After much in depth research on child development this semester, I was able to work on what I believe was the most important part of my ELI, where I could observe students as they solved a range of developmental mathematical tasks. I was lucky enough to work with some very supportive teachers from Lena Whitmore Elementary School. Mrs. Pannkuk, who teaches first graders and Mrs. Ringo, who teaches third grade, were graciously willing to help me with my ELI. There were several steps I took in order to complete this component of my ELI. These steps are listed below.
Go through the book of Common Core State Standards and choose a common mathematical practice that third and first graders would both cover in their curriculum.
I eventually chose measuring (ruler usage, conversions, etc.), as it was one of the few shared concepts. Other similar practices would have been too easy for the third graders and too complicated for the first graders.
- Come up with a way to observe and record how the students tackle each task presented to them.
After some trial and error, I was able to come up with a chart that enabled me to quickly access the questions I needed to ask and write down the students responses (picture to the right). I also voice recorded most of the students and took occasional pictures so that I could go back to them when I was finished.
- Observe the students.
As expected, there were several small complications with the testing. Regardless, the students were wonderful participants and overall, the testing went fantastically.
- Organize and analyze data.
To get a better look at my results, I sorted the data into tables that showed how well the individual students had “mastered” each task. This made it easy to look over the outcomes.
I am so thankful that I was able to work with the students at Lena. It gave me a great insight as to how helpful an understanding of child development can be in education curriculum.
~Laura
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