Chapter 9 Reflection

Clint Smith
Cir 411, Dr. Bishop
Chapter 9 Reflection
29 April 2011

Chapter 9; Guiding Students’ Reading to Learn
I believe that one content area that is extremely overlooked as far as a students need to read and comprehend is within the math curriculum. After reviewing the mathematics MCT2 test recently, I discovered that there are many higher-level questions that require strategic comprehension strategies in order to understand what the question is really asking the student. These questions are the ones that determine if a student will score basic or advanced on the test. I believe that math teachers should use and administer the Three-Level Guide to aid students’ ability to comprehend these higher level questions. Predicting is also a strategy that I have used in math as well as a strategy that I have taught students to use within the math curriculum.
The Three-Level Guide will aid students in comprehending within the math curriculum. The teacher must train students to strategically read the question and determine many ideas that are based within the question. The first idea is for the students to read exactly what the statement is trying to say. Students often overlook important information that is presented within the text. I recently witnessed my daughter as she was practicing for the MCT2 test as a homework assignment. She was using a highlighter to highlight important information that was explicitly stated within the question. She would determine the known information as well as a possible order of operations and which operation or operations would be necessary in order to work the problem accurately. In a sense, she was determining the literal aspects of the question. The next step she used was to briefly plot her ideas of what was not stated within the question. This is the interpretive ideas that is not explicitly stated within the question but is information that is expected to be known by the student. She would simply record this information next to the problem. The last step of the Three-Level Guide is to infer upon the information that is implied within the question. This is where the student must connect information from their math backgrounds and apply it to the problem at hand. This level is probably the level that determines if a student is able to comprehend the text and determine if the student is able to work the higher level questions. They are required to remember and apply information that they have previously learned within the mathematics curriculum.
Mnemonics is another strategy used within the mathematics curriculum. I can still remember the mathematics order of operations by remembering PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally). By teaching mnemonics in the math curriculum, you are aiding students in their ability to remember the steps in working a math problem correctly. There is no way that I could remember the colors of light spectrum without the aid of mnemonics. Roy G. Biv helped me to pass the test as well as remember the order of the light spectrum. Some critics argue that mnemonics only helps students to memorize information. They argue that the student does not really know the information. I would argue that it is irrelevant that a student has memorized some types of information. With the use of mnemonics, students will likely always be able to recall necessary information in order to work strenuous problems.