Lesson Plan Analysis 1

The lesson plan that I focused on to analyze for this project is geared towards 2^nd and 3^rd grade students. The main goal of this lesson plan is to inform the students about mathematical measurements and how to use them to estimate distances between two objects. It is important for these students to be able to understand just how useful estimating distances can be in the real world. After completing the lesson, the class will not only understand the importance of estimating in general but also begin to comprehend the process of estimating short distances. After collecting their materials and separating into small groups, the students will move on to their main objective. First, the teacher demonstrates one method of estimation to the class so that they will be able to start estimating short distances based on the example. The last objective is for the students to create another method for estimating short distances. After looking through several other lessons plans, I chose this lesson plan because I felt that it is well-written and fairly easy to understand while also effective in accomplishing it’s goal. The goals and objectives work well together in describing exactly what needs to be accomplished. In my opinion, this lesson plan would be very easy to put together and would in turn be quite effective. Let’s take a closer look at the lesson plan and see if it meets the necessary standards in order to be an effective lesson plan. One of the main functions of the lesson plan is to teach the students to think and understand in a way that they previously have no prior experience. This lesson plan shows a specific example (in this case, dealing with the matters of estimation in mathematics) of how teachers can stimulate the thinking patterns in their students and teach them to learn new ideas in new methods. For this particular lesson plan, the target students are in second and third grades and their age range is anywhere from 7 to 8 years old. Students of this age are undergoing a form of development that can be best explained by Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory. This theory states that as children grow up, their brain goes through gradual, orderly changes by which mental processes become more complex and sophisticated. In lay man terms, this means that the brain is constantly developing both its knowledge and the way in which it can perceive, gain, and use this knowledge. In Piaget’s theory, he breaks up the various levels of learning into stages. These particular children that the lesson plan is applied to fall under the concrete operation stage, a stage that is characterized by the ability to begin logical reasoning and understand conservation. However, these skills only tend to be used in dealing with familiar situations. This lesson plan targets students in the concrete stage of development by teaching them a new way of thinking (the ability to estimate short distances) through a familiar situation (measuring and mathematics) It is assumed that these students already understand measurement and certain mathematical points. The method this lesson plan uses to teach the students estimation takes something they already know how to do- measuring and multiplying- and then adds to this knowledge in a way that the child can learn to estimate. How exactly does this connect to the concrete operation stage? Let’s take an in depth look into the lesson plan and tie the real world examples to Piaget’s developmental theory. At the start of the lesson, the teacher should demonstrate a method for estimating short distances. Estimation is a foreign concept to the students at this moment and the students need this example in order to better understand how to do it themselves. At this point in their development, the students more than likely are unable to think abstractly enough to be able to estimate without any prior examples. Therefore, it is important for the teacher to properly convey the example in a method that the students will be able to understand in their level of reasoning. After the example is given by the teacher, we see another concept appear in the form of active learning. This concept is another concept that Piaget stressed in terms of development. By actively learning, children can more easily make connections and associations with the material they are learning. Learning hands on is an important tool in active learning and is in general an important tool when it comes to child development. For example, in this lesson plan, after the teacher gives the overall example of the method used to estimate, it is up to the small groups of students to practice this experiment themselves. By seeing the example and attempting to practice it themselves, the students are actively learning how to estimate and better able to learn the lesson. Another important concept that this teacher uses in his lesson plan is the idea of constructivism. Constructivism is a view of cognitive development that emphasizes the active role of learners in building their own understanding of reality. Constructivism plays a very active part in this particular lesson plan. Instead of going over problems on the chalkboard, the teacher decides to take this activity outside and have the students actively learn about estimating distances. The students first gather into groups and then have one of the group members stand on a line. That student then takes two steps forward. The distance they covered is then measured, divided by two, and finally written down on a piece of paper. The number they get is their estimated pace count and then the students are asked to count the number of paces it takes to get to a certain object. That number is then multiplied by that student’s pace count. This is all used to determine an estimate of how far away certain objects are. This hands-on approach is helping the students “construct” meaning and understandings to the activity. By taking part in these measurements and also having to eventually devise their own method of estimation to use, the students learn to actively construct their ideas on estimating by assimilating the teacher’s example into their thought process and then accommodating this new process by practicing it and eventually constructing the idea of how to successfully estimate using this method. Having the students be active in this activity is important because the brain likes dynamic examples. This is making it much easier for the students to create new schemas, as well as build on already existing schemas and store them into their network model. Also crucial in the concrete stage of development is reversibility. This is when the students learn a new way of doing things and can work the problems forwards and backwards. This particular lesson uses the concept of reversibility by requiring the students to be able to not only estimate a certain distance based on how many paces it takes to get there but also to work backwards and say how many paces it takes to get from point a to point b, given the certain distance as data. They will first start out applying methods to shorter distances. They will later show that they can reverse the process for these shorter distances, and then also begin to apply the same method to longer distances. In order for them to create their new method of estimation, it is important for the students to understand the reversibility of the original example. By understanding what I would consider the “whole picture” of the first method, it will be easier for the students to create their own new method. A great type of constructivist teaching that this teacher uses is example-based learning. This is a very helpful method of teaching. This activity falls under the category of an example-based learning method for several different reasons. The teacher starts off as a guide for the project by explaining a quick example method for solving distances and then informs them what is expected. So, it is important to understand that the teacher is merely acting as the guide and the students are directing the majority of the activity. They are ultimately the ones who are performing the procedures. In this lesson plan the students are supposed to find another method for solving measurement. This example-based learning ties together another very important concept- that is the concept of scaffolding. Essentially the teacher acts as support for the students by providing them with examples and reminders, among other things, until this crutch is removed and the students begin to think independently on a subject. This teacher demonstrates scaffolding in a few different ways throughout the activity. First, he starts off by demonstrating a method to the class for estimating distances. This is used as an example to get the students started. Then, the teacher slowly removes the crutch by assigning the students to groups and having them work together to find a different method. The teacher also performs a very important process when it comes to scaffolding. He starts the procedure and slowly but surely breaks down the activity into little steps. The students first take their steps and measure them, then divide by two and record the data. The students continue on with these various steps until they fully understand the activity. By breaking these steps down into parts the teacher can rest assure that his students are not overloading on information to quickly. This particular teacher uses scaffolding beautifully and through this scaffolding, uses example-based learning effectively. Teachers have many different techniques when it comes to teaching their students and finding effective ways to teach them. This particular teacher uses a manner of cooperative learning in this lesson plan. He had the students get into groups and do the activity together, helping these students learn the method together and bounce ideas off of each other on creating a new method as well. This concept of cooperative learning is normally effective because it allows the students to work with those who have similar thought processes and are able to learn through each other’s ideas. This cooperative learning reminds me of the phrase “the whole is better than the sum of its parts”. Basically, cooperative learning tends to be an effective way for students to learn a new subject in their own way and we can assume that this manner of learning would prove to be effective when applied to this lesson plan as well. In order for the students to be able to process, store, and retrieve information they must use a technique that will help them recall the information easily. The technique that this teacher wants his students to use is rehearsal. In this case, rehearsal refers to the repetition of applying the method of estimating so that the method becomes stuck in the students head and they are more easily able to use and apply the method. The teacher has the students utilize this technique during the each group’s experiments. At the end of the student’s first measurements, he asks them to repeat the same steps for another object. This method can be extremely effective if used and performed properly. The teacher also instills the use of elaborative rehearsal, by which the students connect the new material to information they already previously knew. This touches on the point I mentioned above when discussing the points of the concrete operational stage. That is, children of this age are able to take concepts they understand and apply them in new ways, through familiar activities. The new method the teacher implements for the students to use and practice repetitively uses their knowledge of multiplication and measuring to learn the new knowledge of estimation. By having the kids perform the activity multiple times, the students are able to make more associations with the same procedure. Overall, I feel this lesson plan did well in engaging the students in this activity. This will help the students to create associations and meaning to the course concepts which are so critical to retaining information. This is a major part in active learning, which this teacher represented very well.

http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Mathematics/Measurement/MEA0002.html : Lesson Plan