ASSESSMENT TASK: Journal entry - How to teach Geometry guide

Critically reflect and develop a journal entry that draws together understandings from the lectures, tutorial/workshop activities, prescribed readings and other mathematics education research sources, and where possible, observations from professional experiences about the content area of Geometry explored in the unit.

The journal entry must demonstrate critical reflection and a growing understanding of:

(a) big ideas/key concepts of the content area;

(b) students' misconceptions and difficulties when learning the content area;

(c) teaching strategies and appropriate tasks (including materials and representations) that best support the learning of all students;

(d) curriculum progression related to the content area as articulated in curriculum documentation; and;

(e) implications for future early childhood and primary classroom practice

TEMPLATE: Effective Teaching and Learning of Geometry

Content area

Geometric reasoning

Mathematical content knowledge (MCK)

In this section, identify the key ideas and key understandings about Geometry; this must be focused on the concepts, ideas, that are specific to Geometry; elaborate on your understanding of those ideas and understandings using references to literature; in this section, you are proving that you understand the mathematics that you are required to teach for Geometry; treat this section like a glossary where you state and provide your own definitions of the important mathematical ideas associated with Geometry

Possible misconceptions

In this section, identify and elaborate on the possible misconceptions that children may form about Geometry; inform your writing here with references to appropriate mathematics education literature; you are demonstrating here an important aspect of teacher knowledge which is awareness of children's misconceptions and how they form.

Mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)

In this section, identify and elaborate upon (using prescribed reading and other literature):

• specific teaching strategies/approaches for Geometry
• specific learning activities/tasks including their maths focus and purpose (what will students learn in terms of content and ways of working mathematically)
• specific concrete materials / technology use including their purpose in supporting the learning of Geometry and how students and teachers might use those "tools" in the mathematics classroom/learning space; you might state the purpose of those "tools" and how they help students learn Geometry ideas
• for more marks, you will also state the intended impact on children's learning - if a teacher uses that teaching strategy/approach, learning activities/tasks, and concrete material, what will students learn

Identification and explanation of links to pedagogical and/or curriculum documentation

In this section, identify which aspects of the pedagogical documentation that is pertinent to your state, jurisdiction, or field (EC and/or Prim) that relate specifically to Geometry; explain very succinctly how you see the progression of learning (how the Geometry learning develops), along with any advice for teachers/educators when teaching Geometry if focusing on curriculum documentation; if focusing on the EYLF, you will look for links to the Learning Outcomes and elaborate how those outcomes and evidence of learning statements could be enacted by children.

Implications for future practice and actions about this content area

In this section, you will identify what you are committing yourself to do when you have your very own classroom/learning space when teaching Geometry; you will use literature as a means of justifying your decisions for your future practice; you could use this section for the information that you wanted to put into the PCK section, but you did not have the word count to do so