AlexysC

Ferguson, S. (n.d.). Same task, different paths: Catering for student diversity in the mathematics classroom. //Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 14//(2), 32-36. Retrieved from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.topcat.switchinc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/ pdfviewer?sid=6a13f75e-4145-42f7-b8e9-1283205cab9b%40sessionmgr110&vid=2&hid=108

The article that I found is called //Same Task, Different Paths: Catering for Student Diversity in the Mathematics Classroom// by Sarah Ferguson. It talks about the difficulty that math teachers have trying to teach to a classroom when there is such a diverse range of abilities. You don’t want to have some students bored because it is too easy, but you also don’t want other students to struggle and discourage them from liking math. What most teachers strive to do is aim for the middle for the reasoning that the majority of the class will be affected. Another way that teachers go about this issue is by having “focus groups” which are groups of students with similar abilities. Ferguson claims that the issue with this is that it creates much more work for the teacher and the results aren’t always worth the extra effort. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that the lower ability students will understand the math concepts better; it just means they will have more practice at the concepts. What Ferguson believes is the right way to go about it is to find an activity that can adjust its difficulty. By having an activity the whole class can participate in it creates class unity and makes everyone feel equal. The article then goes on to give an example of an activity and talks about how the activity is adjustable and can be termed “rich.” This article connects to the course because it is discussing the difficulties of teaching learners of different levels. I think it is a perfect example of how we have gone about discussing issues. We don’t just state the problem; we discuss ways to go about dealing with the issue and give examples as well. The article goes about the issue the same way. It first states the issue in which a teacher might be faced with but then goes on to discuss possible ways to go about resolving the issue. The article then gives the authors solution to the issue and she describes an example of how it works in the classroom. I also liked this article because it is something that all teachers can relate to because everyone is faced with different ranges of learners. I can use this article in my classroom because I can use the idea of a flexible class activity for my own lessons. I have never really considered this as a good way to go about teaching a lesson but now that I read about it, it makes sense. I obviously have considered an activity but not one that is adjustable to different levels but can be played by everyone in the classroom.

Alisha- Thinking about it now, I never realized that math is probably really difficult to teach, because of this problem. There are going to be an infinite number of skill levels that terachers will run into on a regular basis and it is important that teachers are flexible and are willing to do whatever they can to help students.



The book //An Island like You: Stories of the Barrio,// consists of twelve short stories of people who all live in Paterson, New Jersey. The first chapter is called //Bad Influence// and is about a Puerto Rican girl who gets in trouble with her parents in Paterson, New Jersey. Her parents give her two options for her summer: she can either go to an all girl’s church retreat, or go stay with her grandparents in Puerto Rico. She chooses to go live with her grandparents and after a rocky start of having a bad attitude about not wanting to be there, she ends up making a friend and has a really good time. The second chapter is called //Arturo’s Flight// is about a rebellious boy living in the barrio who is faced with being termed “different” because he enjoys poetry. As a boy living in the barrio, it makes him less masculine to the other guys so they pick on him. He doesn’t seem to really fit in with the rest of his friends in the barrio. He likes to spend his time at the church alone and makes friends with a guy names Johann who cleans the church late at night. Johann showed him that it’s ok to be different if it’s what made him happy. Chapter three is titled //Beauty Lessons// and is about a girl, Sandra< who gets made fun of for being a late bloomer and not as pretty as the other girls because she doesn’t wear tons of makeup. She is athletic but doesn’t want to draw attention to herself so she doesn’t really do sports. Her friend Anita is more popular with the boys because she is pretty, but she doesn’t like the mean girls and chooses to hang out with Sandra because she can be herself. Sandra has a small crush on this boy Paco so she takes lessons from her aunt on putting on makeup. Once she sees her aunt with no makeup she realizes she is pretty and decides to talk to Paco. In the end they end up playing basketball together. The rest of the chapters continue to talk about hardships and difficult situations that children living in the barrio are faced with and finding out different ways to over come them. Some are faced with illness, crime, drinking, death, people with special needs, fighting parents, and boys.

The diverse group that is being depicted is the Puerto Ricans. Some of the stories take place in Puerto Rico but most of the stories take place in Paterson, New Jersey.

Reading this book helped me to realize that there is usually a lot more going on in a child's life than the teacher realizes. If a student isn't doing their homework, there could be a reason for it rather than they just chose not to do it. It also reminded me that everyone is different and has their own way of handling things and dealing with things.This book raised my cultural awareness by the fact that different cultures have different ways of doing things. In some cultures, education isn't always the most important thing. Finding a husband and starting a family can be the most important thing for a girl sometimes. As much as a teacher wants to encourage education for all students, you can't go against what parents want for their child. I don't really feel that it gave me new insights on the Puerto Rican culture specifically.

I don't know how relevant it necessarily was to the classroom. It talked a lot about life in their community and things that go on outside of the classroom. Those things will affect the classroom, but it wasn't strictly about the classroom. The things that happen outside of the classroom really can't be controlled by the teacher. I think I would recommend this story to someone who is wanting to be a teacher, but as for just a book to read for pleasure I would not recommend it. As a math teacher, I don't think I would ever use this book in the classroom. I don't think it would ever relate to any lessons I would possibly have.