Video Analysis 1

                   This blog will be a video analysis. The video that I will be analyzing is a lesson that deals with cost analysis, and it was called "comparing linear functions". The planning was with the teacher and observers collaborating and talking about the two previous activities that had been done, which lead them to the conclusion that they needed to do this particular activity that they were going to do in the lesson. During the planning, they also discussed that they would have to cover any confusions or misconceptions that the students might have during the lesson. The specific activity is called DVD plans.
                  The actual lesson the teacher went through with the students step by step. He had the students look at how they constructed their table and started it. Then he had the students open their packets and look at different students tables. As he had them look at the work, he had the students talk to their partners and see if the data that they were looking at made mathematical sense, and ask themselves why the data did or did not make sense. The students found out that even though the data may not have matched the plan, it still could of made mathematical sense. One of the students brought up the concept of zero. The class had a discussion about whether there should even be zero listed in the data. Most students saw that there should be zero listed because even if you do not rent or buy any movies you are still paying the flat rate for the month. One of the big confusions that the students had was the plan where it was the $13 plus $1 per extra rental. I noticed though that the students eventually realized this concept and became not as confused about it. I also noticed when looking at student work from the two previous cost analysis activities before this lesson I noticed that on the second page there was lots of confusion. Some of the students did not even answer any of the questions.
                     The faculty debriefing was very interesting. It consisted of the teacher and three observers. The teacher discussed how the students had the instantaneous connection to the prompt. Along with that, he discussed how he wanted to delve deeper into that connection for next time. The three observers then discussed their groups that they were observing. The first observer said that she noticed that one of the students set his data up in three charts, which she found interesting. Along with that, she said that the idea of just what a t-chart is etc. needs to be discussed more thoroughly next time and compare whether they are the same, different, etc. The teacher than discussed how he would like to discuss the idea of zero more with his students, and that he liked the fact that his students brought that idea up. They, as a group, also discussed how maybe the teacher should just include all of the charts into the packet instead of having the big posters up on the board, because the ones one the board the students rarely referred back to compared to the packet in front of them. One of the implications that I noticed was the whole t-chart situation. It seemed like he automatically thought that all of his students knew exactly what a t-chart was etc.
                      Overall, I thought the video was an excellent resource and was utilized perfectly. It shows just how important collaborating can be by having the observers in the classroom, and involved in the planning and reflection processes. The video especially is an excellent tool for reflection in many areas. For example you can tell where certain things may not have gone as you had planned. A perfect example was the confusion about the t-charts, and the kids not using the big posters like he had thought. This also proves that by debriefing with the students, you can also find out just how much growth they actually made, and just what ideas need to be revisited. I also liked how the video was split into segments. It allowed me to look at them a lot closer, and it made it easy for me to watch certain parts more than once when I needed to.So, all in all it helped me realize just what I need to do when I start teaching math, and it also taught me some things that could be adapted.