree with the importance of highlighting the common points between the two approaches, in search of an equilibrated new movement that benefits the new learners.

Globalization and specialization of the industry have led society to look for a productive and efficient way to educate. New Technologies in need of new operators push for a simplified and narrow education, focusing on creating a labour force. We should think about the benefits of using math as a critical thinking training machine instead of a calculator tool. The calculator will become obsolete with time, but our critical thinking and curiosity will allow us to reinvent the new calculator and give purpose to our lives.