B-day: Session 2

Today, February 25^th, my tutee was absent.  I was unable to find another student to tutor and therefore was unable to implement my lesson.
 
The lesson I planned covered the associative, commutative, and distributive properties.  My objective was to enable the student to distinguish between these properties in both written and oral form.  She would learn/review how to isolate the variable when solving equations and apply the inverse operations when working backwards.  Destiny would have the opportunity to write and evaluate algebraic expressions.  My overall goal was that she would answer seven out of ten questions correctly, only receiving prompting when showing no progress from approximately two minutes. 
 
We would begin by creating flashcards for each of the properties providing a definition and examples to reference.  Then I would have Destiny work through warm up problems addressing each of the properties individually. After understanding was reached I would have had her work on various problems which required her to simplify equations and solve for the variables.  

A-day: Session 2

Affect:

For the lesson that I created for Andrew on the commutative, associative, and distributive properties, I had to seek outside teaching resources in order to refresh my memories of these concepts.  In order to do so I utilized resources listed on the Module F rubric and standards document posted on Blackboard.  They were not only very helpful as a review of the material for me as a pre-service teacher, but also as a summary of the main topics which students usually struggle with for this topic. 

In relation to my attitude towards teaching struggling math and science students, I feel more confident with each session.  I truly enjoy helping these students and it is my hope that they are enjoying and learning form these sessions as well.  My hopes were made a reality today, as Andrew confided in me that he loves coming to tutoring and makes sure to attend school every Monday, as he knows we will meet with me. 

Behavior:

After introducing the different properties and their rules to Andrew, we quickly began working on simplifying one- and two-part equations.  After our last lesson together, in which he breezed through the material, I figured that I would start Andrew out at a higher level and skip the lower level review.  However, I was surprised to discover that we should have begun at a lower level.  Although Andrew understood the concepts I was teaching him, as we worked through problems together, step-by-step, it was obvious that he lacked the basic problem solving skills which these properties are based on. 

He often confused the terms ‘simplify’ and solve’ as he attempted to solve many problems for the variable.  Andrew also had no knowledge of reciprocal multiplication of the rules of adding and subtracting negative numbers.  For our next session, I would like to focus on the basics of multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting positive and negative numbers, and fractions.

Overall, Andrew was able to complete the problems that I presented him.  However, I believe it would have been easier and that he will retain this information more effectively if we start from the beginning and work our way up to solving and simplifying equations. 

Content:

As discussed in class, Andrew is learning the context strand ‘Algebra’.  In relation to the lesson which I taught to Andrew and that which I intend to teach during our next session, the concepts that are most beneficial to focus on include patterns, sorting, comparing and classifying.  During the lesson, these were the three main activities which we practices in order to distinguish between the three different properties and the techniques used to simplify equations.  Andrew was able recognize patterns in the rules of the distributive, commutative, and associative properties and wrote and evaluated equations using this knowledge.  He also compared, sorted numbers with and without variables in order to isolate the variable and solve for various equations. 

B-day: Session 1

Affect:

During this session, Destiny was absent.  In her absence I had the opportunity to tutor Aldo Rojas. Having delivered a similar lesson last week with Andrew, I felt confident in assisting Aldo with his understanding of mean, median, mode, and range.  After we introduced ourselves and discussed our likes and dislike both in and out of the academic environment, Aldo in turn, appeared to be comfortable with me. 

Behavior:

We began the lesson by reviewing the definitions of mean, median, mode, and range and creating flashcards.  From the start it was clear that Aldo knew the definitions of the terms, however he would confuse which term belonged to the definition.  Therefore, I made him write tell me the definitions of each orally, write it on the index card, tell me an example, and also transfer that to the index card.  By the end of this review, Aldo was able to correctly match each term to its definition.  Furthermore, throughout the entire, lesson I would randomly ask him to orally tell me the definitions of each.

When we began working problems, Aldo’s only mistakes lied in his simple addition and division skills.  At first when I attempted to correct one of his mistakes, Aldo became defensive stating, “But my teacher says to solve it this way,” and “I don’t even know why I’m here… I’m good at math.”  Therefore, rather than overlook these statements I took the opportunity to speak with him about these assertions.  In regards to the methods of solving the problem I told Aldo that he was working the problems correctly as his teacher instructed, however showing his work would help him to check for mistakes. Although resistant at first, I made his take the time to work through each step and even count orally to check his answers.  By the end of our session, Aldo admitted to me that these steps were helpful in getting the correct answer.  In response to his confusion towards being placed in intensive math I explained to him the importance of utilizing test taking skills to be successful, just as I had with Andrew.  I also emphasized that students tend to rush when taking exams and that taking your time and checking your work is a valuable tool to a student.  Aldo appeared to listen and understand what I told him and it was evident in his work throughout the session. 

Content:

Although the topic was reviewed just before my tutoring session with Aldo, I believe the content discussed in class in regards to improving problem solving skills was extremely helpful and applicable in my lesson today.  Three concepts which were extremely helpful in aiding understanding for Aldo included making time for discussing different problem solving strategies, modeling strategies, and building time for communication. By taking the time to include these concepts I gained insight into Aldo’s preferred learning style and what motivates him.  By taking the time to address issues he had in both his arithmetic and his values towards education and math, we were able to make progress in his understanding of mean, median, mode and range.  At the close of our session, Aldo could identify each mathematical term and its definition and create an example for all.  

A-day: Session 1

Affect:

Throughout my second session with Andrew, it was clear that both of our comfort levels were very high.  I believe that this is due in part to Andrew’s eagerness to learn.  He is very well behaved and willing to try any and all suggestions that I bring to his attention.  For instance, after giving him a warm up problem, finding the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data, I realized that simple addition errors were being made because Andrew was doing all the work in his head.  With this in mind I made him show his work and double check his answer before he showed it to me.  Seeing the positive results of this problem solving method made Andrew even more excited to continue with his work.  And from then on, he worked his problems this way. 

Prior to this tutoring experience, I was nervous as to what to expect from my student behaviorally and my effectiveness with teaching a subject that am not as passionate about.  However, setting a standard form my tutee with rules and goals for achievement made our fist session a success and I am enjoying my tutoring experience with struggling math students.

Behavior:

In order to create a learning environment which is engaging for Andrew, monitoring behavior is essential.  In order to set a work pace which was beneficial for continuous learning, I adapted my behavior in our session to match or balance out Andrew’s.  When we first began our session, he was extremely focused.  However, being an extremely active and social student, Andrew needs time to share his feelings and recuperate in order to continue actively participating in the lesson.  Therefore, when I noticed him become fidgety, I allowed Andrew a three-five minute break during which he was permitted time to reflect on his day and what we had review so far.  After this short amount of time he was ready to go back to work.  Furthermore, incorporating various competitive activities including timed problem solving, memorization and review games, and matching terms and definitions (flashcards), keeps Andrew alert and willing to learn. 

Content:

As examined and explained during our class discussions, having effective communication with and understanding the values of one’s tutee can set the tone for the overall success of a tutoring session.  After speaking with Andrew I understand that he does value math and describes it as one of his favorite classes.  However the value of grades and test scores seems of lesser importance to my tutee.  I believe this may be due to the fact that this importance was not clearly communicated to Andrew by his teachers over the years.  He didn’t know why he was in intensive math courses or why he was receiving my assistance because he did not know his scores on the FCAT were technically poor.  Therefore, I took it upon myself to explain to Andrew the importance of good test scores and the rewards that will result.  Wanting to take P.E. rather than intensive math, Andrew and I came to the agreement that better test results lead to an exit from intensive math courses.  This seemed to motivate Andrew greatly and I hope that this academic goal/value remains at the forefront of his mind.