What Are The Changes In The Design Of My Algebra Course

Towards the end of each semester, I reflect back on my courses and begin to think about the changes I want to make to benefit my students. Each time I make those changes, I feel that I’ve finally achieved (almost) perfection in the design of my online course. That is, until a few weeks have gone by and I begin to think how a lesson or assignment could have been better planned. This past September, I began the VOLT (Virtual Online Teaching) program with the University of Pennsylvania, and the design of my Algebra course has been altered a few times. The overall layout and organization of the course has remained the same, but the learning theories and teaching methods have changed. Since my student teaching semester, I have always enjoyed watching

At PA Virtual Charter School, which is where my fully online course will be taught, utilizes a diamond model of partnership with the student at the center, as shown in figure A. The mission of PA Virtual is to “provide Pennsylvania students with an excellent education, grounded in high academic standards, which will help them achieve their full academic and social potential.”(Diamond model

Student motivation seems to increase when a grade or presentation is involved. If a student knew exactly which question they would be called upon to answer in class, they would be sure to study up on that skill/answer ahead of time. If a student knows that they will have to present their answer to the class as a whole, they will be much more motivated to do a thorough job than if they did not have to report on their learning. An effective teaching strategy that I employ and plan to continue to employ in math class is group work and presentation. Many math teachers would scoff at the idea of having students work in groups and present on a weekly basis. However, I have found that I, along with the students, prefer the collaborative nature of the groups. In figure B, you will see a snapshot of a group presentation. The group was selected randomly and consisted of four students. The students had about ½ hour to answer various problems considered to be “challenge” problems at their level. Each group had different problems to solve. You may notice that William is currently on the microphone explaining how this particular problem was solved. Robert and Rebekah are commenting in the chat box about the problem. During this exercise, I did not need to lecture, as I utilize a flipped classroom strategy, and students had this direct instruction with their homework the night before.