Effective Teaching of Mathematics - Essay Example

Portfolio for a Class Management Plan

Introduction

Effective teaching of Mathematics in Junior-high school requires adequate planning. With planning, the teacher will direct his or her personal philosophies and the requirements of the curriculum to bring out the best in each learner. The situation arises since every student requires special individual attention as they have different learning capabilities (Fraser, 2015). Planning leads to meaningful student engagement and classroom management will set the learner in the right attitude and behavior to follow the teacher’s instructions and use the learning resources to enhance their understanding of mathematical concepts.

Personal Philosophy

• Pay attention to details. Being detailed-oriented reveals the minute details that revolve around the students' lives which is necessary for improving their motivation to learn (Drijers et al., 2010). I do not confine myself to Mathematics instruction materials only but consider the learners’ cognitive, social and behavioral changes and find out how they will affect their ability to learn Mathematics.
• Foster meaningful interactions. I believe in L.S. Vygotsky’s sentiments that learning is socially constructed (Brandon & All, 2010). Therefore, I encourage learners to interact freely with each other and me. The process will ensure that they share new information for their betterment. Amidst the interactions and discussions, the learners will appreciate and respect each other.
• Prevention rather than punishment of misbehavior. Paying attention to details helps me identify dissenting characters among the students at an early stage. In this light, I reprimand such students before they get too deep into misbehaving (Rahimi & Karkami, 2015). My attention focuses on uprooting a mannerism that may affect the whole class before it gets out of hand.
• Have a classroom management plan. A plan gives me a chance to settle on the most effective techniques to use to help the students improve in performance and conduct (Drijers et al., 2010). A plan also enables me to know areas where I can make adjustments after considering its efficiency.
• Take responsibility for any outcomes of my classroom. The knowledge that the rules and regulations I put in place will affect me makes me come up with the most appropriate guidelines for my learners (Fraser, 2015). Chiefly, this philosophy helps me to feel a sense of accomplishment when I get good results and also reward my learners for hard work.
• Provide a safe classroom environment. The arrangement of my classroom ensures that the learners get sufficient space for interaction. Furthermore, I arrange the learners in ways that their character blends well (Brandon & All, 2010). In this regard, there will be minimal cases of learner confrontations.
• Innovativeness. I like to find new techniques of presenting my Mathematics classes. One major area that I utilize is the internet. Finding appropriate instructional materials in different forms makes my learners enjoy the classes (Benson et al., 2013). Furthermore, I use various styles of teaching interchangeably.

Letter to Parents Describing My Classroom Management Plan

Dear Parent, I am grateful to have the opportunity to mentor your child through our interaction sessions in the Mathematics class. I believe that you and I have the mandate to influence the behavior of the student so that he/she explore all the potential. Therefore, I present to you a classroom management plan that will create a good classroom environment for the learner but make them accountable for their actions at the same time (Rahimi & Karkami, 2015). This plan will help the learner to grow cognitively, affectively and behaviorally if you also help me in instituting some of its elements while you are with your child at home.

The first part of the classroom management plan entails rules and regulations that will manage the behavior of the learners. First, the student is expected to listen and follow instructions as given by the teacher. This requirement will ensure there is order in the classroom as the teacher will be completely in charge of directing the students (Weber, 2015). Secondly, the learner should be courteous. In this regard, he/she will raise the hand when he/she wants to speak or leave the classroom and keep the hands and feet to themselves so that they do not disturb those around them. Thirdly, the learner will respect his/her colleagues and the teacher. These rules will ensure that I get the ample type to shape behavior and improve the learner’s understanding and mastery of mathematical concepts.

The second part of the management plan will entail the consequences of going against the prior rules. Penalties will be necessary so that learners with questionable character do not influence the rest of the class (Rahimi & Karkami, 2015). As a parent, I hope that you will treat this part with the seriousness it deserves since the learners will need to know that disregard for rules is not tolerable. When a learner breaks a rule for the first time, he/she will get a warning. The second time of disregarding the rules will lead him/her to detention. I hope that we will work together to ensure the learner understands the essence of good behavior as it sets the trend for effective learning.

Use of Technology in the Classroom

The classroom environment will foster inclusion by having diverse instruction methods. Chiefly, this plan will ensure that the learners with differing learning approaches are catered. Apart from using discussions, lecture methods, practices, group work and games interchangeably, the plan will invest a lot in the use of technology (Benson et al., 2013). Through devices such as laptops, smartphones, projectors, and smartboards, I will be in a position to present mathematical content in audio, visual and caption forms to the learners. The different media will give the same content different approaches, thus creating room for every student’s learning type to be captured.

The technology will help the teacher in making the students understand concepts easily. First, the technology will integrate topics from other subjects in the understanding of mathematics (Drijvers et al., 2010). In this regard, there will be numerous examples that the teacher will be in a position to present to the learners so that they put the, mathematical concept into the appropriate context. Secondly, technology enables the learners to make deeper research on themselves (Benson et al., 2013). In this manner, the learner will gain a thorough understanding of the mathematical concepts. Third, the technology will employ the power of the internet to provide various examples that will resonate with the various learning types of the learners.

Use of Internet as a Classroom Procedure

The internet is a vital tool in ensuring that the learners acquire proper understanding of the instructional content. The use of the internet is a procedure that will require proper classroom arrangement and orientation of the learners (Drijvers et al., 2010). Firstly, the students will have to be organized in a way that they share a computer among each other to enable proper team learning and discussion. Secondly, the learners will be oriented with computer handling and internet navigational skills. Afterward, the learners will be in a position to institute meaningful searches on the internet. However, the procedure will require appropriate use of key words so that their findings match with the topic under discussion.

Plan to Create a Positive Classroom Environment

Learners have different capabilities, thus different speeds of learning. In this regard, the classroom environment should incorporate safety, inclusion and engagement to enable the teacher to move forward with every student (LaCour, McGlawn & Dees, 2016). A good classroom environment plan will offer safety by ensuring that learners feel free to interact with their colleagues and the teacher without fear of intimidation. Besides, it should have inclusion by ensuring that every learner gets equal distribution of resources. The management plan will ensure that the learners and the teacher work as a community to facilitate learning. The process of participation will ensure that the weak students get help from the teacher and their colleagues.

I will help the learners to make sense of the curriculum so that they do not feel they are forced to undertake tasks that are not meaningful. Consequently, the learners will be more engaged in the classroom procedures. To achieve this goal, I will give a summarized version of the content to be covered during the semester (Benson et al., 2013). In this regard, there will be posters in the classroom regarding the various topics in Mathematics, the subtopics within them and how they relate to the general content of the semester. This effort will ensure that the learners find the instruction material meaningful, thus setting their mindsets to learn new concepts.

Including frequent assessment in the classroom plan will ensure that I use the most appropriate instructional methods and resources. The situation arises since assessment will reveal the various learners’ challenges, thus suggest the necessary options of helping them out (Artzt et al., 2015). For this plan to work efficiently, the assessment will be individual. This consideration will ensure that I identify the learning capabilities of each student. Afterward, I will adjust the teaching resources so that they resonate with the learner’s needs. Consequently, the classroom environment will be favorable to every learner thus they will move forward as a team.

Finally, I will adhere to the classroom management plan strictly. The management plan stipulates the rules and consequences for breaking those guidelines. Therefore, implementing the regulations to the letter will give all the students a feeling of safety (Fraser, 2015). Every learner will feel that the rules of the game are fair since they will have an understanding of what mistakes will make them be reprimanded. In addtion, the management plan will make me exercise the authority of choosing certain learning tools for various students without other learners feeling sidelined. The situation arises since the rules and regulations will make me the sole issuer of instructions and directions in the classroom.

Plan for Substitute Teacher

The Classroom should be a place dedicated to transferring information from the teacher to learners. Therefore, I will come up with a plan of a substitute teacher to establish a smooth workflow within the classroom to avoid wasting time (Benson et al., 2013). First, I will have a chart with names of the learners and their sitting positions within the first few days of attending class. Chiefly, this plan will enable the substitute teacher to maneuver the class easily and check the attendance list. Second, I will have the grade book with several spaces below a student’s name to indicate details such as the type of assignment, the date the work was issued, and the deviation index so that the substitute teacher feeds in as much useful information as possible.

The substitute teacher will assist in bringing order regarding absent students and make-up work. Often, these cases may cause confusion and disrupt the normal running of a classroom (Drijvers et al., 2010). The substitute teacher will place a tray at the back where those with late assignments can place their work. He/she will also put a box on the grade book on the day a student is absent to avoid confirming whether they did the test or not. Again, the teacher will write absent students’ names on the test papers and put them on a clipboard so that when they return they take it immediately. Chiefly, this routine will reduce the time it takes to look for blank papers.

Blueprint of Ideal Classroom Arrangement

The arrangement of the classroom is an integral part in enabling students to gain meaningfully from mathematical instruction. The classroom ought to arouse excitement and interest among the learners through the resources and the content presented to them by the teacher (Weber, 2015). The classroom should be organized in a way that the teacher and the learners will work together to get solutions to problems using technology and other resources to enable the learners connect the contents of the current lesson to the previous lessons and real-world situations.

To achieve meaningful learning, technology and other manipulative need to be close to the learners so that they easily reach them to solve problems. In this way, the teacher’s computer will be at the front, but others will be positioned strategically on both sides of a classroom that has two columns (Benson et al., 2013). Other supplementary materials such as maps and models will be placed in cabinets at the back of the classroom. These places will be opened once the lesson begins. Other resources that are used by the whole class such as smart boards or projectors will be located at the front where everyone will have a clear view of them. Such an arrangement will support learning since the learner will quickly reach the materials when the need arises.

The classroom also needs to guarantee the safety of the students and the teacher. Therefore, the room should be cheerful, spacious and well-lit. To achieve this plan, the classroom should have flat-topped desks and chairs that will make it easy to arrange in various patterns depending on the activity being carried out (Gunuc & Kuzu, 2014). The flat tops also support materials like calculators, printed papers and smartphones. These desks and chairs should be arranged in two rows to leave ample space for anyone to move around quickly as they reach out to the computers of other materials at the back. The teacher will also move easily to check on the progress of the learners (Savage T. & Savage M., 2009). Finally, the classroom should be furnished with sufficient supply of electricity to run the technological equipments that will be used in the Mathematics lesson.

Conclusion

The combination of my personal philosophies of education and the classroom management and student engagement strategies will result in a positive performance on the part of the learner. My philosophies on being detail-oriented, innovative, responsible, and a disciplinarian will ensure that I create the right environment for engagement, inclusion, and safety. With the support of the school administration, I can create a physical classroom environment that will excite learners to learn by having the learning material strategically positioned near them. Overall, the learners will be at their best character to fully concentrate on learning mathematical concepts.

Use of Technology in the Classroom

The classroom environment will foster inclusion by having diverse instruction methods. Chiefly, this plan will ensure that the learners with differing learning approaches are catered. Apart from using discussions, lecture methods, practices, group work and games interchangeably, the plan will invest a lot in the use of technology (Benson et al., 2013). Through devices such as laptops, smartphones, projectors, and smartboards, I will be in a position to present mathematical content in audio, visual and caption forms to the learners. The different media will give the same content different approaches, thus creating room for every student’s learning type to be captured.

The technology will help the teacher in making the students understand concepts easily. First, the technology will integrate topics from other subjects in the understanding of mathematics (Drijvers et al., 2010). In this regard, there will be numerous examples that the teacher will be in a position to present to the learners so that they put the, mathematical concept into the appropriate context. Secondly, technology enables the learners to make deeper research on themselves (Benson et al., 2013). In this manner, the learner will gain a thorough understanding of the mathematical concepts. Third, the technology will employ the power of the internet to provide various examples that will resonate with the various learning types of the learners.

Use of Internet as a Classroom Procedure

The internet is a vital tool in ensuring that the learners acquire proper understanding of the instructional content. The use of the internet is a procedure that will require proper classroom arrangement and orientation of the learners (Drijvers et al., 2010). Firstly, the students will have to be organized in a way that they share a computer among each other to enable proper team learning and discussion. Secondly, the learners will be oriented with computer handling and internet navigational skills. Afterward, the learners will be in a position to institute meaningful searches on the internet. However, the procedure will require appropriate use of key words so that their findings match with the topic under discussion.

Plan to Create a Positive Classroom Environment

Learners have different capabilities, thus different speeds of learning. In this regard, the classroom environment should incorporate safety, inclusion and engagement to enable the teacher to move forward with every student (LaCour, McGlawn & Dees, 2016). A good classroom environment plan will offer safety by ensuring that learners feel free to interact with their colleagues and the teacher without fear of intimidation. Besides, it should have inclusion by ensuring that every learner gets equal distribution of resources. The management plan will ensure that the learners and the teacher work as a community to facilitate learning. The process of participation will ensure that the weak students get help from the teacher and their colleagues.

I will help the learners to make sense of the curriculum so that they do not feel they are forced to undertake tasks that are not meaningful. Consequently, the learners will be more engaged in the classroom procedures. To achieve this goal, I will give a summarized version of the content to be covered during the semester (Benson et al., 2013). In this regard, there will be posters in the classroom regarding the various topics in Mathematics, the subtopics within them and how they relate to the general content of the semester. This effort will ensure that the learners find the instruction material meaningful, thus setting their mindsets to learn new concepts.

Including frequent assessment in the classroom plan will ensure that I use the most appropriate instructional methods and resources. The situation arises since assessment will reveal the various learners’ challenges, thus suggest the necessary options of helping them out (Artzt et al., 2015). Read More