Developmentally Appropriate Practices Essay

Feedback is a very important aspect in teaching any subject but it is most important in an algebra class. This is because there are many instances when particular students tend to repeat implicit errors hidden in their solutions. In a large class, it is unmanageable to study each of the student’s solutions in order to find just what the student is doing wrong. Therefore, it is more practical to provide feedback in collaboration with members of the class. This is done by letting students present their solutions to homework or quizzes on the board. Afterwards, the solutions are not only checked but critiqued by their classmates for errors which the teacher providing guided questions. This way, students will be able to see how errors are committed and avoid them in the future. They would also be able to interact which addresses a social need at their stage of development. In any classroom, it is important that students are free to think about all the possibilities of the knowledge presented to them. One way of addressing this is through giving very practical problems which groups of students can solve independently through methodologies that they themselves would think of based on the current lesson. This strategy allows the students to interact and think autonomously about how best to address the problem. Of course, not all students are the same and the teacher should have a way of figuring out their individual needs and learning styles. This can be solved by administering questionnaires at the beginning of the course that can determine the learning styles of the different members of the class. Based on the results, the teacher can now better plan how instruction would be delivered to obtain maximum effectiveness. Lastly, the teacher should inspire the class to love the subject and see its value in the real world. This can be done through ample input of real world applications. In presenting word problems, their applications to real life should not be superficial. I explore the use of models, multimedia, and hands-on experiments in order to be able to let students completely visualize the real-life value of the problem. TPE 7 Teaching English Learners (1 Page) Students who are learning English as a second language are often at a disadvantage in a typical math class because they end up having a hard time understanding the discussions due to the language barrier. In occasions when there are members of the class that are not native English speakers, the first intervention that I employ is to always remember to use more basic English when delivering subject content. For example, when discussing about solutions of quadratic equations, I have to make it clear that the terms solutions, zeroes, and roots all just mean the answers as to what is â€Å"x† or whatever variable I am using. Another way to facilitate more effective instruction in a class of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners is to incorporate culturally relevant examples in lessons. Using objects, places, and people that are familiar to ESL learners in word problems help them associate the content of the problem with its solution better and motivate them to try and answer the problem because it has develops a better meaning for them. Of course, there must be appropriate balance of culturally relevant examples used and there should be ample input of popular culture examples as well. Finally, when there are students who are really having a hard time understanding English in class, I make it a point to use as few words as I can and describe lessons in terms of symbols and numbers instead of words. When explaining how to get the solution of an equation such as 2x – 4 = 7, I will not go on explaining about transposing one number from the rest and changing the sign. Instead, I will show the students that by adding a +4 on both sides, I would not really be violating the equality and the same is true when I divide both sides of the equation by 2 afterwards. By showing the solution in this manner, I give less verbal explanations and more visual ones which would be better appreciated and absorbed by learners who do not understand the common language of instruction so well.