Project Description Draft
What is the compelling problem of practice or opportunity for gain that you want to address in your project?
As a Mathematics teacher, I am dually cursed and blessed with students that fail to understand the material, but are willing to go the extra mile to build an understanding. A large percentage of my ninth grade Algebra students come into the class without a strong foundation of Algebra and basic mathematics. This makes modeling new theories extremely difficult. Many of the students are constantly halted by their lack of a mathematics foundation, and others simply are slow to comprehend new concepts.
In order to offer these students further opportunities, my school district promotes an after school tutorial program. Around half the teachers participate after school, three days a week, for ninety minutes. This presents students with an opportunity to ask questions about their misunderstandings, and allows them to receive practice, in addition to the work assigned in class.
The tutorial program is a wonderful idea at heart; however it has become extremely inefficient. On certain days I am “tutoring” over twenty students. This allots me around four minutes per student, given that it takes time for administrative tasks. This is not enough time. Many of the students run into dead ends and are left waiting long periods of time for my assistance. Typically, the students complete their individual missing assignments, work on the homework, or are given additional problems for practice. I have attempted to run the tutoring sessions like a lecture or general discussion, yet this has failed due to the fact that the students often need help on completely different topics. Therefore, my problem of practice is that a potentially beneficial tutorial program has become extremely inefficient due to the fact that I am struggling to meet the diverse needs of the students.
There is so much to gain by making the tutorial program more efficient. If each student could hone in on his or her specific misunderstandings for ninety minutes several times a week, he or she would be able to overcome misunderstandings about current topics and would be able to strengthen his or her mathematics foundation. With students efficiently improving their mathematics skills after school, the pace of the class could be sped up, which would benefit the most proficient members of the class. Hopefully, I can find methods to improve the structure of these tutoring sessions, if I “focus first on classroom strategies, then on ways in which technology can enhance the lesson” (Brabec, 11).
As a Mathematics teacher, I am dually cursed and blessed with students that fail to understand the material, but are willing to go the extra mile to build an understanding. A large percentage of my ninth grade Algebra students come into the class without a strong foundation of Algebra and basic mathematics. This makes modeling new theories extremely difficult. Many of the students are constantly halted by their lack of a mathematics foundation, and others simply are slow to comprehend new concepts.
In order to offer these students further opportunities, my school district promotes an after school tutorial program. Around half the teachers participate after school, three days a week, for ninety minutes. This presents students with an opportunity to ask questions about their misunderstandings, and allows them to receive practice, in addition to the work assigned in class.
The tutorial program is a wonderful idea at heart; however it has become extremely inefficient. On certain days I am “tutoring” over twenty students. This allots me around four minutes per student, given that it takes time for administrative tasks. This is not enough time. Many of the students run into dead ends and are left waiting long periods of time for my assistance. Typically, the students complete their individual missing assignments, work on the homework, or are given additional problems for practice. I have attempted to run the tutoring sessions like a lecture or general discussion, yet this has failed due to the fact that the students often need help on completely different topics. Therefore, my problem of practice is that a potentially beneficial tutorial program has become extremely inefficient due to the fact that I am struggling to meet the diverse needs of the students.
There is so much to gain by making the tutorial program more efficient. If each student could hone in on his or her specific misunderstandings for ninety minutes several times a week, he or she would be able to overcome misunderstandings about current topics and would be able to strengthen his or her mathematics foundation. With students efficiently improving their mathematics skills after school, the pace of the class could be sped up, which would benefit the most proficient members of the class. Hopefully, I can find methods to improve the structure of these tutoring sessions, if I “focus first on classroom strategies, then on ways in which technology can enhance the lesson” (Brabec, 11).
Labels: description, gain, practice, problem
posted by Brian Ericson at
5:04 PM
3 Comments:
I think your problem of practice is great and very well written. I do think you are missing a couple of sections that need to be included in your project description based on the rubric requirements. The "how" (exactly what do you plan on using -costs, alternatives) and exactly what the plan is are not really outlined in this entry. It is a little vague in those last 4 bullet points of the rubric for this assignment. It is a very worthwhile problem to help solve!
A very practical problem to work on! A couple of thoughts some to mind......
1. Set up helpful links for online tutorials, videos, ask an expert etc
2. Set up group chats online for you to assist small numbers of kids, preferably for kids to help kids.
Problems with those ideas? Not everyone will have access to the Internet, and you are taking your job home with you!
Sounds like you have a big problem on your hands and a very worthy problem to address. Would it be possible to tutor your students in small groups with possible like for like problems? Perhaps you could find an incentive for your more able students to come and 'help out' in your tutorials. Another solution might be to find some internet based guidance that could be accessed.
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