Rob Martin

From TeacherWiki

I work with Janet Duggan at Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury, MA.

Contents 1 2010/2011 Teaching Routine 1.1 Summary 1.2 Problem Set Specifics 1.3 Bullet Points

2010/2011 Teaching Routine

(This routine is always under construction - last updated 4/6/11)

Summary

This routine is based on the use of laptops and separating the class into mulitple sections. We make use of the school laptop cart. Depending on how well the laptops are charged, we will have anywhere between 8 and 12 laptops running at a time.

• Meet once a week.
• Laptops are set up at tables in the back of the room.
• Since there aren't enough laptops for all students to use at once, the class is split into two sections: One group works out back on the laptops while the rest stay in the front with the teacher.
• I create orignal problem sets that the students work on.
• All students have a math notebook in which they record their work while they are going through the problem set.
• Once the student finishes the assignments, they come to me to check their work.
• The student then returns to the front and a new student comes back to take his place.
• Repeat this process until all students have used ASSISTments.
• As students are working, I am checking their progress via the item report simultaneously and assisting students with questions/difficulties.
• At the beginning of class, I also work individually with one of the students, typically going over the previous night's homework.

Problem Set Specifics

This basic idea behind the problem sets is to create a short assessment to pin-point trouble areas that the class is experiencing as well as help solidify comprehension.

• Since we (myself, Janet, and any other teaching assistents) are readily available, problem sets do not have tutoring (unless we use pre-made ones that already include it, but this is uncommon).
• Content is focused on whatever topic the students are currently working on, usually one or two sections.
• All problems are closely based upon the textbook the teacher is using; in this case, the textbook is Everyday Mathematics by Wright Group/McGraw Hill.
• I typically make two problem sets for each visit: A tier 1 set and a tier 2 set.
• Tier 1 problem sets contain a basic assessment of the material. These problems are simple, purely math-based, and look like they would come straight out of a math book.
• Tier 2 problem sets contain short word problems that are designed to be more challenging and add context to the problem. Essentially, they apply the math concepts to real-world problems (in the spirit of the Everyday Mathematics textbook).
• Tier 2 problem sets may also be pure-math questions similar to tier 1 but with an added level of difficulty that is not necessarily covered in the textbook (to test conceptual knowledge by introducing an unfamiliar element).
• For tier 1 sets, I try to be as comprehensive as possible. For example, for the section on Fraction/Decimal/Percent conversions, there are 6 different conversions possible. I made sure to include a question for each.
• If we are covering a more broad range of material, I shoot for a difficulty level of slightly above-average because if students can solve the harder problems, it is a better indicator of comprehension.
• For topics with a narrow range of material, I try and give a range of difficulty to problems. Simple problems require little thinking, while difficult ones most-often require a multi-step solution.
• As of right now, all students focus on the tier 1 set; depending on time constraints, those who finish early are encouraged to move on to tier 2.

Bullet Points

• Big fan.