Elementary Education - Mathematics

Task 4: Mathematics Context for Learning Information

TASK 4: MATHEMATICS CONTEXT FOR LEARNING INFORMATION

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 4 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the
brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach? (Type an X next to the appropriate description; if
other applies, provide a brief description.)
Elementary school: __x___
Middle school: _____
Other (please describe): _____
2. Where is the school where you are teaching located? (Type an X next to the appropriate
description.)1
City: __x___
Suburb: _____
Town: _____
Rural: _____
3 List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., charter, co-teaching,
themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher)
that will affect your teaching in this learning segment.
[ This school is a public elementary school that serves third grade through fifth grade. It is
located in a small military city. There are currently 615 students enrolled. The racial de-
mographics at this school are approximately 54% white, 18% African American, and 14%
Hispanic, 8% Asian, and 5% two or more races. Only 5% of the student body is learning
English and 29% of students come from a low income home. Girls make up 48% of the stu-
dent body and boys make up 52%. Students with disabilities make up 11% of the student
population.
I am in a gated classroom that teaches fourth grade math, science, and socials studies. My
teacher co-teaches with a literature teacher, so students switch classes half way through the
day to learn all of the subjects. Although this classroom is gifted, only 19 out of the 24 stu-
dents are gifted tested. The other students are high achievers placed into the gifted class. In
the class I will be doing this lesson with there are ten girls and fourteen boys. The classroom
is also culturally diverse. There are 14 white students, 6 African American students, 3 Asian
students, and 1 Hispanic and Asian mixed student. ]
4. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might
affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of
specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.
[ Each teacher is given a pacing guide by the county to follow. This pacing guide gives an
outline for what standards need to be taught and when they need to be taught. It gives in-
structional strategies for each unit that is to be taught. The instructional strategies are at the

1 If you need guidance when making a selection, reference the NCES locale category definitions (https://nces.ed.gov/sur-
veys/ruraled/definitions.asp) or consult with your placement school administrator.

Copyright 2017 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 1 of 4 | 4 pages maximum
All rights reserved. V6_0917
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permit-
ted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.
 Elementary Education - Mathematics
Task 4: Mathematics Context for Learning Information

end of the pacing guide and give specific strategies to help teach each standard. The Geor-
gia Milestones Test is given to student and teachers receive the results. My teacher has the
results of the Milestones test that was given last year and he prepares his students to take
another Milestones test at the end of this year. ]

About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. How much time is devoted each day to mathematics instruction in your classroom?
[ Each class gets 80 minutes of math instruction each day. Some of that time is split up be-
tween morning work and the designated math class time. The math time includes number
talks, direct instruction, and time to work on math problems. There arent set times for spe-
cific strategies, it is all mixed together. ]
2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in mathematics? If so, please describe how it affects
your class.
[ This gifted class is already an ability grouped class because it is a gifted class. This class
follows the gifted model from the state. Every morning students do xtramath online. This
website tracks their progress on math facts and the information for each student show up on
the teachers page. Students are rated on how far along they are for each section as well as
how fluent they are in each section. My teacher also gives students weekly snapshots on
Edmodo. This shows the teacher if the students understand the concept they are going
over. It rates the students with the colors green, yellow, and red. Green means they get all
of the questions correct, yellow means they miss one or two, and red means they missed
too many. He uses this for grouping. The last online tracking and homework assignment that
my teacher gives is work on IXL. Students are times and graded on their work. The teacher
can see if the student understand the concept in a short amount of time or if they spend a
long amount of time working and still dont understand the concepts. ]
3. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for mathematics instruction.
If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.
[ My teacher uses MATH Expressions Common Core published by Huffington Mifflin Har-
court Publishing Company in 2013. My teacher also uses online programs such as xtramath,
IXL, and Edmodo. Xtra math is used daily, Edmodo snapshots are used weekly, and IXL is
used weekly for homework. ]
4. List other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, manipulatives, online resources) you use
for mathematics instruction in this class.
[Each classroom has a smart board with a document camera that my host teacher uses
daily for math. My host teacher uses other online resources to help students practice such
as, IXL and Edmodo, and xtramath. There are five laptops, one desktop, and one iPad that
students use for xtramath in the morning and Edmodo snapshots during the day. The class-
room has sets of base ten blocks, counting chips, dice, that the school has assigned each
teacher. There are other resources in a resource room for the class to use during math. ]

About the Students in the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. Grade level(s):
[ The grade level I am in is the fourth grade. ]
2. Number of
students in the class: _24____

Copyright 2017 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 2 of 4 | 4 pages maximum
All rights reserved. V6_0917
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permit-
ted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.
 Elementary Education - Mathematics
Task 4: Mathematics Context for Learning Information

males: __14___ females: __10___

3. Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or
modifications for your students that will affect your mathematics instruction in this learning
segment. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the charts. Some
rows have been completed in italics as examples. Use as many rows as you need.

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/supports
or accommodations/modifications to instruction or assessment (e.g., students with Individu-
alized Education Programs [IEPs] or 504 plans, students with specific language needs, stu-
dents needing greater challenge or support, students who struggle with reading, students
who are underperforming or those with gaps in academic knowledge).
For Mathematics Assessment Task 4, you will choose work samples from 3 focus students.
At least one of these students must have a specified learning need. Note: California candi-
dates must include one focus student who is an English language learner.2

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

IEPs/504 Plans: Classifica- Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifica-

tions/Needs Students tions, Pertinent IEP Goals

Example: Visual processing 2 Close monitoring, graph paper for 3 digit

numbers

None Identified

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifica-

Students tions

Example: English language 2 Pre-teach key words and phrases through

learners with only a few examples and graphic organizers (e.g.,
words of English word cluster, manipulatives, visuals)

Have students use pre-taught key words

and graphic organizers to
complete sentence starters

2 California candidatesIf you do not have any English language learners, select a student who is challenged by academic
English.

Copyright 2017 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 3 of 4 | 4 pages maximum
All rights reserved. V6_0917
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permit-
ted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.
 Elementary Education - Mathematics
Task 4: Mathematics Context for Learning Information

Example: Students who 5 Make connections between the language

speak a variety of English students bring and the language used in
other than that used in text- the textbook
books
None Identified

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifica-

Students tions

Example: Struggling readers 5 Provide oral explanations for directions

and simplified text for word problems

Gifted Students 19 In this class we go deeper into content

and ask higher level thinking questions for
these students.

Copyright 2017 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 4 of 4 | 4 pages maximum
All rights reserved. V6_0917
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permit-
ted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.