Math with Mr. Morris A Digital Portfolio
Table of Contents About... 3 Problem Solving… 4 Asking Effective Questions… 6 Whole Number Operations… 8 Fractions and Decimals… 10 Order of Operations & Integers… 12 Proportional Reasoning… 14 Pattering & Algebra… 16 Geometry & Spatial Sense… 18 Measurement… 20 Data Management & Probability… 22 Appendix: Resources… 24
About The digital portfolio for “Math with Mr. Morris” will tell the story of my mathematics journey as a pre-service teacher.
Along with an excerpt from each week’s blog post, I will chose an artifact that highlights important work/articles/resources I curated while exploring mathematics. I hope you find this informative and useful. - Mr. Morris
Problem Solving Problem Solving is an underlying theme of mathematics. In order to find solutions, students need the techniques and strategies to help them problem solve.
Blog Post: “the four step problem solving model (from the curriculum above) using concrete examples that we had experienced. To (1) understand the problem, we had to talk about what we needed to find with our group members. Next, (2) we made a plan and chose one strategy to try and solve the problem. We (3) carried out the plan, then analyzed the results and attempted our model solution on the bigger problem. Finally, (4) we looked back at our solution and explored different methods to arrive at the same answer.�
Artifact: My classroom at Sir Isaac Brock in Brampton is a place for math learning. Our teacher co-created a problem solving strategy chart that is permanently posted and constantly referred to.
My professional math goal is to always set students up for success by discussing problem solving strategies and referring to them on a constant basis.
Asking Effective Questions The Ontario Ministry of Education composes a series of articles called the “Capacity Building Series”.
Artifact: This specific article is called “Asking Effective Questions” and highlights the important questions to ask students, when to ask them, and how to phrase them.
This document has changed my whole approach to mathematics teaching. This has been the single most valuable document to me, and I consistently refer back to it to help my ask my students the right questions at each stage of my lesson. My goal is to be able to ask these effective questions on a consistent basis without having to refer back to the document.
Whole Number Operations Blog: “Our learning session started off with four presentations. We looked at prime factorization, addition, estimation, and place value. The number sense presentation was a great refresher on prime numbers.�
Artifact: This artifact is a place-value riddle sheet. This worksheet was a group activity from our class that translated well into my classroom. In my grade 7 classroom, I strive to differentiate my instruction and be mindful of students need accommodations and modification. I was able to use this worksheet for students who already understood place value really well. They could work in groups and problem solve while I paid special attention to those who still needed more review.
Fractions & Decimals Blog: “Valid and reliable resources contribute to my knowledge base as an educator. There are many resources available, but the goal is to curate quality resources. The accumulation of these types of resources become invaluable to teachers because they prepare them for a variety of situations.”
Artifact: This is a sample of work done during a “Dividing Decimals” presentation by Nicole Del Monaco.
After participating in this learning activity, I realized that it is important to learn multiple ways of thinking so you can cater to your students. I was unaware of this way to divide decimals and it could make the process much easier for my students to understand. It is the continued commitment to this professional learning growth that will help me become a better educator.
Order of Operations & Integers Blog: “It is very important for educators to explore resources that they can pass on to the students, such as games, apps, or practice websites. This concept is also relatable to my discussion on valid and reliable resources. It is the educators responsibility to thoroughly explore the resources they pass on to their students to ensure quality and proximity to the curriculum objectives.�
Artifact: This is the Locker Problem.
The locker problem is an opportunity for students to discover the properties of squares without explicitly explaining them first. It also happens to be challenging, visual and fun. My goal is to engage my students in similar problems to help them understand concepts with a deeper level of thinking and heightened engagement.
Proportional Reasoning Blog: “One of the sources I relied on was my associate teacher at my placement school. She allowed me to test out the questions on the students during a math review period. This experience turned out to be extremely valuable because not only did I have the students tangible work, but I was also able to question them about their thinking.�
Artifact: This artifact is a proportional reasoning handout that I created for my presentation. The process of making this worksheet helped facilitate my understanding of proportional reasoning, strategies to teach it and common misconceptions that students have. It also contains a learning activity to introduce students to ratio.
Patterning & Algebra Blog: “Before today, I was not familiar with patterning for junior grades and would have been uncomfortable teaching them. I think that because patterns seem so obvious to me, I would lack the language to try to explain it to younger students. I found this week's exploration to be a really useful review of patterning and algebra.�
Artifact: This artifact is a handout from Kathlene Katic, one of the students at Brock University. It is a learning activity for Grade 5/6 students.
During my placement, I was able to review many materials for Grade 7 students, such as patterns with squared numbers. However, this artifact is important because it provided me with an example of how students begin to look at patterns earlier on in their school careers. My goal is to always try and understand the materials from the grades before and after my students to help assess their level of learning and understand how to scaffold for new learning.
Geometry & Spatial Sense Blog: “Students need to feel and see the shapes in order to get a fundamental understanding of their properties, especially with younger students. The use of tangrams, connect-blocks, toothpicks & clay, nets, or any other manipulatives to build and create 2-D or 3-D shapes has extreme value.”
Artifact: This artifact is two samples of my work during the “2-D” and “Representing Shapes” learning activities.
This unit is a very tactile unit. I think it is important for me, as an educator, to ensure I prepare quality activities that are hands on and fun for students to capture or maintain their love for math. It is also a great reminder to continuously differentiate activities and find ways to bring physical representations into the classroom.
Measurement Blog: � I feel extremely confident going into my classroom to teach this unit, regardless of age. I can't wait to allow my students to explore measurement with manipulatives, make estimates, and then go out and apply their knowledge to real life situations.�
Artifact: This artifact is a sample of student work during the measurement unit of my placement. The assignment was to plan and design a city using a specific amount of shapes. They had to calculate the area and perimeter of each shape in their city, along with keeping track of all the costs associated for construction and land use.
My associate teacher works hard to develop lesson plans and assessments using a backwards design while paying attention to interests of the students. My short term goal is to continue to learn from her planning abilities. My long term goal is to develop assignments that are fair, equitable and interesting.
Data Management & Probability Blog: “I was talking to some teachers in Ontario, and many expressed that probability is usually left to the end of the year and sometimes gets overlooked due to time constraints. I think that as a teacher in the Ontario context, I need to be aware of this phenomenon and try my best to make data management and probability as important as the other strands in the math curriculum.�
Artifact: This artifact is my 3-Part Lesson plan on Probability for the grade 6 Data Management unit. It was co-created by Josh Obermeyer and myself.
This artifact is a great accomplishment. It is actually my first complete mathematics lesson plan. In my classroom, we are about to explore data management. Aside from the unit I am developing, I also hope to incorporate a modified version of this lesson (for grade 7) into my long range plans. I hope this foundation of planning is the beginning of my growth as an effective lesson planner.
Resources
“Asking Effective Questions” – Ministry of Education – Ontario (2011) https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_AskingEffectiveQ
“Blog” – Math with Mr. Morris – Andrew Morris (2015) http://mathwithmrmorris.blogspot.com
“Helpful Math Strategies and Tips” – Ms. Adams Grade 7 Class (2015)
“Locker Problem” Drexel University. http://mathforum.org/alejandre/frisbie/student.locker.html
“Patterning Worksheet” – Kathlene Katic (2015) http://katmkatic.blogspot.ca/
“Perimeter and Area Student Samples”- Ms. Adams Grade 7 Class (2015)