Mathematics Assessment & Instruction

I witness mathematics assessment and instruction every day in the current field placement in a fourth grade classroom.  On a typical day, the students rotate from three different classes and only get 90 minutes in a classroom.  During this time, the students start out with a catch-up question… “What do I need to do or finish getting myself caught up?”  Then the teacher will start her lesson and implement it with enough time at the end to review and assess the students on the information covered.  There is really no "formal referral" for a suspected disability for any of the students, so my Mentor Teacher is able to go about her lesson plan.  If students need to review over a specific mathematics skill or strategy, then the teacher either addressed the concern or made a note to combine the next day’s schedule to incorporate the skill/strategy.  Worksheets that build off of the lesson of the day also give the teacher a better understanding of what the students need to review and refresh.  I was informed that when grading the teacher will then decide whether or not the worksheet will be taken for a grade or will be a good review strategy for the students in the classroom.  This is an interesting way to keep the students interested in their results of their academic performance and acts as a motivator so they can not only get good grades, but move onto the next mathematics lesson. 

Reading Assessments

With my field placement being in a fourth grade mathematics classroom, the students do not read as much as the literature or science classes do.  However, in the class, my mentor teacher does have students read aloud the questions to the class.  This is the only form of reading that the class does and therefore I was unable to observe a reading assessment or instruction in action.  I was able to talk to my mentor teacher about ways the reading literacy coach performs reading assessments.  In our conversation I found that strategies such as reading fluency of full paragraphs followed by reading comprehension questions.  Students seem to struggle with reading comprehension including reading in the mathematics class.  Some students have trouble with multi-step problems because of the phrasing of the words.  In the fourth grade, students start off the day in the core classrooms that they need the most intervention.  There is a hand full of student in the literature classroom, especially with the STAR testing that is about to take place.  Another strategy my Mentor Teacher uses is "preferential intervention strategies where a team meeting with the teachers will take place to discuss the students progress in the classroom.:  Also at the beginning of the school day and if any free time presents itself, then the students are supposed to read their books.  Most students are excited about reading their books so allowing them to read at the end of class in an extra incentive.

Response to Intervension

When it comes to the students with learning disabilities, the school must "allow students to use 'response to scientific, research-based intervention' as par of an evaluation"  These evaluations of the students are able vital for their future and need to be identified in "early interventions" for the student to benefit from the RIT.  Student who are not identified early struggle and usually fall behind in academics and social aspects of school.  Talking to my Mentor Teacher she said that at the school there are a few RIT written every so often for students and are updated periodically or as needed.