WCPSS Secondary Math Observation Tool

Teacher______Date of Observation______

Room #______Course______Time______

Unit/Lesson/Topic______

Classroom Environment Seating: Singles Seating Students face towards teacher Orientation: Pairs/Trios Students face towards each other

Groups

Room Inhibits student interaction Classroom Learning aids, concept-related items Arrangement: displays: Allows student interaction Ongoing activities, projects

Facilitates student interaction Examples of student work

Student recognition

Lesson Written objectives Applications, careers Overview: Written agenda Racial, cultural diversity

Assignments posted Extracurricular opportunities

Classroom Culture Major Lecture/note-taking, teacher-led Using Teacher-- Students activities Discourse demonstration of teachers & Students--Students Class discussion, small group discussion, students: Both student presentation/board work Hands-on activities following a set of

specific steps Collaborative No collaborative culture Hands-on activities with open-ended culture instructions/latitude to decide steps Some evidence of collaborative culture ”Seatwork”: reading text, working on (e.g. group roles defined)

worksheet, questions, problem set Evidence of collaborative culture Processing: represent/analyze data, find Collaborative norms clearly defined patterns, write/reflect on learning Assessment: test/quiz, performance task,

questioning to assess learning

Technology Teacher-driven Student-driven Lesson Enhanced Technology used: iPad/iPod Document Camera Computer Projector Calculator Interactive Board Other Researched Best Practices Old skill/information Summarizing /Note-taking Nonlinguistic representation

New skill/information Reinforcing effort Setting objectives/feedback

Similarities & Differences Homework & practice Generating/testing hypotheses

Cues, questions, organizers

Standards for Mathematical Practice* 1. Make Sense of Problems and Persevere in Solving Them Students are reasoning, thinking, and/or proving their answers. Students are demonstrating a structured approach to problem solving. Students check the reasonableness of their answers. Students collaborate to understand the approaches of others. 3. Construct Viable Arguments and Critique the Reasoning of Others

Students are engaged in mathematical discourse. paraphrase agree/disagree

Type(s) of discourse: explain add on

verify question each other

Students are making and testing mathematical conjectures. Students are making arguments to defend their reasoning. Students understand and evaluate arguments of others. 4. Model with Mathematics

Students are using mathematical models as evidence to support Drawings problem solutions. Manipulatives

Models may include: Symbols

Graphs/Tables

Students are using and/or sharing multiple representations (verbal, graphical, tabular, algebraic). Comments * Incorporating the Standards for Mathematical Practice will lead to increased levels of rigor in the classroom. These 3 standards were chosen for focus because of their high leverage.