BLOG TOPIC:

Standards for Mathematical Practice

Teachers Mathematical Beliefs
Problem Solving
Tracking and Detracking
Equity

Article(s) or website you are connecting your blog to: The Standards for Mathematical
Practice(http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice)

Observation Date(s): 9/11/14
Blog Post Date: 9/12/14

Part 1
General Background of Visit
Setting: North Strawberry Elementary School, Mrs. Birks 4
th
Grade Math and
Spelling Classes
Number and General Demographics of Students: The first class has 17 students.
There are 10 boys and 7 girls and none of them have an IEP. 2 of the female students
are Black, 1 male student is Indian, and 1 male student is Hispanic. In Mrs. Birks
second class there are 18 students. 9 of the students are male, and 9 are female. Once
again, there are no IEPs in the classroom. There is 1 male Asian student, 1 female
Indian student, and 1 black female in the second class. There are no ELL students in
either of the classes.
Special Circumstances: The first day that I attended my placement there was a
September 11
th
Assembly for the entire school. The ceremony lasted approximately
an hour, which interrupted Mrs. Birks math class. I was able to effectively observe
her students even though we were not always in the classroom.
Part 2
When I found out that I was placed in a fourth grade classroom I was ecstatic! This grade
level seems like the perfect age for me to teach. The school that I am attending is called North
Strawberry Elementary School. I am mentoring under Mrs. Birks who is the Math and Spelling
teacher of the fourth grade. As I took in my surroundings I was immediately making
connections between her classroom and the Standards of Mathematical Practice. These
standards are the foundation of all math skills. They are something that all students must
develop every day. These practices rest on important processes and proficiencies with
longstanding importance in mathematics. (corestandards.org). If a student is going to succeed
in math, they need to be able to problem solve efficiently, explain their reasoning and provide
proof, communicate about the math, represent mathematics, and make connections between all
of the concepts. These five standards of mathematical practice made a very obvious appearance
within Mrs. Birks math classroom. I made my first connections to the standards while
observing her classroom set up. On one of the walls there is a group of posters that each gives a
different strategy that students should try when solving a problem. The strategies are explained
and act as a guide for students who are stumped. Some of the strategies shown include finding a
pattern, working backwards, and drawing a picture. These strategies that were displayed for her
students to see made me think of the problem solving standard. This standard of practice
emphasizes the importance of planning a strategy when attacking a problem. Mathematically
proficient students start by explaining to themselves the meaning of the problem and looking for
entry points to its solution. They analyze givens, constraints, relationships, and goals.
(corestandards.org). All of these posters encourage students to take the time to consider the
problem they have been given. It helps students to broaden their horizons as they analyze
various approaches.
Mrs. Birks had her students play a game that made me connect back to another standard
of mathematical practice which is communication. The game is called I have and it requires
the students to solve a mathematical equation that is on their card. They will say I have
(whatever the answer to the equation is on their card) who has (says another equation)? The
students must mentally compute the mathematical equations quickly in their head and whoever
has the answer is the next to speak. The students are getting a chance to not only verbally
communicate, but to work together as they compete against the times of the other classes. I
connected this activity to Common Core standard of mathematical practice which is Construct
viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Within this game, the other students
have to make sure their peers are coming up with the correct answers to their equations. If not,
their class would not finish and would lose all together. When students are wrong, the other
students must verbally critique them in order to get the game back on track. They justify their
conclusions, communicate with others, and respond to the arguments of others.
(corestandards.org). The students also maintain group responsibility so every student plays a
vital role and is an asset to the team.
Another standard of mathematical practice is to attend to precision. This means that
the students try to use clear definitions in discussion with others and in their own reasoning.
They state the meanings of the symbols they choose, (corestandards.org). Mrs. Birks is very,
very adamant that the students clarify everything when writing and explaining their answers.
The students have to explain almost every math problem they complete using words. She will
not accept too little and always encourages students to write more than necessary. When the
students were to explain why the Ocean City boardwalk was longer than the Rehoboth
boardwalk they had to specify exactly what numbers were in what place and how this makes one
number larger than the other. It may be a bit nit-picky, but she is not having them do this for no
reason! Proficient math students will be able to answer problems with an explanation as to why
they are correct. By encouraging her young students to be precise, Mrs. Birks is helping them to
develop mathematically.
The final major connection that I made between my observations and the Standards of
Mathematical Practice related to Using appropriate tools strategically. When the students were
learning how to round numbers in the hundred-thousands, they got a bit overwhelmed. Mrs.
Birks helped the students to better understand what they were doing by using a number line. The
students could clearly see a visual that helped them to determine why they were rounding down
instead of up or vice versa. The use of a number line can now be added to the students
repertoire of strategies. They now understand how to utilize the strategy appropriately and
strategically in the future. Proficient students are sufficiently familiar with tools appropriate for
their grade or course to make sound decisions about when each of these tools might be helpful,
recognizing both the insight to be gained and their limitations. (corestandards.org).