C4T # 4

Both of my C4T assignments were for Ms. Andrea Kerr, a high school math teacher, who writes blogs that alerts her colleagues, students and followers to innovative tools and techniques to teach math. In the first blog I commented on, Ms. Kerr was using a number of inventive ways to teach her students about exponents and the order of operations. I was impressed because her techniques allow the students to get out of their seats and into the world around them so that math means something besides a bunch of numbers. Her blog spot, For the Love of Math, is one worth visiting if you are looking for fun ways to teach math.

Ms. Kerr’s second blog that I commented on caught my attention because it was about assessing students with the Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model, which deals with reflection and self-reflection as a means to assess what students have learned. This is something that EDM 310 has already addressed, and I think it is another tool by which to sharpen that approach. She gives many examples and links to understanding the Marzano model. I think that fresh perspectives on the way we evaluate students is much needed in America’s classrooms, so investigating one more great way to that was very reassuring that the method is gaining mass. It works great for Ms. Kerr’s math students and I think it is a technique that should be mandatory for all teachers. It is simply the right way to teach.

I have really enjoyed commenting on Ms. Kerrs’ blogs. Her informative and caring approach insures that her students are getting the skills in math that they need, while making it fun and engaging.Sources: Andrea Kerr and Marzano Research.