Grade: 8

th

Topic: Numbers in Exponential Form Raised to a Power
Objectives:
Students know what it means for a number to be raised to a power and how to represent
the repeated multiplication symbolically.
Students know the reason for some bases requiring parentheses
Observations:
I had the opportunity to observe an 8
th
grade intervention math class. Since this is an
intervention math class, the teacher decided to teach this topic to serve as a foundation for the
topic of properties of integer exponents.
The lesson began with a Socratic discussion, which lasted for about 15 minutes. The
classroom teacher discussed with her students about expanded notations. For example, addition
form 5+5+5+5 is written as 5x4 in short notation, and multiplication form 5x5x5x5 is written as
5
4
for short. Following the Socratic discussion students were assigned to work on 5 problems
with their group.
There was a brief discussion and explanation of the 5 problems assigned, then the teacher
assigned students to work individually for the next 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes time frame,
she displayed the correct answers and instructed her students to check their work. She
encouraged students to seek clarification for any problem they had difficulty solving by saying,
Is there any question that I can answer for you. I noticed the assigned problems for task 1 and
task 2 contained abstract (symbolic representation) questions that required procedural knowledge
to complete the task.


Again, the teacher assigned students to work in their group to complete task 3 of the
lesson. As I walked around the room I noticed the problems on this task contained high level
questions. For example, some of the questions were Will these products be positive or
negative? How do you know? and Is it necessary to do all of the calculations to determine the
sign of the product? Why or why not? The teacher used the exit ticket to conclude the days
lesson and to assess her students learning.
Throughout this lesson I witnessed cooperative learning and communication amongst
learners. I thought the idea of using Socratic discussion was a great engagement piece and a
great way to connect students prior knowledge. As a teacher I also feel that communication
amongst learners in the classroom is critical because it provides opportunities for students to
develop their mathematics reasoning skills. In my classroom I provide ample opportunities for
my students to communicate with their peers. I feel that students mathematical reasoning skill is
built and enhanced when they are allowed to express what they know, sort through their ideas,
and reflect upon the connections that they have made.
I thought the teacher did a wonderful job. She used a variety of effective teaching
strategies to get her students to interact with one another and to help them in the learning process.
Overall, I feel that the learning objective for the days lesson was accomplished.