Math Lesson Plans Assignment

Running head: MATH LESSON
MATH LESSON OBSERVATION REFLECTION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

MATH LESSON1
At the very outset it would be prudent to point out that the specific teaching strategies and
lesson has been quite successful in promoting problem solving and critical thinking skills in the
classroom. The hands on STEM lessons, particularly the ones that involve working practically
with science and technology based resources, not only help promote these skills, but also engage
all students equally. In the interview, my teacher mentioned that the students like to help each
other out. So that is one aspect where the hands on lessons become important, given that they are
not just testing theoretical skills but also how practically they can be encouraged. I have seen that
someone who receives straight A’s often struggle while working with tools, while someone who
might score lower in theory, can work with these tools better (Gilmore, 2013). So this creates a
productive classroom environment as well. Furthermore, when it comes to classroom learning,
nobody likes to follow a singular stagnant pattern. The lesson incorporates several elements
based on different learning styles. This helps complement the development of all students. With
respect to math learning as well, students helping each other solve problems is further supported
by the lesson incorporating various ICT tools like app based learning and YouTube channels
(Chandra & Briskey, 2012). Besides classroom presentation is also a strong supporting tool for
the process.
The key takeaways that I was able to gather from the interview are that teaching
philosophies differ between teachers. My teacher Desmond (pseudonym) attempts to promote
that math learning is not just through learning formulae but rather can be developed from the
very base (Interview Transcript), and therefore he provides the class with various examples and
then progresses to teaching the main base. With respect to communication, Desmond mentions
that he allows communication between the students in the classroom, as it helps develop their
knowledge and understanding as well as reduce a teacher – student barrier (Planas, 2014; Pia,

MATH LESSON2
2015). I think that is a very significant aspect of classroom communication since not everyone
would be equally confident and free with their teachers. Thus removing those interpersonal
barriers help promote learning as much as it promotes critical thinking and problem solving (Pia,
2015). He also mentions that he allows the students to freely use any ICT tool as long as they are
not explicitly copying from them. He mentions two YouTube channels, namely ‘mathloger’ and
‘3b1b (3blue1brown)’ which are significant sources for the students to learn about math, outside
of the classroom as well. This is also where the learning opportunities beyond the classroom
become important. Desmond likes to give homework that engage the students as well as a few
problems that promote critical thinking. Using the aforementioned channels help the students
find the solution or at least make progress. Besides, while they encounter these problems, they
can go back to the class and discuss amongst themselves, brainstorm and find the answers as
well. These findings therefore also provide directions towards future teaching by combining
several personal teaching aspects together, letting the teacher the liberty to make amendments to
his/her own teaching strategies as well.