A Class Experiment: an Examination of The Methods and Apparatus Used to Teach Math

Background information on field experience school: Miami Coral Park Senior High School has 2,891 students of which 92% are Hispanic, 2% are Black, 4% White, and 2% Asian. 13% of the school’s students are ELL/LEP. The grades levels are 9-12 and the school has a title I status. The teacher, Mr. Shamdasani, is in charge of the mathematics department at the school and has been awarded with a national certification for teaching in mathematics.

Observation 1: At first, the teacher introduced me to several other math teachers in case I decided to observe their classrooms. The teacher’s attitude towards working with these students was very optimistic towards some of his classes and negative towards others. He states that only the students that are academically successful are worth the effort in teaching and those that do not care to understand math are lost and not worth teaching. He is knowledgeable in mathematics but he has a poor sense of classroom management because he does not carry out the actions he says when a student is demonstrating disruptive behavior. Students are mostly working in groups and come up to him when they are in need of assistance in mathematics. He has a friend-based relationship with his students and thus at times causes problems because students take advantage of certain situations because they know that he will not do anything to ruin their student-teacher friendship status. I believe that you cannot be friends to your students because if a teacher chooses to walk that path, certain lines must be drawn so as to prevent constant disruptions in class. Also, I believe that all students whether they are willing to learn mathematics or not should be helped and encouraged to learn math.

Observation 2: In the classroom, there are computers on three of the four walls that contain past projects and activities which are displayed to the public and a smart-board on the front wall which the teacher utilizes to teach the lesson and work out problems. A particular student who has made an impression on me is a Hispanic female student who was reading a fictional book during the teacher’s class yet insists on becoming a teacher. I was wondering if she realized that being a teacher means having a student like her who is showing non-disruptive off task behavior by reading a fictional book during a math class. Some students are ELL and have a difficult time understanding the lesson because they are given in English. No modifications or accommodations were present during the teacher’s classroom lecture for this ELL student.

Observation 3: The physical environment of the classroom does exhibit a layout that encourages socially acceptable classroom behavior for a diverse population because many of the classroom activities are through cooperative learning. Most of the layout in the classroom is setup for students to work in groups. The tone of the classroom with respect to the bulletin boards and displays exhibits one of facts and procedural steps in order to solve mathematical problems. They appear to be age appropriate to the cognitive needs of students because they contain facts and procedures regarding math but they do not appear to satisfy student’s physical needs.

Observation 4: The classroom has moments where it is student-centered because the majority of the work that is performed in class is through cooperative learning but during the lectures, the teacher displays a teacher-centered approach throughout his lesson. Because the classroom suffers from classroom management, many times groups are not doing their work and are just socializing. Other groups are working in the classroom and are effectively utilizing this time to learn from each other. I believe if the teacher was more engaged in their cooperative learning activities such as assigning roles for each group member to work on or give alternative activities that would interest the students besides book work then each student would be productive throughout the duration of the class. There seems to be no accommodation for students who exhibit cultural, linguistic, social, emotional needs. Only those that show signs of having cognitive needs walk up to the professor and ask questions regarding the text-book procedural work.

Observation 5: The learning theory that has been observed by the teacher when he teaches the lesson is the constructivism theory because he links previous ideas to new ones in his lecture. Also, by having students work in groups their zone of proximity is increased by their peers which exhibits constructivism. Unfortunately, most of the student’s classwork is through procedural knowledge using standards textbooks. Also, no form of alternative activities or assessments has been witnessed. The implementation of problem-based learning is not present in this classroom which goes against not only constructivism but the CCSS (Common Core State Standards). Effective teachers must be consistent in the theories and strategies that are effective in teaching mathematics. Teachers who only utilize some of these techniques and some of the traditional ineffective ones are damaging students in understanding mathematical concepts. An effective teacher gives 100% dedication in teaching mathematics with adherence to the latest theories and the CCSS.