Embedded Files
PRINCIPALS & SUPERVISORS >> WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A MATHEMATICS LESSON:
©1995-2008 Mahesh C. Sharma All rights reserved.
A. Instructional Activity:
Are the lesson plan and flow of instructional activities guided by these principles of mathematics teaching?
o Socratic questioning
o Direct instruction (didactic)
o Guided discovery
o Coaching
o Individualization
o Assessment
o Planned reinforcement and meaningful homework
B. Lesson Content:
Does the instructional lesson clearly shows that every mathematical idea reflects the these three components?*
o Linguistic component2
o Conceptual component
o Procedural component
*The content of the lesson must integrate the development of the language of mathematics, conceptual models and the procedure/algorithm related to that concept.
C. 6 Levels of Knowing:
Does the lesson show that the mastery of a mathematical concept is developmental? Does the lesson reflect the six levels of knowing in its execution?
o Intuitive level (knowing and showing the mastery by connecting and extending the new oconcept with prior knowledge, skills and procedures)
o Concrete level (knowing and showing the mastery through concrete models)
o Pictorial (knowing and showing the mastery through pictures, diagrams, context and representation)
o Abstract level (knowing and showing mastery through symbolic representation, manipulation and abstractions)
o Applications level (knowing and showing the mastery by applying the knowledge in intra-mathematical, interdisciplinary and extracurricular applications)
o Communication level (the ability to explain, describe, teach other person, defend argument or method, write about it, etc)
D. Lesson Structure and Organization:
Do the instructional activities aim at developing a structure that is predictable, and at the same time has novelty? Each lesson should have:
o Mental mathematics4
o Conceptual development
o Development of prerequisite skills5 (Sequencing, spatial orientation and space organization, visualization, pattern recognition, deductive and inductive reasoning)6
o Writing number stories and problem solving
o Planned activities for mastery and automaticity
©1995-2008 Mahesh C. Sharma All rights reserved.
Page updated
Report abuse