Salopez's blog

Curriculum

Monday

Project Based Learning and its Implications in a Multicultural Mathematics Classroom

When I was a junior in high school, I was placed into AP Calculus. On the first day of classes, I came to that particular class to find that my favorite math teacher, Mr. Best[i], was the instructor for this years AP class. He began the class explaining that we will be preparing for the AP examination in June, as well as preparing a final exit project. He went on to explain that we would be having two assessments: a midterm and a final, as well as this project. Our grade would consist of the two exam grades as well as the project grade, attendance, participation and homework completeness. He began to give us examples of projects that students completed in the past, and told us that literally anything is “fair game” as long as you’re able to describe it using mathematics.

I really enjoyed reading Blackburn and felt that her arguments and points were extremely valid. By creating a second space for these students outside of school, they're able to think freely and be themselves. The Attic served as a safe-space for many of these students. I drew a connection between Lee and Hawkins community based after school programs and this text. This is a sort of a community-based space where the participants are not in a formal school setting. I was very interested about The Attic's Women's Group. I felt that the participants really took initiative to create and manage all aspects of the group. By allowing the participants to bring texts that they feel are relevant and worth sharing, it allows the participant to be in the position of power. By working together and creating agency for change, the participants are able to home and have a personal investment in what they were learning. I found the idea and the organization of the Story Time very interesting and intriguing. Story Time allows the participants to share their own feelings and pieces that they've composed as well as texts that they've found written by someone outside of The Attic. This space allows the participants to have their voice heard and their opinions and beliefs validated. 

"Where writing once meant print text- black marks on white paper, left to right and top to bottom - today 'writing' is in full Technicolor; it is nonlinear and alive with sounds, voices, and images of all kinds" (Lunsford, 2007)

I really appreciated the views of Paris and Kirkland on the use of AAL vs DAE. I feel that because students are often caught between 'a rock and a hard-place' (as my mother would say) when it comes to writing, students are not feeling confident in their communication skills. Traditional writing and grammar practice can often be exclusionary. The use of AAL through text-messaging as well as social media interactions allows students to have a "second space" to express themselves, their feelings, and their thoughts in a manner that is not necessarily academic. I feel that students should be encouraged to write as often as possible and through any and all creative outlets. I never was really "into" my English classes in high school, though I often found myself writing slam poetry and entering competitions because I was able to express myself and my feelings without the constraints of traditional grammar and structure. 

Today at my Praxis, the students were still in PSSA mode. The students were going to be sitting for the writing portion of exam on Friday. Mrs. C. explained to me that the students are required to write an essay for the PSSA's writing portion of the exam, but her 8th grade beginning level students had just been introduced to the concept of a paragraph. Mrs. C. was ecstatic that I came to praxis today because I was able to provide one-on-one attention to an extremely low level student. As Mrs. C. addressed the rest of the class, I worked one-on-one with Jamie*.

I’m really interested in exploring different models of teaching and grading (specifically mathematics teaching) that can help foster motivation and deepen thinking about the subject matter. Math can be seen to be a very unbiased subject, with very few social factors coming into play into the classroom. Math also is often a troubling area for some students because there is very little connection to “real life” and students often do not see the importance in learning mathematics. Drawing on the idea that not all students learn and think the same, I would like to explore the implication of a project based teaching model in order to address different “types” of learners and create culturally relevant lessons for students. By assigning students tasks that they're personally invested in and are able to see the "point," they'll be more personally invested in their own learning and in turn, gain a better understanding of the subject matter.  

“I want you to get out of East Harlem and never come back”

Growing up in East Harlem, an urban neighborhood in New York City, I was surrounded by many different cultures. In my neighborhood during the 90’s, the streets were bright and filled with music, color and dancing during the day, and once the sun went down, everyone came in side. My mother wouldn’t let my brother and I play outside once the sun started going down. The gangs the Bloods and the Crips often ran the streets late and night, and my mother knew that the streets were not safe. Before I left to college, she told me “I want you to get out of East Harlem and never come back,” because she didn’t want me to get trapped in the “hood” for all of my life; she believed that I was better than East Harlem. My mother refused to allow me to be part of the growing statistics of Latino high school dropouts. I was taught that I am to strive to be able to provide a better life than what I experienced, for my children and for myself.

I was fortunate enough to continue my Praxis placement at Leaf Middle School* this semester. I was placed in this class as part of my English Language Learners class that I was taking last semester. I was sitting in on a 7th grade beginning language and 8th grade beginning language ESL class with my supervising teacher Mrs. C.* Leaf Middle School is located in the Upper Darby school district. After traveling to the school, I was welcomed by beautiful grounds and welcoming signs within the school. The security at the front door remembered my name and quickly signed me in.

I walked up the stairs to the classroom and was welcomed by the students in the hallway. "Hey Ms. Lopez!" students said to me as I was walking to Mrs. C's room. The students were in the process of changing classes and the hallways were booming with life. I found Mrs.C.’s classroom and walked inside. She currently was in the middle of a planning period, so we were able to catch up and talk about what was to come.

Besides the fact that I really enjoyed reading the dialogue that Shor and Freire had, I felt that the idea of implementing a ‘Dialogical Method’ of teaching is an effective way to show students that they’re indeed at the center of their own education. Freire explains that dialogue is essential for development. Humans, are different than other intelligent organisms because we have the ability to communicate and assure each other and ourselves in our knowledge; “we are able to know that we know.” (99). A theme in the reading that really stuck out to me was the idea of empowerment and who is the center of knowledge. In lecture-based environment’s, teachers are seen as the center of knowledge where the educator is to teach the educatee. In a dialogue based pedagogy, though the teacher is knowledgeable about the subject that they’re teaching and engaging their student with, they actively engage with their students and “relearn” the subject while studying it again with their students. The teacher is able to always find out new things and rediscover the material they’re already familiar with through working with their students closely; this turns learning into a JOINT act, rather than a solitary act.  By allowing their students to “exercise their own powers of reconstruction,” the teacher allows their students to practice personal responsibility and expression.

One thing that I have learned from the course so far are the different kinds of technology that are present in the classrooms as well as their implications. I have always looked down on technology since I find it to be a distraction rather than a aid in learning. Our outlook on technology in the classroom is forever changing and we definitely take technologies (both old and new) for granted. My rose would be the encouragement to "think outside the box" and participate in different ways that differ from my math education. My thorn would be that because my computer is broken, it really discourages me from doing my readings online and participating in the types of technologies we're learning about.