BORCHARDT MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 1

Standard: Mathematics - Candidates demonstrate and apply understandings of major

Mathematics

My philosophy of teaching mathematics involves experiential learning with a

sociocultural constructivist approach influenced by John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, and Jerome

Bruner. According to Dewey (2018), “education is not an affair of ‘telling’ and being told, but an

active and constructive process” (p. 43) and “learning should come from action on and with

physical things” (p. 215). Under my guidance, students take charge of their own learning,

actively construct their own knowledge through exploring mathematical ideas and concepts

using manipulatives, and develop life-long critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The

artifact I have selected for this section is titled, Comparing Decimals 4th Grade Lesson. This

lesson exemplifies my understanding of mathematical curriculum design, content standards, and

developmental appropriateness.

Comparing Decimals 4th Grade Lesson is from the Go Math! curriculum I facilitated

during my student teaching experience. In this lesson, students compare decimals to hundredths,

by reasoning about their size using models and number lines. Using the Understanding by

Design (UbD) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks, I reconstructed this

mainstream lesson to better fit the needs of my diverse students. This process taught me how to

teach intentionally by providing necessary support and fair opportunities for each student to learn

the desired skills and concepts through scaffolding and differentiation.

It is important to understand my students’ personal interests, and use those interests to

engage them in new learning material. As Vito Perrone (1991) said, “When teachers know

students well...they can more productively engage them on a personal basis, ensuring a deeper
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entry into learning” (p.27). I begin this lesson with three real-world applications for the content

material. (1) Sports competitions are timed in fractions of a second and then the times are

compared to find the winners. (2) Scientists record and compare information about different

species of plants and animals using decimal values. (3) Money amounts can be compared to find

the better value when comparing packages by weight or volume. Discussing these and other

situations help students make connections based on their own interests or schema, making the

new material more meaningful and engaging.

On a daily basis, I guide students to think about how the current lesson is linked to or

built upon past lessons, and possibly future lessons, by reviewing previously taught

vocabulary/concepts and previewing vocabulary/concepts to be learned. Vygotsky (1978)

explains “just as a mold gives shape to a substance, words can shape an activity into a structure.

However, that structure may be changed or reshaped when children learn to use language in

ways that allow them to go beyond previous experiences when planning future action” (p. 28).

Therefore, structuring, or scaffolding, lessons based on the progression of mathematical

language, ideas, and concepts is essential for student understanding and achievement in

mathematics. For instance, in the Comparing Decimals Lesson, ideas and concepts for fractions

and comparing fractions are reviewed because fractions are related to decimals. Key concepts

that are reviewed in this lesson include place value, less than, greater than, and equal to.

Bruner (1977) elaborates, “there is a vast amount of skilled activity required of a

"teacher" to get a learner to discover on his own - scaffolding the task in a way that assures that

only those parts of the task within the child's reach are left unresolved, and knowing what

elements of a solution the child will recognize though he cannot yet perform them” (p. xiv).

Based on a scaffolding teaching method, I encourage students to recognize and appreciate

patterns and structures in the mathematical concepts we are learning compared to material we

have already learned. Concepts and methods become more familiar as students acquire

knowledge, leading students to find shortcuts based on their level of understanding of repeated

reasoning. Furthermore, in the Comparing Decimals Lesson, I reminded students that they have

used benchmark fractions to compare fractions in previous lessons, so we can use benchmark

decimals to compare decimals. As students repeatedly see and use benchmark fractions and

benchmark decimals, the benchmarks become part of their foundational mathematical linguistics.

The GoMath! Curriculum has an annual spiral scaffolding design, in that the material at

each grade level repeats/reviews and elaborates on material from previous grade levels. I have

found this knowledge lends to effective differentiation when needed and appropriate. Under the

number and operations - fractions domain of Alaska Mathematics Standards Grade 4 from the

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (2012), the standard (in alignment with

the national Common Core State Standards) for this lesson states, “[Link].7. Compare two

decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only

when the two decimals refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the

symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions (e.g., by using a visual model)” (p. 58). The

Comparing Decimals Lesson reviews two standards from third grade (e.g., [Link].A.3a and

[Link].A.3d) when students develop an understanding of fractions as numbers (Alaska Department

of Education & Early Development, 2012, p. 55) and previews one standard from fifth grade

(e.g., 5NBT.A.3b) when students learn to compare two decimals to thousandths place based on

meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of

comparisons (Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, 2012, p. 53). Thorough

content knowledge along with understanding the progression of the standards and the spiral
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scaffolding of the curriculum, I can recognize and offer immediate intervention for common

misconceptions students may have. Common errors I have witnessed with this lesson include

students not comparing equal-size parts when comparing decimals (e.g., students think 0.15 >

0.5, because 15 is greater than 5) and reciprocal thinking (e.g., students think 0.4 = ¼ and 0.5 =

⅕, so they think 0.4 is greater than 0.5). On the other hand, I use this knowledge to provide

enrichment opportunities for students who have mastered the concepts of the lesson, such as

providing problems with decimals in the thousandths place.

I believe that the most important part of learning mathematics is u​ nderstanding​. Only

when students fully understand mathematical vocabulary, facts and concepts, can they use higher

order thinking skills of reasoning and application in solving problems. According to Vygotsky

(1978), “an essential feature of learning is that it creates the zone of proximal development; that

is, learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only

when the child is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with his peers.

Once these processes are internalized, they become part of the child's independent developmental

achievement (p. 106). If concepts or skills are not developmentally appropriate for a student, it is

important to recognize that and provide appropriate accommodations, or what Dewey (2018)

calls “active adjustments” (p. 52), in order to set the student up for success. I allow students to

decide on their own to complete their math work independently, in pairs, or groups of three,

while I rove the room, checking for understanding and providing help or enrichment as needed.

In conclusion, I guide my students to actively construct their own knowledge of

mathematical concepts, developing their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills through

structured learning experiences in my classroom. My facilitation of the mathematics curriculum

provides differentiated learning opportunities that are developmentally appropriate, align with

state and national standards, and are engaging for each of my students.

References

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (2012). Alaska mathematics standards.

Retrieved from [Link]

Dewey, J. (2018). Democracy and education by John Dewey : With a critical introduction by

Patricia H. Hinchey. Myers Education Press.

[Link]

ect=true&db=e000xna&AN=1804163&site=eds-live&scope=site

Bruner, J. S. (1977). The process of education. Harvard University Press.

[Link]

ect=true&db=e000xna&AN=282866&site=eds-live&scope=site

Perrone, Vito. (1991). ​A letter to teachers: Reflections on schooling and the art of teaching​. San

Francisco, California: Josey-Bass Publishing.

[Link]

ect=true&db=eric&AN=ED368712&[Link]&site=ehost-live

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes.

Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-57629-2.