Rebecca Borlik MIAA 350 Reflection for K-3 Interview and Analysis Introduction: My essential question for t is class

is !"ow will a furt er understandin# of $at e$atics el% $e and $y students ac ieve&' As a teac er of $at wit a future $at aut ori(ation) I believe I $ay be a #o to %erson at $any sites for advice on all t in#s related to $at * In essence) future students of $ine $ay even be teac ers* And as any #ood teac er would do) you ave to know w ere students are co$in# fro$ before you can #uide t e$ on w ere to #o* + e ideals) %ers%ectives and back#rounds of ot er teac ers ave #iven $e case studies of ow $at understandin# was for$ed) and areas t at need $ore #uidance* Suzanne Podesto-Third Grade Teacher, Tully Knoles Elementary Lisa Maldonado-Meek- Second Grade Teacher, Tully Knoles Elementary 1. What are your favorite memories of learning math as a child? I honestly do not have any fond memoriesI just remember the old blue ditto machine copies and a lot of drill and kill. I do not have any memories of hands on math or real life situations. My favorite memories are playing math games, like around the world, and feeling a sense of accomplishment when I learned my math facts (old school style with flash cards).

2. What professional development (if any) has helped you grow as a math teacher? I really enjoyed and benefited from last year s !" (third grade was math) from #atinder (#ingh) and all of my Marking Math $eal %rainings. & few I remember, are Making Math $eal, Marcy 'ook, the en(ision training, and last year s cohort for ''##. 3. On a scale of 1 ! " 1 #eing $poor %uality& and ! #eing $high %uality&" how do you ran' the adopted math curriculum for your grade level? (an you e)plain your ran'ing? If the ran'ing is a 1 or 2" what do you use to supplement your curriculum? I would rank it as a ). I find our current adoption lacking in concrete practice and presently it does not match up at all to ''##. I supplement with Making Math $eal, my own teacher created *uestions and other +things+ I find on the internet. !rimary en(ision is about a ,. #ome things are okay, but it moves at a rapid pace. It also has some topics grouped in a way that does not support mastery of one area before you move to another skill. #upplemental math programs I use are Making Math $eal, Marcy 'ook, things I have +stolen+ from other teachers, and some of the past adopted materials. *. What do you do when students do not grasp a #asic concept that is a necessary foundational s'ill for your math curriculum (i.e. addition" multiplication+)?

$eteach and tons of practice. %his often puts us off track in terms of pacing but they have to these foundational skills. %his happens a lot in place value, addition, and subtraction. I do a lot of small group work in making numbers, basic flash cards, and number games ( tiles, dice, cards) !. What concept are you strongest at teaching in math? Why do you thin' this is your strength? I would say addition, subtraction, and multiplication. !robably because these are the skills that third graders need the most and I do it over and over. !lace (alue because I have the most e-perience in this area, and I have several tricks in my tool bag to use. ,. What concept are you wea'est at teaching in math? -ave you had any opportunity to #ecome stronger in this concept? If there was an opportunity to #ecome stronger in this" #ut the opportunity only was availa#le e)tra hours after school" would you? I think fractions as ''## fraction standards are much different than '& standards and I have not had that much time to really perfect that concept. &nd yes, I would be willing to do this after school. %elling %ime is my weakest area. I have not figured out a way to teach it and not get too complicated. I also think that students do not have much background e-perience with an analog clock. I usually don t like to do things after school unless I know it is going to be worth while. I would probably be more likely to sign up for something during the school day. O#servations and .nalysis After s%endin# ti$e talkin# to t ese two %ri$ary teac ers) I noticed a cou%le of s%ecific observations* ,irst) bot did not ave $any $e$ories of c ild ood $at beyond works eets and #a$es) and yet bot teac ers used $ore works eets and #a$es in t eir own teac in#* Bot teac ers ad so$e quality %rofessional develo%$ent %rovided by t e district) w ic could %rove to be valuable assets once t ey need su%%le$ents to t e co$$on core curriculu$* Also) bot teac ers s ared needs of w at would el% t e$ be $ore successful* + e t ird #rade teac er-s need is a future critical area and foundational skill for t e .o$$on .ore /tandards* "er need for trainin# in t is area is crucial not only to t e success of er students) but also to t e success t ose students as 0t and 5t #raders learnin# and %racticin# wit fractions* + e second #rade teac er-s need 1ti$e2 was related to t e t ird #rade teac er-s need 1fractions2) in t at a clear understandin# of a unit 1and in t e first #rade student-s case) t e clock2) would el% a t ird #rader be $ore successful wit fractions* It also s ows a need for bot teac ers to work on vertical articulation) and analy(in# t e flow of standards t rou# #rade levels* /ecommendations If bot teac ers a%%roac ed $e wit questions) I can el% t e$ out by directin# t e$ to resources t at teac t e to%ic in a new way* It would also be $y su##estion t at t ey do lesson studies on t eir stren#t to%ics* + e reason t is would be a su##estion is because $any ti$es our stren#t s are t e to%ics we don-t e3%eri$ent wit and t ey don-t c an#e) but t is $ay also be t e area w ere teac ers beco$e sta#nant) and t ey don-t c an#e wit t e standards) even t ou# t ey c an#e*