Friday's Lesson

This Friday I will be teaching for the first time this semester. I am going to be teaching the students the introductory section on radicals. I am hoping to use PowerPoint for the first time. I have not looked at the material thoroughly due to the amount of work I have had in my schedule this week. Because there is going to be a bit of a rush with everything I am not sure if I will be able to pull everything off. If not, I am hoping that this will give me good insight into what to expect for the next time I will teach. So however the class turns out on Friday I know that it will be a wonderful learning experience and help to know better what to expect for the future.

The beginning

At the beginning of the semester I was pretty nervous about what I would be doing for my TIP project. Because I am in 488 I already knew my placement prior to the start of class. I am working with Fred Tucker at Monticello High School. The most technology he has in his classroom is a projector which he does not use that often. This made me nervous because I wasn't sure how willing he would be to using other forms of technology within the classroom. I am interested in working with SmartBoards, mainly because we are strongly encouraged to use them for math education. To my surprise when I mentioned this idea to Fred he was very willing. He is interested in having me teach him knew things about technology since he does not have a lot of training or experience using it. The next day when I went in for observation, Fred informed me that he talked with his fellow algebra teachers about using a SmartBoard and one volunteered to let me use it. I have also contacted my TIP coordinator about getting a SmartBoard in the classroom. He informed me to let him know when I would need one and that he would help me set it up. I have been rather surprised by how helpful everyone has been in this process. I did not expect Fred to accept the use of technology so willingly and to take the initiative to try and find me a SmartBoard. The class that I work with is finishing up a chapter and Fred has told me that I will not be teaching until the next chapter (most likely after Spring Break). My current plan is to look through all the material on the sections I will be teaching and see which would possibly work with the SmartBoard.