I 1. The class I observed was a 7th grade Algebra 1 class.

The lesson for this particular day

was for the students to discover on their own how to graph inequalities and for the latter part of the class the teacher reviewed in preparation for their upcoming test. 2. The standard that was addressed in this class was Algebra 1 (Standard 6.0) Students

graph a linear equation and compute the x- and y- intercepts. They are also able to sketch the region defined by linear inequalities. 3. As soon as the students walked in the class and settled down they were instructed to use

the internet or textbook and figure out how to graph inequalities. From that point they were on their own. The teacher walked around to assess their progress but would not give the students any answers. 4. The activity for this class revolved around working with partners to figure out how to

graph inequalities. The students were allowed to use the internet and textbooks. The majority of the time the students worked with their partners then towards the end of class some groups were allowed to come to the front of the class and explain what they found online/in the textbook regarding inequalities. 5. The teacher didnt use much motivation techniques. However, since she allowed the

students and challenged them to teach themselves using the internet and the textbook so they could teach their classmates how to graph inequalities could qualify as intrinsic motivation. The students were actually really excited to be allowed to teach themselves. Through the middle of the lesson, the teacher did turn this intrinsic motivation into more of an extrinsic motivation

when she offered the first group to be able to teach their fellow classmate on graphing inequalities lunch express passes. 6. Allowing the students to teach themselves turned out to be very effective since the

students were motivated and excited to get to work for one class. However in the class that followed the effectiveness of this method actually dropped, since for the most part students were more focused on finding potentially helpful math websites and writing their URL on the board rather than focusing on the task at hand which was to teach their selves a concept without their teachers lecture. However, being the first time the class tried one could assume that with more practice the students will improve. 7. There were only two tasks for this lesson. The students were instructed to research how to

graph inequalities and when they figured out how, they would present to the class. Id say researching the concept without the teachers help was a very difficult task for the students but presenting to the class was even more difficult. Obviously sequencing the tasks facilitated it for the students because it would have been nearly impossible for the students to present first and then research the concept. 8. When the teacher walked around her classroom asking questions, most of the questions

were simple and were asked by the teacher only to assess the engagement the students had with the task at hand. For example, some of her questions were: So is this website helpful? What have you found out about inequalities so far? Would you like to present in front of the class? All those questions could be and were answered with short quick answers by the student. Given those questions the students were not challenged to think so it would qualify under lower level thinking. However when the students were presenting to the class, although the teachers

questions were simple: Tell us what you found out? Explain why this works? It actually forced the students to the higher level thinking portion of Blooms taxonomy because it required the students to evaluate and analyze their research so they could explain it clearly to the class. 9. The teacher did keep a nonjudgmental attitude when she engaged with her students. For

the most part the teacher walked around and questioned her students on their findings to make sure that they were staying on task. Once she felt that a group had sufficient information on how to graph inequalities she would allow the group to go to the front of the class and present. Most students were nervous while presenting but the teacher ask them questions to get them going and guide them through at the same time. The teacher gave 100% of her attention to her students and listened attentively. 10. This whole lesson was based on student-student interaction so it is safe to say that the

teacher motivated her students to listen, respond, and question each other by allowing them to work in groups and giving them the freedom to use resources to research a new math concept so they could teach themselves and then teach their classmates. II 1. For my third observation the teacher went over the standard notation vs. scientific

notation with her students and thought them by lecturing with an overhead video projector. For my final observation the teacher allowed the students to work in groups and research a math concept to teach themselves so they could teach their classmates. I think at this grade level it is best to have a teacher centered lesson rather than have a student centered lesson. I personally think allowing the students to teach themselves with no guidance from the teacher was a bit extreme and not as successful as it could have been if she would have intervened more. For my

own classroom I would probably use the lecture method, however I would have students come to the video projector and do example problems to assess their understanding during the lesson. I probably would also implement power point presentation because they would allow me to walk through the classroom instead of being stationary. 2. One way these observations affected my thoughts was that it reassured me that I dont

want to teach middle school in the future. It is nothing against the students but more on the subject, Algebra 1 is the usually the highest math class one can teach at a middle school and I cant see myself teaching it all day. I prefer the high school setting where I could teach anywhere from basic math all the way to calculus and hopefully with good results and seniority experience I could end up only teaching math classes from Algebra 2 and higher. Nonetheless the observations were very helpful. One thing I learned about teaching was that it doesnt matter how clear you explain a concept or how many times you clearly repeat it, some students will still not understand it, so one must be prepared with a number of examples but most importantly one must have patience.

Final Observation Moises Pea Math 399