edTPA Template Tasks 1 -3 Fall 2013

Name: Nicholas Facciolo

Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment 1. Lesson Background Teachers Name: Mrs. M School: Carlisle High School Class: Algebra 2 Date: 11/14/13 2. Standards / Objectives Topic or Essential Question: How do we find the factors of a complex quadratic equation using the quadratic formula? What does is mean when there is a negative number as the discriminant? Standard(s) Addressed CCSS.Math.Content.HSA-REI.B.4 Solve quadratic equations in one variable. 2 CCSS.Math.Content.HSA-REI.B.4b Solve quadratic equations by inspection (e.g., for x = 49), taking square roots, completing the square, the quadratic formula and factoring, as appropriate to the initial form of the equation. Recognize when the quadratic formula gives complex solutions and write them as a bi for real numbers a and b. Instructional Content Objectives Successfully find the factors of a quadratic equation using the quadratic formula, and have the students be able to graph the equation using the given information Have the students understand what it means to have an imaginary factor as a solution to the quadratic formula Assessment of content objectives The students will be given problems to work through during the lesson, and they will be asked to go to the board and solve the problem, or they will be asked to walk the teacher through the problem. After the lesson the students will be given a homework assignment that will reinforce the content covered in class. They will be asked to turn in the homework and review it with the class to verify content comprehension.

3. Language Academic Language Functions and Forms (including key lesson vocabulary) Quadratic Equation: a formula for a parabola, that has a degree of 2 associated with the variable 2 ie. y = ax +bx+c Quadratic Formula: a specific way to find the solutions of an quadratic equation

Discriminant: is the equation under the radical in the quadratic formula b -4ac, this gives the type of solution to the quadratic equation that is presented Imaginary Number: i, is the variable expression of radical -1 standard form: a+bi

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Language Objectives 1. Be able to verbally explain what the quadratic formula produces. 2. Explain the types of solutions the discriminant produces for a given quadratic equation. 3. Understand what the imaginary solutions mean in the confines of the real number system. Assessment of language objectives During class students will be asked to verbally explain how and why the different factors are accurate. They will be asked to explain why certain solutions are accurate or inaccurate.

4. Differentiation (including accommodations and modifications of content, materials, delivery, activity, assignment, assessment, etc.) Content- If students are not understanding the meaning or procedural nature of the formula, then the numbers can be simplified to help the students. Giving them equations that would be easily factored without the quadratic formula and then having them solve for the factors using the quadratic formula will help their understanding of what the formula produces. Process- Students will complete the quadratic formula at different times and with varying levels of difficulty. To accommodate these differences students will be presented with multiple equations to use the formula on. Groups will be assigned to work on specific problems. Allowing students to look evaluate and complete it at their own pace and in different sequences will help the students gather individual understanding of the formula. 1. Gifted Students - will be allowed to move on to the next problems due to the partial notes. Also they will be requested to assist their fellow classmates who are struggling with the material. 2. Struggling Students - will be assisted by co-operating teacher and fellow observing teacher. They will also be encouraged to ask questions and come to the board and present their ideas on how to complete the formula. 3. Others - students will be encouraged to assist each other and ask questions about the material. Multiple ways of thinking about the formula and how to go about solving it will be provided to allow for differentiation on an individual basis by the students. 5. Lesson Sequence (Including opening hook and closure - include estimated time allotted next to each phase of the lesson) Opening- Question: What is the Quadratic Formula? What does it do and why is it important? Pass out partial notes and begin instruction. (3 minutes) The Quadratic Formula: Explanation of when the formula may be properly used and the standard representation of the formula. Also showed a video of a song to help students remember the formula to the tune of Pop goes Weasel. (7 minutes) Examples- Teacher led examples with student involvement from their seats. Students are challenged to create a procedure to use for the following examples on their own. (8 minutes) Examples- Student led examples with a student volunteer at the SMART board and other students assisting from their seats. Following examples have the previous student pick the next student to go to the board. (9 minutes) Discriminate- Verbal, procedural, and graphical representation of what the discriminate is, what it means, and how it applies to the quadratic formula. (5 minutes) Examples- Teacher led examples with student involvement from their seats. Students are challenged to create a procedure to use for the following examples on their own. (7 minutes) Examples- Student led examples with a student at the SMART board and other students assisting from their seats. (4 minutes) Closure- Students repeat the quadratic formula out loud and the discriminate with the uses of the discriminate. Assign homework. (2 minutes)

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6. Supporting Materials (include no more than 2 pages of additional materials needed to understand what you and the students will be doing)

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Appendix A: Context for Learning Information (No more than 3 pages for the 3 sections) Directions: Use the Context for Learning Information to supply information about your school/classroom context. I. About the School Where You Are Teaching 1. In what type of school do you teach? a. Middle school: b. High school: Open Air High School c. Other (please describe): 2. In what type of community is the school located? a. Urban b. Suburban c. Rural d. Other (please describe): 3. List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., charter, co- teaching, themed magnet, remedial

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course, honors course) that will affect your teaching in this learning segment. Special features of this classroom included that the high school was an open air setting, the class was comprised of students from multiple grade levels and content strengths. A SMART board is permanently installed in the classroom 4. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests. During the planing phase the school required the students to sign a waver to be video taped, this delayed and added to the planing of the lesson. The co-operating teacher provided the lecture slides, example problems and assessment materials for the lesson. The quadratic formula is a major component of standardized tests and part of math classes in the future, thus the co-operating teacher requested we move slowly and emphasize the importance of the formula. II. About the Class Featured in This Assessment 1. What is the name of this course? 2. What is the length of the course? a. One semester: b. One year: c. Other (please describe): 3. What is the class schedule (e.g., 50 minutes every day, 90 minutes every other day)? This course was conducted 45 minutes every day. 4. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in mathematics? If so, please describe how it affects your class. There is tracking in the mathematics department, students are identified at grade six as either being gifted or not and then are allowed to take a more advanced class load. The classrooms are not grade specific, students from all grades are combined and interact with one another. This effects the level of participation from some students and also creates some animosity from the older classmates who see the younger students as overachievers. 5. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for mathematics instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication. Algebra 2

McDougal Littell High School Math: Student Edition Algebra 2 2001: 1st Edition 6. List other resources (e.g., electronic white board, graphing calculators, online resources) you use for mathematics instruction in this class. A SMART board is installed in the classroom as a resource. Both graphing and basic scientific calculators were available for students that did not have their own for that day.

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III. About the Students in the Class Featured in This Assessment 1. Grade level composition (e.g., all seventh grade; 2 sophomores and 30 juniors): Primarily juniors, 4 sophomores, and 2 Seniors 2. Number of students in the class __18___ males __8___ females __10___ 3. Complete the chart below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations or modifications for your students that will affect your instruction in this learning segment. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first two rows have been completed in italics as examples. Use as many rows as you need. Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/supports or accommodations/modifications to instruction or assessment. English language learners Gifted students needing greater support or challenge Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans Struggling readers Underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge

Learning Needs Category

Number of Students

Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals

At Risk Students

Provide extra access to more direct time with the teacher, closer monitoring of behaviour, and more contact with other other teachers regarding the students progress.

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Appendix B: Planning Commentary (No more than 5 pages for the 5 sections) Directions: Respond to the prompts below (no more than 9 single-spaced pages, including prompts). I. Central Focus 1. Describe the central focus and purpose for the content you will teach in this learning segment. The central focus of the lesson is to teach the students another way to solve a quadratic equation, by using the quadratic formula. During the lesson an emphasis will be placed upon the type and validity of the results found in terms of real and imaginary numbers. 2. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your learning segment address a. conceptual understanding Students will show conceptual understanding by being able to complete the quadratic formula. Also they should be able to identify what types of solutions the equation will produce by just identifying the discriminant. Students should be able to identify how the equation will appear on a graph by just looking at the solutions of the quadratic formula. b. procedural fluency Procedural fluency is to be shown by the students being given a quadratic equation, both in standard and not in standard form. Next the students will need to identify the a, b, and c values of the equation, then plug those into the quadratic formula. Finally the students will need to be able to solve the equation. c. mathematical reasoning and/or problem solving skills In order to solve the quadratic formula students need to be able to recognize the standard form of a quadratic equation. Then they must be able to understand how to set an equation equal to zero and what that means. Students then need to be able to enter the values found for the coefficients into the equation. Next understanding how to multiply negative numbers and taking the square-root of a negative number. Finally students will need to understand how to solve a fraction that includes the symbol plus or minus, to create the two required solutions. 3. Explain how your plan builds on lessons that came before to help students make connections between facts, concepts, and procedures, and to develop their reasoning and/or problem solving skills to deepen their learning of mathematics. The quadratic formula lesson was prefaced by many lessons on standard form of a quadratic equation, vertex form, and intercept form. In these lessons the students were shown the standard form and how to label to coefficients on the variables. Also they were shown how to manipulate the equations to appear in standard form. Then the students began to solve the equations by factoring and completing the square. These processes worked for less complicated problems but when it came to examples that had complex fractions and imaginary solutions and the students struggled. The students struggled through the problems and gained respect for the solutions they found. Finally the student will learn the quadratic formula to solve for the quadratic equation

II. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching For each of the prompts below (II.13), describe what you know about your students with respect to the central focus of the learning segment.

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Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students). 1. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focus What do students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills both stemmed from the students having already taken Algebra 1. The quadratic formula, while not as emphasised, is taught in Algebra 1 so that the students have some exposure to it. Writing quadratic equations in standard form is a prerequisite skill that students have been working on over the pass few weeks, and have been exposed to during Algebra 1 as well. So students are expected to know how to write quadratic equations into standard form and to identify the coefficients needed to use the quadratic formula. Students are then learning to identify both the type and number of solutions along with the solutions themselves to quadratic equations.

2. Personal/cultural/community assets related to the central focus What do you know about your students everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests? a. Only being in the classroom for 2 weeks and teaching a formula for solving quadratic equations has not provided us with the information requested.

3. Mathematical dispositionsWhat do you know about the extent to which your students a. perceive mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile i. Most of the students have stopped asking our cooperating teacher the purpose of math and have just resigned to the fact that they need to take it in order to move further in their education. Some of the students show an obvious interest in furthering their mathematical knowledge and wish to expand what knowledge they currently have. Specifically, a student asked one of us the meaning behind the phrase Without loss of generality as it applies to math. This is a sophomore student in a pre-calculus class, with a very involved and accomplished home-life. b. persist in applying mathematics to solve problems i. Most of the students apply logic gained from mathematics, rather than actual numbers. They showed exceptional ability to apply procedure-making skills to other problems in order to resolve the issue. Several of the students, however, were still resistant to the idea that math can apply and help in more than just math class. c. believe in their ability to learn mathematics i. The class was divided almost evenly in the belief of their ability. Several students worked ahead on their partial notes once they thought that they had a solid grasp on the concept while others were obviously afraid to work alone at first. One student in particular was very nervous about being up at the board and said so several times. However, with surprisingly limited amounts of instructional scaffolding, the student was very competent.

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III. Supporting Students Mathematics Learning Directions: Respond to prompts below (III. 13). As needed, refer to the instructional materials and the lesson plan you have included to support your explanations. Use principles from research and/or theory to support your explanations, where appropriate. 1. Explain how your understanding of your students prior academic learning, personal/cultural/community assets, and mathematical dispositions (from prompts II. 13 above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and materials. a. Keeping in mind that the quadratic formula is used in mathematics classes beyond Algebra 2, we knew that we had to emphasize the importance of the formula. Knowing that the students had some prior exposure to the formula sped the opening along, but knowing that this was important, the examples were taken in a step-by-step process in order to facilitate as much scaffolding as possible at first. However, the lack of time spent with students has provided little information as to their home-lives and community assets and how that applies to their learning. 2. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are appropriate for the whole class and students with similar or specific learning needs. a. Our strategies were quite similar to how our cooperating teacher runs her class because we did not want to change how the students had become accustomed to learning. We used her lesson plan and slides, but took our own liberties in the scaffolding explanations in order to try and differentiate instruction so that we may reach more students that with the SMART board presentation. We planned to have students participate at the board in order to free us up to answer questions from the class. Generally, students did not need too much extra support since the quadratic formula is a mostly procedural topic. However, with the addition of the discriminate, extra time was taken to have the class thoroughly think about why the types of answers were bound to how the discriminate turns out. During the lesson students will be challenged to increase their understanding both conceptually and procedurally. Based off of Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development, students will be continually challenged to improve and work through more difficult problems. If students begin to become overwhelmed by the difficulty of the problems we will be present to assist them through the problem. Also we have included a variety of questions in terms of difficulty and length to accommodate students with different abilities. 3. Describe common mathematical preconceptions, errors, or misunderstandings within your content focus and how you will address them. a. Common errors with the quadratic formula include; i. Forgetting the negative for the -b ii. Forgetting that 4(a)(c) is minus, not plus iii. Forgetting that the negative b plus/minus the square root of the discriminate is the numerator, not just the square root of the discriminate b. In order to address these issues, using the phrase opposite of b rather than -b can be effective. Practicing the procedure is also effective, using scaffolding to provide some amount of support in order to help the students find their own mnemonic devices. Practicing just the discriminate will also provide some Miami University EDT (Adapted from The SIOP Institute, Pearson Education, Inc.) 7/31/2013 Page 10

amount of understanding that it is indeed minus 4(a)(c) instead of plus.

IV. Supporting Mathematics Development Through Language 1. Language Demand: Language Function. Identify one language function essential for students to learn the mathematics within your central focus (e.g., compare/contrast, conjecture, describe, explain, prove). You may choose one of these or another more appropriate for your learning segment. Describe - The students need to be able to describe how and why the quadratic formula creates the solutions it does. They need to have the capacity to describe the reason for and the types of solutions, they will be asked to describe the solutions on their assessment and in the lessons examples. 2. Identify a key learning task from your plan that provides students with opportunities to practice using the language function. In the lesson students will be able to describe their solutions after and during the example problems that they will be requested to complete during class. Specifically when they are finding the discriminant students will be given a numerical value that they will need to interpret and describe why they make that specific conclusion. Without the description the student is simply guessing at the answer and not fully understanding the mathematical process that they have just undergone 3. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and task identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral) students need to understand and/or use. a. Vocabulary and/or symbols The students need to understand the symbols that are presented during the finding of the discriminant and then the end symbols associated with the answer. These symbols determine they types of solutions the quadratic equation will produce. When the answer is negative the equation will have two imaginary solutions, when the answer is zero the equation has one solution, and when the discriminant is positive the equation has two real solutions. Students need to be able to interpret the symbols to determine the types of solutions. Also the vocabulary of solutions is essential. In this context solution means the x intercepts of the parabolas. If students did not understand this very essential vocabulary term the entire lesson would be for not.

b. Mathematical precision (e.g., using clear definitions, labeling axes, specifying units of measure, stating
meaning of symbols), appropriate to your students mathematical and language development Students need to display the ability to understand and write accurately the quadratic formula. The formula contains many different symbols that could effect the solutions a student would find. The negative sign associated with the second part of the discriminant under the radical could create an imaginary number. The negative discriminant determines that there will be two imaginary solutions for the quadratic formula, if students simply disregard the negative symbol then they will receive incorrect solutions. From the solution of imaginary numbers, students then need to understand how those would be graphed in a Cartesian plane.

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c. Plus syntax or discourse.

Syntax- When finding the discriminant students need to keep in mind the meaning of a squared number and what having a negative number will mean in regard to the solutions of the quadratic formula. Students should keep in mind that when plugging in a negative into a squared area that they will receive a positive number. Also that when plugging in for a variable if the number is negative, then the negative symbols stays with the number when transferred to the equation. 4. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plan and instructional materials as needed in your response to the prompt. Describe the instructional supports (during and/or prior to the learning task) that help students understand and successfully use the language function and additional language identified in prompts IV 13. Before the lesson started the students were exposed to the quadratic formula and many different ways that the formula could be represented. Then they were shown different ways to solve for the zeros of the given quadratic equations. To review these previous lessons during instruction the students were prompted to recognize and verbally acknowledge the ways to write the quadratic equation. When showing the quadratic formula, students were encouraged to say it out loud to reinfor ce the formulas procedural understanding and the students ability to speak in mathematical terms. When students were finally able to solve the formula they were asked to identify what the solutions meant. Specifically in examples with imaginary solutions, students were asked to identify what those answers resembled in a graphical representation. Finally during assessment students were asked to identify the types of solutions the quadratic formula would provide if they were to only solve the discriminant. By doing this students were required to use written language to interpret results, due to the discriminant not providing the actual solutions to the quadratic formula.

V. Monitoring Student Learning. Refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the materials for Task 1. 1. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct evidence of students conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and mathematical reasoning and/or problem solving skills throughout the learning segment. a. The planned formal and informal assessments include both student involvement in class and assigned homework due the next day. Also, the homework for the next day is to be assessed by the students with student driven questions in order to further gauge the students understanding of the material. Our cooperating teacher fully believes that if students can properly form their own questions about a subject, then they have some amount of conceptual understanding and she will gladly take more time out in order to assist them. Furthermore, unit quizzes and tests are also used to assign grades more so than gauge understanding, but the students have to have at least some procedural understanding in order to pass the tests and quizzes. 2. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning. a. The student assessed homework that is due the next day allows for students with specific needs to ask more questions about the topic. There were no ELLs in the classroom, and the students classified as At Risk were simply given the opportunity to take the time to ask more questions and our cooperating teacher would ask, in relative privacy, whether they needed any extra assistance or not. Our cooperating teacher is very good at not singling out students that need extra help, which encourages the students that need extra help to seek it out.

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Consider all students, including students with IEPs, English Language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students.

Task 2: Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning I. Video Directions: Include link to 1 or 2 YouTube videos HERE. Total time of all video should not exceed 2 minutes. Provide the link(s) to the video directly within this Google Document. The sharing settings of the video should be set to unlisted to protect student privacy. Use the blur all faces feature (under enhancements) to further protect identities of participants. Video Link: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo2WoymP6wg&edit=vd>

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II. Instruction Commentary Directions: Write the Instruction Commentary (no more than 3 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by providing your response to each of the prompts below. 1. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment Refer to scenes in the video clip where you provided a positive learning environment (include reference to exact times within the video). a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to students with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge students to engage in learning? From the beginning of the clip we demonstrated responsiveness for the students needs by engaging them in the lesson and not simply lecturing to them. Respect for the students was highlighted in the clip at time mark 19, at this point we show that we are willing to admit that we are human and can make mistakes. The entire video shows how we varied instruction by both having students come to the board to address physical kinesthetic learners by completing problems, but also addressing audio visual learners by having traditional lecture notes as well. Rapport with and challenging students came at 1:15 when we engaged with students in a further explanation and deeper investigation of what the quadratic formula could show students. 2. Engaging Students in Learning Refer to examples from the clip in your explanations (include reference to exact times within the video). a. Explain how your instruction engaged students in developing i. conceptual understanding Students engaged in conceptual understanding around 1:25. At this point in the lesson the students were encouraged to look at the formula and make a connection to prior knowledge. The students were able to connect that the when the discriminant of the formula is zero, the remaining solutions are the vertex of the parabola. With the guided exploration the students engaged with the problem and then would understand how to graphically represent the given equation. ii. procedural fluency At time marker 0:07, the student was able to extract the necessary information from the given equation and apply it properly to the formula. Even when the student was challenged to the accuracy she was able to show how and why her process was correct and that the solutions would be accurate. By having students come to the board we were able to assess if they understood the formula and then witness their process for procedural accuracy.

iii. mathematical reasoning and/or problem solving skills When the students were at the board solving problems we could witness their problem solving skills. Demonstrated at 0:20, the given student was able to plug-in the given information correctly then use that information to solve the formula. In our clip the student was able to recognize that the squared of a negative number is going to be positive and then finish the problem. b. Describe how your instruction linked students prior academic learning and personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning. The lesson we conducted linked to the students prior knowledge by having them recall the standard form of a quadratic equation and how to graph the equation. This is specifically seen at 1:30, when the students are asked to recall how to find the vertex of a parabola by being given the standard form. From this prior knowledge the students were able to connect the lesson on the quadratic formula to more information about quadratic equations. From the beginning of the lesson the culture of the classroom was

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used in engaging students to participate in instruction and not simply listen to lecture. Having students being engaged creates connections and allows them to appreciate the material. Also the community assets provided the room with a Smart Board which was used in all aspects of the lesson, allowing students to display their work for the entire class to see. 3. Deepening Student Learning during Instruction Refer to examples from the clip in your explanations (provide references to specific times within the video in your responses). a. Explain how you elicited and responded to student responses to promote thinking and develop conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and mathematical reasoning and/or problem solving skills. During the lesson we attempted to have students interact and be active learners. In the beginning of the clip a student is at the board showing her procedural fluency and problem solving skills by working through the problem. At time 0:07 we challenged the procedure that the student conducted and she was able to show that her reasoning was correct and mathematically sound. Later on in the clip, 1:03, we began to discuss meanings of the quadratic formula and different information that the students could find by using it. We prompted the students to look at the equation and recall prior knowledge to aid in their discovery. As shown at 1:30, even when students did not have the correct answer they were encouraged to continue thinking about the concept and try to make the connection. b. Explain how you used representations to support students understanding and use of mathematical concepts and procedures. i. A representation that was used to support students' understanding and to use mathematical concepts and procedures involved the showing of a video that had the Quadratic Formula broken into a song to the tune "Pop Goes the Weasel." The students, quite naturally, laughed. However, they did remember the formula better. Although this song still requires students to know which coefficients are the correct ones for the formula, they did seem to know the standard form of a quadratic equation very well.

4. Analyzing Teaching a. How did your instruction support learning for the whole class and students who need greater support or challenge? Our instruction supported learning for the whole class by allowing the students to work collaboratively with the student at the SMART board. By doing this, everyone gets a chance to engage in assisting, or if they choose, to simply work ahead and check their work. This allows for more learning styles to be addressed because some students greatly prefer to work alone while others want to be able to talk it out. The openair style school has actually helped all of the students learn to tune out other noises and distractions in order to focus on what they are doing. Furthermore, allowing for both class wide questions and individual questions can help students that are more reserved feel comfortable knowing that they can ask a question in relative privacy, rather than share with the class what they are struggling with. There were no ELLs, however the At Risk students were not afraid to ask questions in class, which provided them with either friends to help, or ourselves.

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

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b. What changes would you make to your instruction to better support student learning of the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)? i. I would have made the changes of one or two more teacher led examples in order to allow the students to create their procedure before having a student go to the board. This would have allowed students to see that their work was following what we had wrote on the board, giving them more confidence and possibly allowing more time for questions at the end, as teacher led examples do not take as long as student led. c. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your explanation with evidence of student learning and principles from theory and/or research as appropriate. i. I think these changes would improve student learning because it would have given them more confidence while they were doing the examples themselves. Students always have some amount of fear in math, and they do not want to look like they dont know what theyre doing in front of other students, so we thought providing them with a more solid background before having them demonstrate would have been the most beneficial.

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Task 3: Assessing Student Learning I. Student Work Samples with Feedback You Provided (3 samples inserted as images directly within this Google Doc)

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II. Assessment Commentary (no more than 3 single-spaced pages) Directions: Write the Assessment Commentary by providing your response to each of the prompts below. 1. Analyzing Student Learning a. Identify the specific standards/objectives from the lesson plan measured by the assessment chosen for analysis. The assessment we gave helped to monitor the students ability to solve for a quadratic equation and outlined in the standards. The quadratic equation is only one way to solve for a quadratic equation, but is a key process that students will need to know as they move forward in their mathematics classes. The assessment forces students to use the formula in some examples but in others specified that the students simply had to solve the equation and did not specify a way to solve. If a student wanted to practice the quadratic formula they could, but if they could complete the square or factor faster then that would be a valid option. Students also had to recognize the different types of solutions that could be found using the quadratic formula. In class, students were presented with the different types of solutions and then allowed to explore those solutions on their own in the assessment. With regard to imaginary solutions in a quadratic formula, the students were assessed on their ability to correctly write imaginary numbers in standard form and visualise from that form that there are in reality two solutions to the quadratic equation. b. Provide the evaluation criteria you are using to analyze the student learning (insert scoring guidelines here). To monitor student growth and learning we checked the homework for completion and scored them solely off of that. In order to prompt the students to attempt the homework and test their mathematical skills we provided the students with the answers the next day and asked which problems they would like to see done on the board. As we checked for completion we noted which problems were more difficult to the classes, and then we made sure to highlight similar problems in the review the following day.

c. Provide a graphic (table or chart) or narrative summary of student learning for your whole class. Be sure to summarize student learning for all evaluation criteria described above. The Quadratic Formula Topics: Accurate Form of the Equation 3 2 Procedural Understanding to solve 4 3 Answers in correct form 2 3 Types of solutions 3 3 Grading 1-4

Period 1 Period 3

1 - No Understanding 2 - Limited Understanding 3 - Understand and can reproduce examples 4 - Thoroughly understand

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d. Use evidence found in the 3 student work samples and the whole class summary to analyze the patterns of learning for the whole class and differences for groups or individual learners relative to conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and problem solving. The student work we collected showed varying amounts of conceptual and procedural understanding and showed little to no problem solving since most of the students did not catch most of their mistakes and therefore could not use their problem solving skills because they did not know there were any problems to solve. On an individual basis, some of the students did not understand that the entire numerator was divided by 2(a). But beyond that the students did understand how to solve the formula and complete the required mathematical processes. 2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning Refer to specific evidence of submitted feedback to support your explanations. Explain how feedback provided to the three focus students addresses their individual strengths and needs relative to the standards/objectives measured. The feedback that we provided to the students focused specifically on the students work with the quadratic equation. Students did not fully understand the formula, specifically that the entire numerator is divided by the denominator. The students have the ability to plug-in the numerical values for the variables, but then in the next step they would not place the -b value over the 2(a). After this the students would properly solve the new equation that they found but these solutions were not correct. Based off of the assessment, students were able to identify the types of solutions from the result of the discriminant. This procedure and concept was highlighted when we checked the homework. Also the correct way to write an imaginary number was demonstrated by the homework. 3. Evidence of Language Understanding and Use Directions: Refer to examples from the clip(s) (with time stamps) and/or student work samples as evidence. Explain the extent to which your students were able to use language (targeted function, vocabulary, and additional identified demands) to develop content understandings. Students were able to identify and manipulate the equations into standard form, correctly identify variables, and how to determine whether their solutions would be one real, two real, or two imaginary. Students still have some trouble with understanding that once you take the square root of a number, the radical sign no longer needs to be written. Furthermore, students are still having some amount of trouble with the imaginary number i.

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4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction a. Based on your analysis of student learning presented in prompts 1c d, describe next steps for instruction for the whole class and for the 3 focus students and other individuals/groups with specific needs. As a class, the next steps for instruction may be extra time for the students to ask questions on a review day. The quadratic formula is a fairly straightforward process, so a review of some of the previous sections leading up to the formula, such as going over the standard form of a quadratic equation, the distributive property of quadratics (FOIL), and using the imaginary number i. Each of these concepts the class as a whole struggled with, while some individuals were more than ready to move on. The next steps for instruction for individuals/groups with specific needs would be to have them come see their teacher during their prime-time, a time during the day in which students get some extra time to do homework during the middle of the day, have students attend study-tables, an after school session for struggling students, or to take a day and review as a class.

b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of student learning. Support your explanation with principles from research and/or theory. Most of the students in the class do not identify as individuals/groups with special needs, although the at risk students need a small amount of extra time. There have been several opportunities presented to the students to allow them to take extra time when they need help. However, not every student takes advantage of these opportunities, or do not have the means to do so. Using Vygotskys Zone of P roximal Development, the students are never left without some scaffolding support, but the students must recognize that they need to assistance and come ask for help. The teaching style commonly used in the classroom is questions posed to the students, both open and closed, in an attempt to draw out their understanding and to give them confidence that they do indeed know the concepts.

Miami University EDT (Adapted from The SIOP Institute, Pearson Education, Inc.)

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