Instructor: Caitlyn Hinnerschitz Grade: Third Subject: Mathematics
Student Practice Activities: Active Mental Engagement & Engaging Learners in Practice of New Knowledge Throughout the lesson’s entirety, students were required to participate and be active learners rather than passive ones. At the beginning of the lesson, I made it clear to students that they were going to be receiving two grades: one grade for participation and one grade for the exit slip. During the review and overview section, students had to share with the teacher their prior knowledge and any misconceptions they might have had. Although the PowerPoint presentation was teacher-directed, the students were still required to answer probing questions for each new term or strategy introduced. As stated in Module Eight’s reading, solving math problems on a worksheet is a form of participation, which is what students completed during the guided practice and collaborative learning section of the lesson. This definitely engaged learners when practicing their new knowledge of the equal grouping and repeated addition strategies.
Supporting Learning with Technology & Media The PowerPoint presentation directly supported student learning by introducing and teaching the two strategies to use when multiplying two single-digit numbers. During gameplay, each student had to design their own avatar and complete the basic training tutorial by interacting with the game. To level up, students had to answer multiplication questions correctly during battles. This required students to use higher-order thinking skills to compute the equations. To compute the equations correctly, students had to solve multiplication problems using both the repeated addition and equal grouping strategies. The students were in control of their learning experience and fictional realm while playing the game. Additionally, during gameplay, students were required to write down any comments or questions they found challenging. Students were required to write down at least three questions or comments. These were shared when the allotted playing time was over. In the Game Debrief, students had to share their experiences in the game, which forced the learners to participate and interact with the content while using Prodigy. Lastly, students were required to participate by completing a three-question exit slip for a grade. It is important to note that students only had three minutes to work on it due to time running short, so I did not record it as a grade. Overall, the technology and media employed supported student learning and created a sense of "flow" for the students.
Feedback: During the collaborative learning activity (answering the two math questions with a partner), students received feedback from the teacher through a class discussion about their answers. Students also received immediate feedback during gameplay when answering questions during battles. When students answered a question incorrectly, they were forced to see the correct answer and solution. The teacher's interface on Prodigy also provided me with data regarding student performance. Additionally, students were given feedback when going over the Game Debrief as a whole group at the end of the lesson. I also planned to provide feedback on each students’ exit slip. We reviewed each question and discussed different strategies used. Throughout the entire lesson, I completed an observational checklist of the students’ progression. After the lesson, I planned to share the information collected and recorded with students during individual student conferences.