Reflections from block 1 & Moderated Marking

Reflections from Block 1

My first four-week student teaching block was an incredible learning experience. I loved being able to apply the knowledge from our classes with students in a classroom setting. The four weeks went by so quickly and I am so greatful for having an associate teacher and group of students who welcomed me into their classroom. This teaching block reinforced my desire of becoming a teacher.

Some of the most rewarding moments throughout this blocked involved helping students succeed. For me these moments included having a student change their mindset about “not being able to do math”,  having students interested in the topic and having a student who was previously disengaged volunteer to answer questions.

One of the resources that I found helpful to have during this teaching block was 3 act math. I often used these as minds on activities.  In the grade 9 class, when learning about distance time graphs there were several different videos that were able to be used. 

One of the challenges I found during teaching block was finding a method to catch students up on material they missed while they were away. Attendance varied greatly each day and there were times when it was difficult to move on to a new concept when several students were away for the previous classes. During my last two practice teaching blocks I hope to develop a method to address this.

Moderated Marking

This week we did a moderated marking activity in class. In groups of three, we were given sample grade 9 math EQAO student responses from an open response question. We were also provided with the scoring guide which listed indicators associated with each level. We graded each example individually and then compared marks as a group.

It was interesting to discuss our responses as there were several problems that we did not agree on marks for. The discussion turned to be what components or processes of the problem are more important or worth more marks. It was also interesting to discuss what each of us thought were the key indicators of student understanding for a particular problem. 

A key take away from this process for me was to make sure my marking is consistent. As a new teacher, I hope to be able to participate in a moderated marking activity again.