Video: Lessons on Variables Grade 4

The activity the students were doing in this video was creating a variable machine. At first they were told to start with A=0 and B=1 and so forth for the alphabet. Then they were to figure the score for their name and for their whole group. Once they had done that the teacher had them recreate their variable machine to try and get the highest possible score as a group. This activity was a great tool for the teacher to show the students how variables can effect outcomes. By changing the variable you can get a whole new result. By doing this activity the students were able to visually see how variables effect solutions.

Reflective Task 1: Describe the nature of the evidence of student learning , e.g., answers, explanations, questions, and so on.
I thought as the activity progressed it became more obvious the students were understanding and truly learning what the teacher wanted them to know. The evidence for this was seen in how long their responses were, actually being willing to share their responses, and going further into an explanation without probing from the teacher. In the beginning of the activity the students were obviously hesitant to offer any information because they didn't really understand the purpose of the activity. But as the activity progressed and they began to feel more comfortable with variables they began to really offer their thinking behind their answers. Once the teacher got to the part about explaining their points for the name "bear" she barely even had to ask the students extra questions to get more information out of them.

Personal Reflection 1: What kind of questions predominate in your classroom? Single answer? Short answer? Explanation?
In the classrooms that I am a student in the questions use to be more short answer and single answer. However, now that I am in many more upper level courses in college the questioning is more about the explanation. These types of questions are difficult for me because I have never really been asked to explain my reasoning behind my thoughts. I think this is a more effective approach to questioning because it makes the student draw on all the knowledge they have and recount many things in order to verbally say what they are thinking. By relooking at ideas it helps students understand even better. In the classrooms that I have observed in as a teacher many of the questions are single answer but then the teacher adds on the explanation question. It seems most students get flustered with this because they think they can give a quick simple answer but then are asked for more and aren't prepared.

Lesson Analysis 2: Describe what the teacher does to support learning while students are working in groups.
One way the teacher supports learning while the students are in groups is walking around the room to all the different groups. She interacted with the students and continued to ask questions while they were working in their groups. She was trying to make the students think about the method they were doing while they were doing the method. She made sure to ask the groups why they chose their method and if it benefited everyone in the group. Also, if she notices a group doing something not on the same page as what she was thinking she will call that matter to the attention of everyone in the class. This way the whole class is still learning even though they are working in groups.

I really enjoyed watching the video clips on this topic. At first I was a little confused because the clips didn't go in order of the actual lesson, but once I saw all of the clips the lesson made sense to me. I thought it was a really creative way to teach students about variables. I thought it also showed me great ways to question my students. It seems so many people just worry about getting the right answer and by watching this teacher with her students I realized how important it is for the students to understand how they got the right answer.