Standard+2

=Marian University EDT 678 =

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**Standard 2** **Teachers know how children grow. ** The teacher understands how children with broad ranges of ability learn and provides instruction that supports their intellectual, social, and personal development.


 * Evidence1 **** : ** Website: []


 * Rationale 1: ** This website was developed for my action research project in EDT 656. I wanted to see if mathcasts, online tutorial videos, could help students be more successful in a high school level math class. I identified sample problems that represented the main topics taught in the first unit of an Advanced Algebra class and made a mathcast for each type of problem. These mathcasts were put onto a website for students and parents to access. The students that either struggled with a topic or missed a day of school could view the video on how to solve these sample problems. At the end of the unit, I gave a survey to the students to gain feedback on if they felt the mathcasts were helpful. All of the students who viewed the mathcasts, approximately 20% of the students, felt they were helpful to their understanding of the concepts. I also compared the amount of D’s and F’s to the previous year’s classes, who did not have access to the mathcasts, and there was significantly less of these low grades when the students had access to the mathcasts.

This project was important to my development as a teacher because it taught me how to use the technology involved in creating these tutorial videos. It made me analyze and reflect on how I taught or explained a certain concept because I knew it would be viewed over and over again by students. I needed to make sure the way I was teaching in the videos was clear, succinct, accurate and compatible with how I taught it in the classroom.

// 2.K.1. The teacher understands how learning occurs -- how students construct knowledge, acquire skills, and develop habits of mind – and how to use instructional strategies that promote student learning for a wide range of student abilities. // The first unit taught in Advanced Algebra is a very important unit. It is mostly a review of Algebra concepts that some of the students have not seen much of in the last year, since they were in Geometry. This review is crucial to the students’ success in math class because its concepts are used over and over again during the school year. Without mastery in these concepts, the student is set up to struggle the rest of the school year. Some students need more review than others since their level of mastery was questionable in the past. These mathcasts gave the students the opportunity to review a concept either at a slower pace or over and over again if needed.
 * KSD: **

// 2.S.1. The teacher assesses individual and group performance in order to design instruction that meets learners’ current needs in each domain (cognitive, social, emotional, moral, and physical) and that leads to the next level of development. // I read an article that the grade a student received on the first assessment of the year was a good indicator of how successful were going to be in the class. I validated what I observed as a teacher as well. Knowing how important it was, I wanted to give the struggling students an opportunity to be more successful on that first assessment. I know that students are very busy with after school activities and not always available to get the additional help they may need after school. So putting the mathcasts on a website seemed to be the logical solution to give the students an opportunity to view them whenever they were available.

// 2.D.1. The teacher appreciates individual variation at each developmental level and shows respect for the diverse talents of all learners, and is committed to help them develop self-confidence and competence. //

Students enrolled in our Advanced Algebra classes have varying backgrounds in their mathematical skills. It is a traditional junior level class but also has accelerated sophomore students and seniors that have struggled with math in the past. Having mathcasts available to students helps keep the instruction in the classroom at a pace that is not boring to the accelerated students and yet still comfortable to the struggling students. If they are struggling to understand a concept they have help available to them which can give them the confidence to learn and be successful in mathematics.