In a math lesson with ten students that was observed, I covered the subject of solving word problems. This lesson's learning goal was to teach students how to use addition and subtraction to answer a variety of word problems. I expected my pupils to use their knowledge from the previous lesson to add and subtract two-digit numbers in a word problem. Word problems are those in which only a portion of the material is presented as text rather than with mathematical notations. (Stein et al., 1989).
My pupils were evaluated based on their participation in class, their completion of homework, and in-class tests. During the lesson, I would choose those students who could be behaving well and allow them to solve a problem to the board and those who could show their work correctly were eligible for a puzzle’s raffle at the end of the week. The discussion was necessary to improve classroom participation and so I could assign a group of students a problem to discuss. I also assigned the students some problems and required each student to select the best clue that led to his answer from the options I provided on the board. I gave students a ticket and a worksheet to start working on after they completed their work on the math book. While they worked on the worksheet, I made a group of those who encountered challenges in solving these problems. I also gave five homework and rewarded the students with raffle tickets. My students were very willing to learn and earn more raffle tickets for increased winning chances.
From this assessment, I learned the importance of rewards and group works in students success. The raffle increased motivated the students to perform well while the group assignments were favorable to some students. I, therefore, vowed to myself that in future, I will come up with better rewards to motivate my students even more (Danielson,2013). I also learned that group works facilitate learning as my teaching efforts and therefore I will also encourage group works in future.
Reference
Stein, M. K., Smith, M. S., Henningsen, M. A., & Silver, E. A. (2016). Implementing Standards-Based Math Instruction: A Casebook for Professional Development. Teachers College Press.
Danielson, C. (2013). The framework for teaching: Evaluation instrument. Princeton, NJ: Danielson Group.
Lesson Observation Log for Field Experience and Practicum
