CAPÍTULO X DISPOSICIÓN FINAL
EMPRESA CARLISNACKS CÍA LTDA.
1. What is your name? Kara
2. How did you become a teacher assistant? I was interviewed by the researcher and hired
3. Why did you want the job? I love to help/teach people and jumped at the opportunity to cement what I’d already learned and help some kids out with geometry.
4. Please describe your experience working with the Geometry Honors Preview
teacher. We both worked well together. He gave me direction to grade tests, or help explain things in as easier way. He appreciated how I could simplify concepts for kids my age.
5. Please describe your experience working with students in the Geometry Honors
Preview class. In the preview course the students weren’t too excited to be in summer school and could be hesitant to ask questions. However, they realized quickly how much of an advantage they had over other kids (not in the course) and took the class seriously.
6. How did you assist the lead teacher? I simplified concepts like weirdly worded
problems. I also shared tricks/patterns I had learned through completing a year’s worth of proofs.
7. Did the experience working with the lead teacher increase your knowledge of
Geometry? Please explain. Experience with the teacher allowed me to see his
perspective of how to present the information. His style was formal and straight forward like my freshman year. His style, in addition to my personalized memory tactics, allowed me to gain confidence in geometry.
8. Did your experience working with the students increase your knowledge of
Geometry? Everytime I teach someone somehting, the information is replanted in my memory. In order to explain an idea I had to be confident I understood it well, and had to present the information in the easiest way possible. I essentially relearned geometry by teaching it.
9. What did you perceive as the most difficult part of the summer course for the
incoming freshmen? Please explain. The most difficult part of the course was probably remembering all the little tricks of proofs. It was formulaic to me, all the SAS (side angle side) and AAS (angle angle side) stuff. But the kids had to see and memorize the
patterns.
10. Do you believe the course increased the students’ confidence? Please explain. Yes! The kids not only were familiar with proofs but had an in depth understanding of the
construction of one, the variety/patterns of different possible test questions etc. You cannot get this without at least a month of work.
11. Do you believe the students were comfortable asking you for help? Please explain. At first students were hesitant to ask questions, especially to the teacher assistants
(Actually it depended on the kid, some kids preferred asking me.) But as we became more familiar with one another, they opened up.
12. What aspects of the course would you improve? Please explain. There is no real aspect of the course I would improve besides having more classes. The small size of the class was ideal for learning; I just wish more kids could have taken the course.
13. Would you recommend the role of teacher assistant to other students interested in teaching? Please explain. YES! I would definitely recommend the role of TA to other students, even if they are not in love with teaching. Helping someone understand math, for example, allows you to gain confidence not only in the subject itself, but also in your ability to learn and cement knowledge into your
The researcher gleaned important feedback from the questionnaires completed by the teacher assistants. First, the teacher assistants believed that working with the students helped reinforce their own mathematical knowledge in Geometry. Second, they believed that the course increased the students’ confidence in completing proofs and deepened their understanding of the material. Lastly, the teacher assistants thought the course was extremely beneficial and would recommend it to other students.
Classroom Observations and Teacher Conferences
The researcher observed the class on two different occasions for 15 minutes, followed by a conference with the teacher. The classroom format in terms of instruction could be categorized as traditional and teacher-centered; however, students spent most of the time completing
geometry proofs in small groups. The teacher and teacher assistants facilitated these small groups.
Students were encouraged to write their proofs on the chalkboard and present them to the class. Surprisingly, none of the students appeared apprehensive about presenting their proofs. This was an indication that the students felt relaxed and safe in the classroom to make mistakes. The teacher indicated that he believed students felt comfortable presenting their proofs because they had completed the proofs within their groups first. If a mistake was made, it was not a mistake by one person; it was a mistake by the group. Further, the supervision and constructive feedback by the teacher and teacher assistants assured the students that their proofs were worthy of presenting.
The teacher believed that the first week of the course was the most frustrating for the students because the theorems and postulates created a new mathematical learning experience for them. None of the students had completed a proof, in particular, a geometry proof. The teacher
introduced the theorems and postulates in addition to providing sample proofs to show the integration of the statements and reasons in the two-column proofs. It was evident based on informal observations and the type of questions posed during the third week, which students in the class would struggle with the Geometry Honors content in the school year. Later in this chapter, the researcher will elaborate further on these observations and what was revealed when these students completed the Geometry Honors course.
The participants and their parents completed questionnaires about the Geometry Honors Preview course describing their experiences and perceptions. The following pages include their questionnaires and responses.