Christina's+First+Page

=Literacy in the Secondary Mathematics Classroom =

Writing and  Technology || Greatest Common Factor Lesson || Web 2.0 Tools || Resources Tool Kit || Welcome! I am a future educator studying Secondary Mathematics at SUNY Potsdam. I have built upon my knowledge of education and mathematics over time, and I am still in the process. Which is why, I thought it would be rewarding to share with others such as yourself, what I have learned and encountered. I hope that as a result of this, you may build upon your knowledge of mathematics and education as well. My wiki specifically focuses on Secondary Mathematics and Literacy within the classroom.My research findings are rather intriguing, and my connections between math and literacy are just some of many.
 * Academic Journal Abstracts

Below you will find the first of two sections of my wiki that provide abstracts for four academic journals that I have read. On this page you will encounter two abstracts integrating writing and mathematics. While here you will discover two abstracts for academic journals relating mathematics to technology.

By Laurynn Evans
 This academic journal illustrates how significant reflective assessments can be when they are implemented in a mathematics classroom. The author, Laurynn Evans describes reflective assessment as a highly beneficial application in the classroom that can help strengthen student’s conceptual knowledge and understanding of content retention. Moreover, it bridges the gap between learning and retaining mathematical information for students. The author proposes that her audience consider the relation between “learning permanence” and achievement levels, with the use of reflective strategies in the classroom. Her personal standpoint throughout the article is that “there is a high need for active reflection by learners for any kind of “learning permanence" to occur.”  While in fact, numerous studies have supported Laurynn Evans claim, ranging in academic levels of third graders in an elementary school, to the college level. The outcome of these studies illustrated an exclusive trend. That is, there exists a relatively high correlation between higher student achievement in math and the consistent use of reflective assessment strategies in the classroom.  As I reflected on the article, I realized that we perform these reflective strategies in classrooms regularly in order to enhance our student’s metacognition.As a future educator, and current student of mathematics, I know that metacognition is an essential part in mathematical conceptual understanding. Which is why, throughout the article, I continued to think to myself, “Reflective assessments are in essence, writing to learn strategies.”  While enriching metacognition in the classroom, students must “undertake reflective assessment in an active, prescribed manner with teacher guidance.” When teachers use their guidance in helping students prosper, I believe that it is an application of scaffolding. Additionally, double entry journals, write arounds and reflective writes are all additional beneficial tools in writing that can assist in prospering students metacognitive abilities, as illustrated in the book, “Content-Area Writing.” In fact, they could be considered reflective strategies because they reach the same goal: to retain math information and perceive math from a more personal, in-depth angle.  Additionally, the author introduces and discusses the percolating strategy in learning. I consider that the purpose of this strategy shares the notion of being in a global learning environment, similar to a film illustrating a teacher’s implementation of architecture through a project. Click here to view. While, through Evan’s study in Italy, the educator uses an approach to test preparation that shares similar components as the academic journal, “Capitalizing on Emerging Technologies: A Case Study of Classroom Blogging.”  Due to the countless benefits and connections that are brought forth through reflective strategies, I am very eager to integrate them into my classroom as a future educator. I believe that using these strategies will bring forth enrichment opportunities for my students, as well as myself.

//Dr. Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and Numeracy//
 This academic journal suggests that metacomputation is an essential component to our students’ understanding of mathematics. According to author Anne Paterson, metacomputation describes thinking about computational methods and tools. To demonstrate metacomputation in the primary classroom, Edward de Bono suggests teaching and learning sequences for developing this concept. That is, his 6 thinking hats. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The 6 thinking hats are components of mathematical learning that are separated into the color categories: white, blue, yellow, red, green, and black. Each thinking hat has its own type of thinking that has been identified as relevant to the mathematics curriculum. For instance, the blue hat is titled Thinking about thinking is composed of meta-cognitive, understanding, and reflective journals. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> While teaching under the blue hat, students use writing to learn strategies in their reflective journals to enhance their understanding of content knowledge. Since metacomputation is reflective, this writing encourages students to pose their own problems and construct their own computation methods. This is beneficial to students because they personalize their learning experience through writing. Teaching under the blue hat is typically during the beginning and end of a unit, since it is most valuable there. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Throughout the academic journal, the author studies specific applications of the 6 thinking hats through curriculum in a variety of school systems; each one illustrating the applied benefits to the suggested teaching practice. In fact, each of the applications used a different sequential pattern of the 6 thinking hats, which confirms that they can be used in various ways over math content. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> As a future educator, I would venture in teaching my students under the model of the 6 thinking hats. Each hat provides an opportunity for students to engage in the content while personalizing it and making it their own. Additionally, teaching by the different hats provides opportunities for students to think conceptually through writing brainstorming ideas, their difficulties, and procedural based knowledge. These components of writing techniques each within the thinking hats enhance our students’ content knowledge while allowing them to be engaged.