In EDU 373, K-8 Math Methods the course covered teaching mathematics in kindergarten through eighth grade. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) are used as a basis to build a strong mathematics curriculum, emphasizing both process and content while focusing on student-centered instruction.
Student Growth Reflection Project
My Student Growth reflection Project relates to the common core standard of Learner development because in the slideshow you can see how we tracked and adjusted our lessons based on where they were on the standards using formal or informal assessment and data-based decisions. In BLAST (Biddeford learns after school too) we were all grouped with a small group of kids for around 8 weeks total. I was paired with three second-grade students and designed a pre-assessment to determine where they were on the learning progression, then designed lesson plans for six weeks to improve and work on the skills needed and after six lesson plans, we did a post-assessment to see their growth. I chose this project to align to the CCTS standard of learning development because throughout the eight weeks we were collecting data and seeing how their math skills progressed and that can be seen through our data document as well as our comments that show our understanding of the child’s learning strengths and weaknesses.
This assignment and this entire class have taught me so much about designing lesson plans and truly brought meaning to the phrase “Kids don’t need to learn the way we teach, we need to teach the way kids learn” We had three very different learning styles in my small group and while it was a challenge at times to meet every learning style, It was an amazing challenge and one that definitely made me a better teacher. I loved getting to see their growth and It was so rewarding at the end to see the progress we made, as well as I, know the kids also felt proud of themselves for how much they did. Using this class to learn more about informal and formal assessment and data documents was definitely useful and really allowed me to apply what we learned in class to a classroom environment.
