IAAL Project: Part 2

I As A Learner Project

Steven Romero

CIL 621: 1003

Dr. Chyllis Scott

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

IAAL Project: Part 2

Realizing the seventh-grade common core mathematical standards require student to

display critical thinking, I saw the need for developing students discursive practices to be

successful. They are expected to able to not only read and answer a question, but also make

arguments and provide reasoning that is expressed both verbally and in written text responses. I

began moving towards my goal of discourse improvement in the classroom the second semester

of my first year of teaching, by first having my students read aloud our content questions and

then make interpretations. I have assessed my students through formal and informal approaches,

sometimes a piece of technology and other times with more traditional methods

In the introduction of my lessons, I try to adhere to the common core standards for

mathematical practice. To initiate my students thinking, I focus on mathematical standard 1,

which asks students to, “make sense of problems and persevere in solving them (Teacher Step,

2015, para. 2)”. When we begin a lesson, I ask for a volunteer or cold call on a student to read a

question. Once that task was completed, I posed the questions, ‘from that question, what are we

being asked and how will we know we answered it’. I incorporated this procedure to initiate my

students engagement and movement towards discursive practices, which focused on having them

speak more in class and mark their text. In order for students to answer these question, I

integrated verbal discourse-oriented strategies in my lesson procedures that included: ‘turn and

talks, volleyball discussions, and rally coaches.’ Depending on if the lesson was review or

entirely new, they would utilize particular strategy.

During the turn and talks, I would have them reread the question after this volunteer read

aloud and discuss their responses on what they would do and how they will know they have done

it. When the unit focused on topics that were completely unfamiliar to students, I would have

them, refer to T.A.G. strategy that they were taught in their English classes. This procedure
IAAL Project: Part 2

involves: turning the prompt/question around and into a statement, answering the question, and

giving support for your answer. I tend to use this procedure in my day to day instruction in our

curriculum assignments that tend to involve depth of knowledge (DOK) level 2 and 3

questioning. For higher level DOK assignments like performance tasks, I trained my students to

use a C.U.B.E.S. procedure to emphasize student’s breaking down questions to answer them.

This stands for circle important numbers, stands for underline the question, box key words,

evaluate the problem, and solve the problem. This procedure is something that I have students go

over verbally as we solve part of a performance task together. I may ask, “if we follow our

C.U.B.E.S. procedure, what is our first step.” I have a student respond to the question and

express the first step of the procedure. This is how I try to set them up for making sense of math.

Volleyball discussions are another procedural strategy for use in the classroom to engage

students in mathematical discourse. I utilize volleyball discussions similarly to engage more than

one student at a time, when icy students often engaged in the routine of only letting one or a few

students lead the discourse in the classroom. In this strategy, I would call upon a volunteer

twiddle out the question, have another student interpret with that question may have been asking,

and then have the third student explain how we might perform that task. In instances where the

student may be confused may have a different linguistic skill set or needs more support in the

feeling one of these tasks I would come upon when it appears to help them out. Using these

instances the peers able to respond to an answer the question, in which case I have that initial

student repeat what was stated and explain why before moving on through this procedure.

In my attempts to create opportunities for student led learning, I use rally coach activities

whenever my students are reviewing for an upcoming assessment. With this activity, students are

given he shared one-page handout of mathematical problems. The handout is organized in two-
IAAL Project: Part 2

sided columned boxes, for the purpose of each student taking turns and engaging in the review

and problem solving. There are two interchangeable roles in this activity, one is the Problem

Solver and the other is the Coach. The Problem Solvers job is to attempt to solve the problem

and explain their thinking, while showing to work. During which the Coach observes quietly and

interjects in an attempt to guide them towards understanding how to explain their reasoning if

they are falling of track or an unfamiliar method to reach their solution. I intentionally pair up

students according to their mathematical ability. In instances where I have ELL/CDL students, I

would follow ELL educational researcher Wayne Wright’s suggestions and pair them up with

former ELL or bilingual students were able to provide them support (Wright, Wayne, 2010).

This would enable students to utilize collaborative learning methods and providers for one

another in their learning. In these situations students have to take ownership of their learning and

are potentially able to reveal invented strategies to one another.

Visual approaches are another strategy I use in the classroom. I use anchor charts in the

classroom to ensure that my students apprehension of the content vocabulary and procedures are

made accessible. I keep in mind standard 3 indicator 2, which requires a teacher to provide

,”opportunities for all students to create and interpret multiple representations,” when creating

these types of supports (Nevada Department of Education, 2017). I use visual scaffold for my

students that would explain the process to solve a particular problem, with step-by-step

examples. When I introduce a new topic or expand upon an idea, I would refer to a premade

anchor chart. I start a lesson through demonstration and use of an anchor chart. I guide my

students towards a solution by refer to the steps in the anchor charts. For example, ne of the units

we had gone over earlier this semester was adding into subtracting negative and positive

integers. I write explanations in the anchor chart that students could refer to when they began
IAAL Project: Part 2

independent work and needed to process a question and decide on the steps they would take. As

we moved through a lesson to the “we do” portion of the activity, I ask them which step we

begin with and then have them work on it independently as we move towards answering the

question. I add to a wall of key vocabulary to support my students understanding and use of

mathematical terminology. When students are stuck on how to express their responses in

complete sentences, I asked him to refer to the word wall and anchor charts of the procedure I

have set up in the classroom. I have found that that these have been more effective in aiding my

students to complete their work and demonstrate and understanding of the material.

The types of assessments are used in the classroom include both formal and informal

assessments. To set up each unit, I had my students complete do now activities to assess their

initial understanding of a mathematical standard. This would be a pre-formative assessment that I

use to see how their previous years of mathematical instruction aligns with our current unit. I

would this information to plan strategically pre-teach lessons for future segments of the unit.

Other informal formative assessments are utilized in the classroom included: fist to five and

thumbs ups and thumbs down. I use these to get an in the moment gauge of how much the

students are understanding. Since I work at 1 to 1 school, I utilize technology as a means of

informally assessing my students. A technological application tool I use is Pear Deck, which

includes many assessment features: such as drag and drop, drawing, and written word responses.

The unique feature about this application is that it is interactive and highly engaging for students,

but also could be used to informally and formally assess students (Flanagan, 2015). I use

technology in my class to prepare my students for 21st century technology expectations and to

prepare them for assessments like the SBAC, where scholars like Lawton suggests are likely to

be tech-based and are expect to be familiar with technological tools (Lawton, 2014). As a lesson
IAAL Project: Part 2

comes to a closure, I have my student complete a tickets so that I can formatively assess my

students understood the material or not. This is to get a gauge on weather a lesson was effective

or not. The type of summative assessments are from the Edulastic software that is part of the

tools in our school’s curriculum. With this software, I found that students are able to use many

tech-based features to provide responses to questions on an exam. I use this data from these

assessments to inform the next these lessons, as well as plan how I’m going provide supports of

students for the future.

As I reflect upon this past semester, I realize there are areas I could improve upon for

next year. Since I will be going into my second year of teaching next year, I plan on clearly and

concisely explaining and modeling procedures like T.A.G and C.U.B.E.S, and Rally Coaches. I

could first begin by setting up classroom procedures and expectations from the start and work

towards developing them into routines. Now that I have gained an arsenal of strategies to further

my student’s development and focus, making these strategies into routines would be my best

means of facilitating the literacy and development of mathematics. I plan on continuing to use

assessments to inform my lesson planning, but also make the classroom environment more

student-centered. This would follow assessment principals that Scholars like Rob Tierney

suggest should, “ emerge from the classroom rather than impose upon it” (Tierney, 1995, pp.

375). This would allow me to be the person who observes more and takes actions that are

appropriate for my students to be leading in their learning. I believe if I set up excitations and

procedures effectively, then student could be the orchestrators of their learning while I can be the

facilitator of their thinking. As an educator, I want to see my students not only learn the material

but grow as thinker and become problem solvers. It is my role to make higher level thinking
IAAL Project: Part 2

accessible as possible through literacy, so that they can meet expectations of the 21st century

workforce.

Reference

Flanagan, T. (2015, 10 09). ILA's Blog. (Teaching with Tech) Retrieved 04 2019, from Literacy

Daily: https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2015/10/09/formative-

assessment-in-the-digital-age

Lawton, D. F. (2014). Beyond Bubble Sheets and Number Two Pencils- Assessment in the

Digital Age. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 53-58.

Nevada Department of Education. (2017, 07 17). TEACHER INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE

STANDARDS AND INDICATORS. Nevada Educator Performance Framework Rubric

w/Evidence & Descriptions – Teacher Instructional Practice Standards & Indicators

(ADA compliant). Nevada Department of Education.

Teacher Step. (2015, 03 15). Breaking down the Common Core’s 8 mathematical practice

standards. Retrieved from Teacher Step: https://www.teacherstep.com/breaking-down-

the-common-cores-8-mathematical-practice-standards/

Tierney, R. J. (1995, Febuary). Literacy Assessment reform: Shifting Beliefs, principles

possibilities, and emerging practices. Distinguished Educators Series, 51(5), 374-390.

Wright, Wayne. (2010). Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and

Practice. Phiadelphia: Caslon Publishing.