Jennifer M. Seay
MATH 520
Middle School Mathematics in a Teaching
Context
with Instructional Technology
Math and Technology
Reflection on Long-Term Plan
As a result of my experiences in this class, I have written a long-term plan that is more comprehensive than most plans I have written in the past. I feel that I will be better able to prepare my students for success on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) next year with the knowledge and experience I have gained from writing this plan. In simply organizing my thoughts on paper, I have ensured that I will cover all necessary aspects of the Geometry unit that need to be covered. This is important because the MSA covers many aspects of eighth grade mathematics, and in order for students to be successful, they must be able to achieve a number of different goals.
This unit incorporates more technology that I have incorporated in the past. I have found that students are incredibly receptive to technology and are more willing to learn when they have the opportunity to look at a computer screen, use the computer, or examine their results on a graphing calculator. In addition, when students are able to get up and move around the room to gather data (as they do in the circumference lesson), they actually get excited about the math that they are learning.
This assignment gave me an opportunity to really look at what I teach in geometry. I can truly organize my thoughts and make sure that the entire unit covers exactly what It needs to cover. Part of this came through having a student intern, who gave me the time to organize the Pre-Algebra curriculum. Mostly, however, I was inspired by the idea of having one place to keep all of my great ideas for teaching a geometry unit. I plan to do the same thing for the Data Analysis and Algebra units next!