Kathryn Oswood - Web viewKaitlin’s numeral identification score ... Kaitlin dreams of being a...

Student ProfileKathryn Oswood

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Student Profile

Assessment: EDU 6613

Kathryn Oswood

3-9-09

Kris Gritter, Ph.D


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Introduction

Attached is a sampling of Kaitlin’s growth portfolio that shows her progress in

backward number sense and numeral identification (2007). The first table is Kaitlin’s

initial assessment of these skills and is followed by intervention assignments as well as

follow-up assessments of both her backward number sense and numeral identification

skills. These artifacts illustrate her exceptional growth in these mathematical concepts.

Context

Kaitlin is an active participant in our diverse classroom. She is a student at a

Title 1 school and joins the 50% of students on free and reduced lunch at Quil Ceda

Elementary, located on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. My first grade class is

composed of 10 girls and 9 boys that are six and seven years old. There are 6 Native

American students, 1 multiracial student, 1 Ukrainian student, 3 Hispanic students, and

8 European-American students.

I have made the professional decision to mold the instructional practices of

Strength in Number, developed by the National American Indian, Alaskan & Hawaiian

Educational Development Center (NAIAHEDC), and the US Math Recovery Council

(2008), to the Everyday Mathematics curriculum, developed by the University of

Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP), (2007), to enhance my students’

conceptual understandings and facility with mathematical skills. After assessing Kaitlin

in forward and backward number sense, numeral sequencing, and numeral

identification, the results showed her need for a stronger foundation in backward

number sense and numeral identification. Using my assessment to guide my


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instructional practices I have focused Kaitlin’s mathematics education on various

aspects of EALR 1 of first grade, which spotlights whole number relations. Specifically,

I will be highlighting GLE 1.1.A, which states that students are expected to count by

ones forward and backward from 1 to 120, starting at any number; 1.1.B, which states

that students are expected to name the number that is one less or one more than any

number given verbally up to 120; and 1.1.C, which states that students are expected to

read aloud numerals from 1 to 1,000.

In my initial assessment of Kaitlin’s backward number sense I noticed she

needed support in the ‘teens’ and decade jumps, such as 31 to 30 or 71 to 70. My

assessment of Kaitlin’s ability to state the number words that come before an

assortment of numbers, she is successful in the range of 1 to 50. We need to boost this

skill so she may be facile through 120. To support this need I have worked with her on

number-family grouping, oral and written backward number word sequence (BNWS),

that begin at a variety of numbers, place values, and skip counting forward and

backward from various numbers. Kaitlin is strong in identifying two-digit numbers and

needs additional support in identifying three digit numbers. I would like to see her being

able to identify four and five digit numbers by the end of the year.

Who is Kaitlin as a Person and a Learner?

Kaitlin is a hard-working, motivated student. She is kind, helpful, and respectful

to her classmates and her teachers. I chose Kaitlin for my case-study because she has

made exceptional progress since September. By studying a student that makes such


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exceptional progress perhaps I will discover something that will help other students in

years to come.

Kaitlin says that she enjoys math; even the hard parts! She likes working out

problems without aids such as number lines or calculators. These simple statements

tell me a lot about Kaitlin as a learner especially that she enjoys challenging work. I

believe that the combination between her school environment and home environment

has nurtured this obvious intrinsic motivation she has for learning.

What is Kaitlin Learning?

The students in my classroom are learning valuable mathematic foundational

skills that will support them in their future mathematical reasoning and thinking. In

October of 2008, I gave my students an assessment in order to test their number sense.

I have combined the interventions available in Teaching Number in the Classroom

(2006), to the Strength in Number program. Along with these interventions my students

are learning skills through the Everyday Mathematics curriculum. After analyzing their

assessments I found that the majority of my students needed more focused instruction

in BNWS as well as numerical identification of whole numbers.

Evidence that Kaitlin is Learning

I have collected data on my students’ BNWS from October 2008, until February

2009. The data collected includes audio recordings of BNWS fluency, video recordings

of assessment implementation, written assessment data, and photographs of the

interventions along the way. I have also created centers that are directed at BNWS and


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numerical identification skills. I have assessed my students in BNWS using the

Numbers, Words, and Numerals assessments from Strength in Numbers in October

2008 (Table 1) and in January 2009 (Table 3). I will assess them again in April 2009. In

the October assessment Kaitlin scored level three on a scale from zero to five. A level

three indicates that she is facile in BNWS to ten. Kaitlin can produce the BNWS from

ten to one. She can produce the number word just before a given number word in the

range one to ten without dropping back to one. Kaitlin has difficulty producing the

number word just before a given number word for numbers beyond ten. Kaitlin also

scored a level three in her development of numeral identification on a scale of zero to

five, which indicates that she can identify one and two digit numerals.

With further instruction focused on these two criteria (Table 2), Kaitlin was

reassessed in January 2009. Her January assessment put Kaitlin at a level five in

BNWS. This indicates that Kaitlin is facile in BNWS to one hundred and can produce

BNWS in the range one to one hundred. She can produce the number word just before

a given number word in the range one to one hundred without dropping back (Table 4 &

5). Kaitlin’s numeral identification score went up to a level four, which indicates that she

can identify one, two, and three digit numerals. Further interventions were facilitated on

identifying numerals up to six digit numbers as that is what is expected of level five

students. This skill will be assessed in April 2009.

What Instructional Practices Help or Hinder Kaitlin from Learning?

Kaitlin says that she enjoys working out problems with classmates in small group

settings as well as during exploratory center time in which she can produce and solve


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problems independently or with classmates. She enjoys relational work with numbers as

well as making predictions (estimations) before working out a problem because, “it’s fun

to see if I get the right answer or try to figure out what I did wrong.” She enjoys making

math pleasurable as she stated, “greater than and less than problems are fun because I

get to draw crocodiles!” (I taught my students to draw teeth inside the greater than and

less than signs to indicate that the crocodile is very hungry and will only eat the bigger

number!) Kaitlin enjoys interaction with her classmates but is also a competent,

independent worker; however she seems to shine when working in group settings.

What Kaitlin Needs to Know About

Math to be a Well-Rounded Person and to Participate in a Democracy.

Kaitlin dreams of being a teacher and says that it is important to know what you

are going to teach. She tells me that math is important to all school subjects and wants

to continue to do well in school. Kaitlin says that she loves to add big numbers to little

numbers and that could help when buying things at the store.

Conclusion

Kaitlin is excelling in math as she is now at or above grade level in all

mathematical concepts. We will continue to work on her numeral identification to six

digit numbers to further her success in mathematics. Being able to identify numerals will

aid her understanding of place value concepts, which will, in turn, aid her success in

addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as well as fractions, decimals, and


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many other concepts. In just a half of a school year Kaitlin has become a more

confident and competent mathematician.


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Works Cited

1. Bell, J. et.al. (2007). Everyday Mathematics. Chicago: Wright Group/McGraw-

Hill.

2. Stiggins, R. et.al. (2007). Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. New

Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall.

3. U.S. Math Recovery Council: National American Indian, Alaskan & Hawaiian

Educational Development Center. Strength in Number. (2008). [Not yet at

published completion].

4. Wright, R. J. et.al. (2006). Teaching Number in the Classroom. London: Paul

Chapman Publishing.


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Table 1


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Table 1 cont...


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Table 1 cont...


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Table 2


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Table 3


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Table 3 cont...


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Table 3 cont...


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Table 4


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Table 5

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