Week 6 Reflective Journal

Maths in the Classroom

This week, practicum placement began and I have been placed in a Year 1 classroom. This particular Year 1 classroom consists of 33 students. Mathematics was the first lesson of the day. Students begun the lesson with a mental warm-up in which they were given a number card ranging from 1–30 and were asked to move around the classroom and get into order, according to their provided number. Following the mental warm-up students, were asked to sit on the floor while my mentoring teacher explained the learning intentions for the lesson which is beneficial for teachers and students and supported by Aitsl, 2018 as sharing learning intentions “Help teachers to understand the impact of their teaching and learning activities, and when they may need to adapt or change these.”

The teacher of the classroom then explicitly demonstrated the activity the students were to complete. Through the remainder of the lesson, students worked in their small table groups and used scales to weigh items around the classroom using informal units of measurement. Table groups have been set up to ensure students don’t get distracted by the student sitting beside them. I observed that students were working effectively in their small groups which was beneficial and has been supported by Killen, R. (2012) pg. 200 “enable students to engage more deeply with the issues they are investigating and benefit from direct interactions with one another.”

Student Sample:

References:

(2018). Aitsl.edu.au. Retrieved 31 May 2018, from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/feedback/aitsl-learning-intentions-and-success-criteria-strategy.pdf?sfvrsn=382dec3c_2

Killen, R. (2012). Effective teaching strategies : lessons from research and practice. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au