Cathy Boerner MT 243 Portfolio Narrative of Met Criteria

The purpose of this portfolio is to demonstrate my mastery of the concepts and ideas put forth in the classroom and assignments for MT 243. Li e many fields! teaching mathematics is a complicated and tiered "ourney #hich one must approach cautiously. $ne must start #ith the %asics! the founding principles of mathematics! and #ith that root gro# up#ard into the necessary evolution of the central tenets. The teacher must insure that the learner understands the foundational premises to assure proper apprehension and gro#th! all the #hile providing the stimuli of creativity to spur the imagination to greater heights. &pon graduation! ' #ill teach children in elementary school! and #ill %e #ith them as they learn the essentials! or scaffolding! of math. MT 243 has provided me #ith an e(uivalent matri) of no#ledge that ' need to %egin my "ourney. ' refer to this no#ledge as a matri)! in the %iological sense! as it encompasses a vast num%er of resources and reiterates itself fre(uently. *s ' reflect on #hat ' have to sho# for my hard #or this semester! ' cannot cite "ust one e)ample for each of the num%ered guidelines. Most of my e)amples represent the numerous influences and (ualities of multiple standards! some reflect certain areas more than others and some standards encompass every e)ample. +or e)ample of a standard encompassing every e)ample! guideline

num%er ,- as s for proof of no#ledge and s ill in mathematical processes. *s demonstrated in all of my #or ' present my mastery of this aspect. ' have easily communicated my understanding of pro%lem solving! reasoning! ma ing mathematical connections etc. in each and every assignment and assessment ' have done. $ther standards! such as num%er .! are represented in more specific instances. $n the first day of class #e #ere given a #ord pro%lem involving a coo ie "ar and as ed to figure out ho# many coo ies each person received. *ppendi) L demonstrates! #hich as you may recall ' #as (uic to come up #ith a solution! #hich you as ed me to share #ith the class! and ' sho#ed the other students ho# to solve the (uery #ith a pie chart. There are multiple methods of coming to the correct ans#er! %ut ' felt the pie chart to %e the most straight for#ard and appropriate! and ' %elieve a ma"ority of the class did also. *t the rear of my paper you #ill find an appendi) of e)amples of class#or ! home#or and assessments. These are the original documents that ' have ac(uired throughout the semester and #ill %e referenced herein %y a letter /*ppendi) *0$1. ' #ill go through the list of standards! reference accordingly and e)plain #hy these e)amples meet or e)ceed the guidelines for this portfolio. 1. The structures within the discipline, the historical roots and evolving nature of mathematics, and the interaction between technology and the discipline. ' meet the criteria for guideline num%er , #ith the inclusion of appendi) *2 3)ploring various num%er systems and comparing them to the 4indu0ara%ic system of num%ers that #e use today. By comparing this system #ith ancient

systems that used other %ases! ' developed a clearer conceptual understanding of ho# to do #hole0num%er computation. *ncient systems included in this lesson include the Tally Numeration 5ystem! 3gyptian Numeration 5ystem! Ba%ylonian Numeration 5ystem! Mayan Numeration 5ystem! 6oman Numeration 5ystem! and other num%er %ase systems. ' applied these ancient methods to aid my understanding of other %ase systems and their usage! for e)ample converting %ase ,- to %ase 4! or the %asic arithmetic functions #ithout the aid of a calculator. 2. Facilitating the building of student conceptual and procedural understanding. +or this guideline! ' refer to the appendi) L #or sheets! #hich re(uired us to demonstrate the solution to the pro%lems through a visual representation. $nce a visual solution #as ac(uired! ' adapted this image into a formula #hich clearly lin ed the 2 and provided a more #idespread understanding of different approaches to solving pro%lems. The %enefit of this approach is that it prepares the teacher to facilitate different representations of standard form to appeal to the various styles of learning. +or e)ample! different models of representation2 num%er lines! using chips! or set models. 3. Helping all students build understanding of the discipline including: !onfidence in their abilities to utili"e mathematical #nowledge. $wareness of the usefulness of mathematics. The economic implications of fine mathematical preparation. +or this guideline ' #ill refer to appendices L and 7. 'n L! as previously covered %ut in more detail! #e covered the concept of arithmetic patterns using monetary values! specifically the gain0loss0gain scenario. This

approach covers multiple facets including recursive patterns of interest over time! #ealth accumulation and loss! understanding of profit creation and the intricacies of decimal gro#th and recession. 'n appendi) 7! #ithout the aid of calculator! ' demonstrated the methods of applying the multitudes of possi%le com%inations of lo#er denomination %ills and coinage to achieve significant monetary amounts. ' also demonstrated my no#ledge of the importance of pre0 to 2nd grade understanding of the conceptual lin %et#een multiple images of physical o%"ects and their ver%al numeric e(uivalent! to practical application! especially monetary value notation. $%viously a population #ith a strong foundation of economic activity is %etter prepared for the tumultuous real #orld! as such the importance of youth ac(uiring financial understanding in appropriate relative terms /i.e. allo#ance1 is of utmost magnitude. %. &'ploring, con(ecturing, e'amining and testing all aspects of problem solving. 'n appendi) N! our first ta e0home assessment! ' #as re(uired to sho# more than one route to achieving the ans#er for an algorithm. More0so! ' applied these methods #ith additional %ase systems /other than the standard ,-1. 'n this assessment ' also demonstrated my no#ledge of various other algorithmic approaches including lattice! e)panded! e(ual0addends and ta ea#ay methods for arithmetic. ' also identified #hich property of an algorithm #as in use! for e)ample the distri%utive or associative property of the e(uation. These identifications #ere verified %y testing against the standards of each method! and ringing true #hen compared to various

techni(ues for "ustification. ). Formulating and posing worthwhile mathematical tas#s, solving problems using several strategies, evaluating results, generali"ing solutions, using problem solving approaches effectively, and applying mathematical modeling to real world situations. 'n appendi) M! ' refer specifically to the inclusion of lesson plans! #hich aided my gro#ing familiarity #ith the scheduling of a main daily goal and several su%0goals! #hile maintaining e)ploratory tas s to achieve these targets. 8ith each learning goal! or lesson criteria! ' included a specific area of possi%le hardship for the students! my response if such difficulties arise and a %ase criteria for assessment of accepta%le understanding! #ith the no#ledge of #hich students are struggling and #hich e)ceed the %asic criteria and re(uire additional challenging to eep them interested. 'n %oth cases! the under0 and over0achiever! ' have prepared a response to stimulate interest and maintain gro#th as individuals and as a class. +urthermore! ' reference my e)ercise in #hich ' differentiated %et#een a tas and a learning goal. * tas %eing an activity a student #ill engage in versus a learning goal #hich includes the ideas and methods %y #hich a student may apply this no#ledge to future learning opportunities. *. +a#ing convincing mathematical arguments, framing mathematic ,uestions and con(ectures, formulating counter e'amples, constructing and evaluating arguments, and using intuitive, informal e'ploration and formal proof. ' again refer to appendi) L! a collection of all the in0class #or sheets throughout the semester. 3ach #or sheet included a challenging pro%lem to solve as #e sa# fit. 8e later as a class compared approaches and learned

different attac s on solving the challenge. ' learned different methods! some of #hich ' had not initial considered! #hich aided me %y ma ing me a#are of various solutions that my future classroom #ill %enefit from! as #hen given the opportunity! not all #ill approach via the same techni(ue. -. &'pressing ideas orally, in writing, and visually. using mathematical language, notation and symbolism. translating mathematics and other disciplines, and with daily life. *ppendi) $! my classroom presentation in the scenario of a meeting of teachers #ith the goal of interesting others in my lesson plan for a specific grade level. The overall goal of my approach! and the various su%0goals shared an application of no#ledge in various circumstances. ' presented the topic of place value! as represented %oth in a ver%al and numeric form. ' concluded #ith my response to the differing levels of comprehension. /. !onnecting the concepts and procedures of mathematics, drawing connections between mathematical strands, between mathematics and other disciplines and with daily life. My initial response is the same as my a%ove ans#er for standard 9. ' #ill additionally note that in appendi) 3! in #hich ' e)plored recursive versus general patterns of arithmetic and geometry. The application! through these approaches! helped %y providing o%viously hypothetical %ut potentially real encounters in everyday life. These scenarios #ere helpful in the teaching of recursive patterns! for instance of predicting the increase of school populations over time via a general e(uation! not "ust a specific num%er for a set year. 0. and 11.

' feel these #ere ade(uately addressed in my introduction. 11. 2umber operations and relationships from both abstract and concrete perspectives, identifying real world applications and representing and connecting mathematical concepts and procedures including... *ppendi) B and C! introduce and further illustrate the concept and use of :enn diagrams. ' e)plored set theories and their functions! and the rules of signifying an intersection /or union if you #ill1 of sets via commutative property of set operations. By using the %asic function of :enn diagrams to represent more than , set of o%"ects! ' #as a%le to utili;e this diagram as a pro%lem solving tool for modeling information. *n e)ample %eing! the first set /*1 contains all students ta ing math %ut N$T english! a second set /B1 contains all students ta ing math *N7 english and ho# the :enn diagram conveys the distri%ution of students as they intersect and separate among these specific regions. 1-. Functions, algebra and basic concepts underlying calculus from both abstract and concrete perspectives... ' refer to appendices 4! '! < and =! #hich includes our most recent classroom lessons for finding least common multiple! greatest common divider! prime and composite num%ers! rational num%ers as fractions /and the various arithmetic functions of fractions1. ' learned various theorems %y #hich ' #as a%le to deduct notions of divisi%ility and multiplication from everyday models. ' also learned various patterns! as #ell as ho# to assess if a specific num%er is divisi%le %y another #ithout use of calculator or long division. These multiple practices have o%vious %enefit for application in my future classroom. The calculus aspect has yet to %e e)plored in MT 243! %ut ' hope

to increase my no#ledge this coming semester. 10. 3iscrete processes from both abstract and concrete perspectives and to identify real world applications... +or this final standard! ' reference appendices B! C! 7! +! >! ' and my ta e0 home assessment M. These appendices present the gro#th of my no#ledge of the various techni(ues ' have learned! this includes counting techni(ues! arrays! graphs. ' have continually focused on applying these visual representation to#ard real0life scenarios. 8ithout the use of calculus! #hich ' have yet to ac(uire the no#ledge %ase for! ' can use these s ill sets to#ards specific targeted grade levels. 'n conclusion! ' feel ' have represented the necessary s ill sets and no#ledge that this class set out to instill in me. ' have specifically given e)amples of ho# each standard is evidenced in my #or ! and in class have %een an active participant #ith a consistent enthusiasm for the material covered.