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: _____

Urban: _____
Suburban: __X___
Rural: _____

2. 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.
[A special feature of my school and classroom is a Gifted program called REACH. In this
program, students who are gifted are able to get targeted and more rigorous instruction. This
takes place every Wednesday and lasts for most of the day. There are five students in my
classroom that attend this every week, therefore on Wednesdays, the teacher is expected to not
introduce any new content. This will directly affect how I plan for and teach this learning
segment. Additionally, the school I am placed in is a Title I school that does not perform at or
above Georgia’s average performance, although it is one of the highest performing schools in
the district. This school also receives a grant that allows the school to give free lunch to every
student. They are able to receive this grant because about ninety-nine percent of students
qualify for free or reduced lunches. These types of circumstances might affect the performance
of my students and any teaching I will be implementing in this class.]
3. 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.
[The school in which I am placed follows the required curricula of Georgia Performance
Standards of Excellence. In accordance with this, the teachers are also required to follow a strict
pacing guide of each subject that designates what topics of each subject the teachers should be
teaching, and when they must complete each unit. Lastly, this grade level will partake in a
standardized test, the Milestones, for the state of Georgia. They will also be consistently tested
in mathematics with Star360 testing to track their progress.]

About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. How much time is devoted each day to mathematics instruction in your classroom?
[In my classroom, there is ninety minutes a day devoted to mathematics instruction. This time is
from 1:50 p.m. to 3:10 p.m. During this time, the teacher uses the classroom textbooks to teach
and discuss the material.]
2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in mathematics? If so, please describe how it affects
your class.

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 Elementary Education - Mathematics
Task 4: Mathematics Context for Learning Information

[The ability tracking for mathematics is done through Star 360 testing, which is done periodically
throughout the school year. Time must be taken out of mathematics instructional time in order to
complete this testing.]
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.
[There are two textbooks used for mathematics instruction. The first is Go Math! Georgia
Common Core: Georgia Performance Standards, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [no date given].
The second is a practice book for students to write directly into: Go Math! Georgia: Standards
Practice Book for Home or School, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [no date given].]
4. List other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, manipulatives, online resources) you use
for mathematics instruction in this class.
[Resources used for literacy instruction include an interactive touch board called a ClearTouch.
The school also has access to Safari Montage in which teachers can pull lessons and
educational videos to use. My teacher also has classroom sets of math manipulatives, such as
place value rods, cubes, and blocks, as well as square unit tiles.]

About the Students in the Class Featured in this Learning

Segment
1. Grade-level(s):
[4rd Grade]
2. Number of
 students in the class: ___29__
 males: __13___ females: __16___
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
Individualized Education Programs [IEPs] or 504 plans, students with specific language
needs, students 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
candidates must include one focus student who is an English language learner.1

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations,
Classifications/Needs Students Modifications, Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Visual processing 2 Close monitoring, graph paper for 3 digit
numbers

1
California candidates—If you do not have any English language learners, select a student who is challenged by academic
English.

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 Elementary Education - Mathematics
Task 4: Mathematics Context for Learning Information

Specific Learning Disability 2 Read aloud questions, small group

IEP (not specified until age instruction, extended time, frequent
10) breaks, pull-out for testing, instruction
with Special Education teacher
504 ADHD/Anxiety 1 Preferred seating, repeated instruction,
making sure they understand directions
and stay on task.
ADHD/ADD IEP 5 Read aloud questions, small group
instruction, extended time, frequent
breaks, pull-out for testing
Autism IEP 1 small group instruction, extended time,
frequent breaks, pull-out for testing,
instruction with Special Education teacher
Students with Specific Language Needs
Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,
Students Modifications
Example: English language 2 Pre-teach key words and phrases
learners with only a few through examples and graphic organizers
words of English (e.g., word cluster, manipulatives, visuals)

Have students use pre-taught key words

and graphic organizers to
complete sentence starters
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 the textbook
textbooks
Student who tested out of 1 Looking into receiving more support for
ELL, but very low student from ELL teacher, explain
comprehension unknown words

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,
Students Modifications
Example: Struggling readers 5 Provide oral explanations for directions
and simplified text for word problems
RTI Struggling readers 4 Small group instruction, Mobymax, Star
360

Copyright © 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 3 of 3 | 4 pages maximum
All rights reserved. V4_0915
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is
permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.