Teaching Math at MetWest (Part 3)
After walking into the classroom, I sit down at a table with another student and wave hello to the young teacher. On the whiteboard are the objectives for the day:
Geometry
*Do Intro task now
*$$$$$$$
*exit ticket
Lawrence Teng, wearing chinos and a plaid shirt is a first-year teacher and graduate of the University of Michigan. One semester at MetWest under his belt, he passes out the Introductory task–a slip of paper with three tasks for students to do–as students enter the classroom (LT refers to Learning Target). The 19 sophomores and juniors get immediately to work on the tasks.
A slide on the whiteboard replicates the square with empty space on the slip of paper students begin working on.
The large classroom has a slowly whirling ceiling fan. Tables sitting two to three students each face the whiteboard and the teacher who is working in the front of the room with his laptop and document camera sitting on some cabinets (his desk is in the rear of the room). Lawrence uses the laptop to flash images onto the whiteboard. The room has a clock and phone.
After about five minutes, Lawrence (in this school, students call teachers by their first name) asks the students to stop. He then turns to the question on the slip. “Anyone has any memories from weekend.” One student responds about what his family did. No other responses. Then teacher asks about the squares and how to find answer without counting them. He calls on Bruce who says his answer. Lawrence asks Bruce to come to front of the class to explain his strategy in CONTINUE READING: Teaching Math at MetWest (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
