MATH
According to the California Common Core Standards, mathematics impact everyday life, future careers, and good citizenship. Strong mathematics foundation prepares students for future occupations in a variety of fields, specially in business, medicine, science, etc. In mathematics, there are 5 guiding principles: Learning, Teaching, Technology, Equity, and Assessment. These principles guide the construction and evaluation of mathematics programs in schools and the community in general. The goal is to guarantee that all students meet or exceed the required standards. There are two Common Core Math Standards: Mathematical Practice and Mathematical Content. These standards address the skills students should develop to foster mathematical understanding and expertise, as well as concepts, skills, and knowledge—what students need to understand, know, and be able to do. Mathematical Practices provide a vehicle through which students engage with and learn mathematics. In other words, it is the process standards of problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, representation, and connections. Mathematical Content is built on progressions of topics across grade levels, informed both by research on children’s cognitive development and by the logical structure of mathematics. It also relates mathematics with real-world situations and developing habits of mind that develops mathematical understanding.
Math has been one huge challenge. I can proudly say that I failed my Math courses from 7th grade to high school. Why am I proud of that? I have realized that I failed not because I was not capable of, it was because my classes were not engaging enough. I used to sit in class doodling, daydreaming, or copying the equations presented in a very organized, colorful, and almost professional way, with the wrong answer of course. Nowadays, I say that I do not know Math in Spanish. Although the content and answers are the same, it turns out that Math in English makes total sense to me. I learned Math in the Adult School I got my high school from and at Los Angeles Community College. Both schools prepared me for the Math classes in the Liberal Studies program. Math 107, Math for Elementary School Teachers: Real Numbers. This class set theoretic operations as related to counting numbers and rational numbers and arithmetic operations. Real number system and its origin, development, structure, and use. Special emphasis on problem solving and the development and application of algorithms. In simpler words, we learned how to teach basic operations at the Elementary school level. I did not have to wait to be teaching a Math lesson to apply this knowledge. For my LBS 400, Senior Seminar in Liberal Studies, we were asked to create a lesson plan in any subject or grade level we choose. I chose a Math lesson for a kindergarten level. As mentioned before, the Common Core Standards state that Math impacts everyday life and future careers. Here I am, many years after failing my math classes in Spanish, planning on how to teach others.
At this point in my life, Math and I have put our differences behind. As my first artifact, I have chosen a poster I created that shows alternative methods to solve basic operations. One of my problems while learning Math was that I was given only one method. It was frustrating to see my classmates getting the right answer by using the same method as me. In the artifact, there are at least one other method to solve basic operations, besides the standard one. By making it big and bright, students can use it as a resource to find their right fit. My second artifact is the lesson plan created for LBS 400. It is a Kindergarten level, single digit multiplication lesson. I may not be the most sophisticated lesson, but it is the basis to learn how to solve bigger equations.
Math 107
Alternative methods allow each student to find the process that better fits their abilities.
LBS 400
Direct Instruction Kindergarten Math Lesson Plan