Teaching Experiment Lesson Plan Template

Formative Assessment Activity: _____________Problem Trail/Circuit

Stations_____________________________________
Planned Date of Implementation:
_______________10/13/14________________________________
Make sure you explain how students will be working (i.e., individual, partner, group) and
how this decision was made.
Students will be working in groups of 3 or 4 working on the problem trail and working together
to complete the task correctly by getting through all the problems. I want students to be
cooperatively working together to explain their thinking to help them review and be ready for the
test the next day. The groups will be randomly selected by passing out shuffled cards and
matching cards will be in the same group. Students will be required to show all their work, and I
would like to see the order in which they went from station to station.
Goal(s) of Activity (i.e., Students will be able to and I canThese should include
mathematical content and process learning goals.

I can graph a quadratic function in standard, intercept, and vertex form.

Students will be able to recognize how a change in the coefficients of a quadratic function
affects its graph.
Students will be able to manipulate a quadratic equation changing it from intercept form
to standard form, or vertex form to standard form using the FOIL method.
I can factor a polynomial with leading coefficient equal to 1 and not equal to 1.
I can solve and find the roots of a quadratic function equal to 0 by factoring.
I can solve quadratic functions by inspection taking square roots.
I can apply the product property and quotient property when simplifying a number under
a radical.
I can rationalize the denominator of an expression using conjugates, and interpret why
conjugates work to do so, and why rationalizing is necessary.
I can solve and perform operations using complex number while representing the final
answer in standard form.
Students will be able to solve a quadratic equation by completing the square and turning
the equation from a trinomial to a perfect square binomial.
Students will be able to use the quadratic formula and discriminant to find roots of a
quadratic function and tell how many and what type of solutions we will get.
Students will be able to graph and solve quadratic inequalities with proper shading of
possible solutions and creating a dashed or solid parabola. (Could be multiple
inequalities).

Students will be able to work cooperatively to get through the problems explaining their
reasoning for their answers while leaving no student behind in the group.
I can communicate clearly using my own mathematical thinking towards the review
topics in order to help my group succeed and complete the task.

How will you elicit thinking from the students?

I will be monitoring students during the activity looking for mistakes they may have made and
questioning their thinking about why their answer is wrong. I want to try to stay out of the way
and let the students work cooperatively to finish the task on their own relying on each other, but
will also be there for questions the students may have.

How can we check to see if our answer is correct or makes sense?

What mistakes did you make when you went back to a station that was not in the correct
order?
For groups that made it all the way through with no issues, what problems did you rely on
other group members to help you with? How could you go back tonight to become more
ready for the test tomorrow?
What problems didnt you see in the stations that you could use more work on?
Could there be more than one correct solution to a station? Why or why not?

We will have a group discussion toward the end of the hour to go over all of the answers and
check for understanding of each problem. I will go over problems that students request to go
over and also problems I noticed students struggle with during the task. I want to assess during
this time where students need the most practice and studying later that day to ensure they will be
successful on the test the next day and give them an exit slip as a way to remind them also what
they should work more on.

What data will you collect? How will you analyze the data you collect (i.e., How will you
determine students have understood the material/content of the activity or reached the goal of the
activity?)?

I will give students exit slips at the end of the hour to fill out letting me know what students are
still struggling with, what they feel good about and think they have mastered, and was this
activity effective for helping them review and get better at areas where they needed extra help. I
will also be video recording the lesson to give myself the opportunity to look back on my
teaching, but also student conversations about the mathematics, that could help me find
misconceptions or understandings I didnt see at the present time. I also will include a question
asking students how they felt working with groups and did it help anymore than doing this
activity on their own.

How and what kind of feedback will you give students? What is the purpose of your
feedback?
We will have a class discussion towards the end of the hour when I see students are starting to
finish and we will go over the answers and talk about some of the problems that students didnt
get or want to see the work or reasoning of why a solution is correct. This will help clear up
issues students have and give them feedback on what problems they need to look back at later
that night with the test the next day. I will also be monitoring students during the activity
looking for mistakes they may have made and questioning their thinking about why their answer
is wrong. I want to try to stay out of the way and let the students work cooperatively to finish the
task on their own relying on each other, but will also be there for questions the students may
have