Journal 1 Summaries


"Sliding" Into an Equitable Lesson

Summary 

            A kindergarten teacher planned a geometry lesson around Gutierrez's four dimensions of equity. The four dimensions of equity are achievement, access, identity, and power. Achievement is numerically and academically based. Access is implementing the concepts and having connections to the ideas. Identity includes the students backgrounds and the knowledge they bring to the classroom. Power makes students feel as if they are in the position to be doing what they are doing. For example, the teacher in this article referred to his students as mathematicians. The article discusses the value of students cultures, backgrounds, and ideas. When teaching with these dimensions, students will learn more than just mathematical concepts. They will learn problem solving, thinking, perseverance. 

            When planning the lesson, the teacher considered both how to use the students ideas, and what student responses he was hoping for. The lesson was comparing three-dimensional solids. The lesson was student centered and allowed for inquiry. During the lesson, the teacher recorded the students ideas in order to use them for questioning and discussion. The teacher put students into diverse groups so that all groups would have a variety of backgrounds and ideas to share. 

            The teacher reached achievement by encouraging participation from all students. He gained access by asking students to make connections to things at home or in their community. He achieved identity by referring to his students as mathematicians. And finally he achieved power by recognizing that all his students had a voice and good ideas to share. 

Impact Future Teaching 

There are an abundance of ideas in this article that I want to implement in my future teaching. I would like to gain new perspectives and ideas from my students backgrounds. Students from all backgrounds bring such valuable experiences to the classroom. The level of engagement in this lesson was outstanding as well. the students were asked to explore, but the teacher had guided questions to help or get them back on track when needed. He also encouraged students to make connections and relations to non content material. Another thing this teacher encouraged was discussing the why behind the things happening. He was encouraging deeper thinking, even at the kindergarten level. I also really liked how he recorded the ideas of students as he walked around to observe. He then had these ideas to help the discussion. There are so many things that can be learned from this article. 

Two Questions

1. How do you know when a concept is too difficult for students to explore on their own?
2. How can you best help lower-performing students while still allowing them to explore on their own? 

Reference
Buchheister, K.,  Jackson, C., & Taylor, C. (2019). “Sliding” into an equitable lesson. Teaching Children Mathematics 25(4), 224 - 231.

Comments

  1. Dr. NugentOctober 8, 2019 at 8:50 AM

    Thanks, Darby:) I think the key is to think about best ways to support/scaffold activities so that all students can participate. Great reflection!!

    ReplyDelete

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