SED 535 Two-Day Lesson Plan Assignment Due: October 7 & 21, 2008

This assignment has three parts: to plan, teach, and reflect on a two-day lesson. You will submit the plan before the reflection, possibly even before you teach the lesson. You will briefly present your lesson and reflection to the class for discussion. Submissions must be typed or word-processed, except for diagrams.

I. Plan—Due October 7

Prepare a lesson that spans two consecutive class meetings (or constitutes two consecutive days of a longer lesson) for a course you teach.1 The purpose of the lesson should be for your students to develop a deep understanding of an algebraic or geometric concept that is central to your course and to the CA content standards. Therefore, the plan should engage students in cognitively demanding tasks that promote students’ construction of a relational understanding of the concept(s). You are expected to incorporate strategies indicated by the research and by readings and discussions in this course and in SED 646. These include (but are not limited to) the use of significant problems, technology, and manipulatives; strategic structures for participation and engagement; and informal, formative assessment measures.

You may choose the plan’s written format, but the plan must include the following:

In a separate narrative section:

ü a description of the demographics of the class (including the numbers and needs of special-education and gifted students and English learners)

ü a statement of the concept(s) and content standard(s) the lesson addresses and what you want students to be able to do or understand at the end of the two days

ü relevant background information about how the lesson fits in the overall unit, what students have already mastered (including their level of competency with any technology used), and any conceptual problems or skill deficits that could impact their success in this lesson

ü your rationale for this plan—why you expect specific activities and features of your lesson to facilitate students’ construction of a deep understanding of the concept(s); support your rationale by citing readings you’ve done for this course or elsewhere or by referencing ideas from activities and discussions in this course or SED 646.

In the plan:

ü a clear description of the activities, actions, and interactions of the teacher and students

ü a list of the necessary equipment and materials and a description of the room’s configuration

ü a description of any student work products or performances

ü prepared questions to ask students during the lesson that anticipate confusing aspects and that will help you assess understanding

ü ways to formally or informally assess students’ understanding at points during the lessons

ü homework assignments that reinforce the lesson’s concepts or lead into tomorrow’s concepts

ü a copy of any handouts or visual aids.

II. Teach Teach this lesson to the target class.

III. Reflect—Due October 21

After teaching this lesson, write a 2-page (typed, double-spaced) reflection on its effectiveness for engaging students in high-level thinking, facilitating a relational understanding of the concept, and moving students towards your stated goal. Discuss specific (pseudonymized) students and their responses to particular parts of the lesson. Then describe how you would change the lesson in order to help students achieve even deeper understanding if you were to teach it again to these same students.

Presentation—Due either October 21 or 28

You will present your lesson to our class. Bring copies of the plan (not the reflection, and to save paper you may eliminate the rationale from this version of the plan) for all classmates, or send it electronically before your presentation date, so everybody will end up with a collection of lessons that teach for understanding.

In your 5-minute presentation to the entire class, please describe:

ü the one feature you designed into the plan that you expected to be the most effective for engaging students in high-level thinking and promoting understanding

ü your reflection about how effective this one feature actually was for these purposes and your evidence for that judgment

You will then facilitate a 5-minute discussion in which you invite your classmates to provide suggestions for revising this feature of your plan.

Scoring Criteria:

Completeness of the plan, reflection, and presentation (all required parts present) 5 points

Potential of the plan to engage students in high-level thinking

and promote relational understanding[1] 6 points

Quality of the rationale for your plan, with support from external sources 6 points

Quality of the reflection 6 points

Quality of writing (clarity, mechanics, organization) 2 points

Total 25 points

SED 535 Contemporary Mathematics Teaching Assignment Due: September 30, 2008

Read: As you read these pieces, think about the popular slogan, “Algebra for All.”

1) CA State Board of Education Mathematics Content Standards for Algebra I.

At http://www.cde.ca.gov Click on “Standards and Frameworks,” “Content Standards,”

“Mathematics” (or go directly to http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/mthmain.asp)

2) NCTM, Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, algebra standards, pp. 37-40 and EITHER pp. 222-231 (Grades 6-8) OR pp. 296-306 (Grades 9-12) (at www.nctm.org)

3) Steele, M. M. & Steele, J. W. (2003). Teaching algebra to students with learning disabilities. Mathematics Teacher, 96(9), 622-624. (emailed)

Write to submit:

After you read all four pieces, explain what the statement “Algebra for All” would have to mean specifically, in practice, for you to agree with it. In other words, how do you think “algebra” should be defined? How should “all” be defined? When and how should “all” these students get this “algebra”?

Then list two objections that some other parties (for example, certain teachers, administrators, parents, policy-makers, business leaders, professors, civil-rights activists) might have to your ideas. How would these parties want to interpret “Algebra for All” differently from you?

Also:

· Begin work on Two-Day Lesson Plan. Part I (the plan) is due October 7!

· Bring your graphing calculator next week if you have one.