Topic > A Classroom Experiment: An Examination of the Methods and Devices Used to Teach Mathematics

Background information about the school's field experience: Miami Coral Park Senior High School has 2,891 students of which 92% are Hispanic , 2% Black, 4% White, and 2% Asian. Thirteen percent of the school's students are ELL/LEP. Grade levels are 9-12 and the school has Title I status. The teacher, Mr. Shamdasani, is in charge of the school's mathematics department and has earned a national certification in teaching mathematics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Observation 1: Early on, the teacher introduced me to several other math teachers in case I decided to observe their classes. The teacher's attitude towards working with these students was very optimistic towards some of his classes and negative towards others. He states that only students who are academically successful are worth the effort to teach and those who do not care to understand mathematics are lost and not worth teaching. He is proficient in mathematics but has a poor sense of classroom management because he does not carry out the actions he says when a student demonstrates disruptive behavior. Students work primarily in groups and turn to him when they need assistance with math. He has a friendship relationship with his students and therefore sometimes causes problems because students take advantage of certain situations because they know that he will not do anything to ruin their student-teacher friendship status. I believe you can't be friends with your students because if a teacher chooses to go down that path, some lines need to be drawn so as to avoid constant disruptions in the classroom. Furthermore, I believe that all students, whether or not they are willing to learn mathematics, should be helped and encouraged to learn mathematics.Observation 2: In the classroom, there are computers on three of the four walls that contain past projects and activities that are displayed to the audience and a smart-board on the front wall that the teacher uses to teach the lesson and solve problems. One student in particular who stood out to me is a Hispanic student who was reading a fictional book during the teacher's lesson but insists on becoming a teacher. I wondered if she realized that being a teacher means having a student like her who exhibits non-destructive off-task behavior by reading a fictional book in math class. Some students are ELLs and have difficulty understanding the lesson because it is taught in English. There were no modifications or accommodations during the teacher's classroom instruction for this ELL student. Observation 3: The physical classroom environment exhibits a layout that encourages socially acceptable classroom behavior for a diverse population because many classroom activities occur through cooperative learning. Most of the classroom layout is designed to allow students to work in groups. The tone of the classroom compared to the bulletin boards and displays shows one of facts and procedural steps for solving mathematical problems. They appear to be age-appropriate for students' cognitive needs because they contain math facts and procedures but do not appear to meet the student's physical needs. Observation 4: The class has moments where it is student-centered because most of the work done in class is done through cooperative learning, but during the lessons the teacher shows a teacher-centered approach throughout the lesson. Because the class.