Pilot Interview

As a teacher, it will be helpful to know what information a student may take from a given lesson, and to understand why they learn what they learn. To prepare myself to conduct pilot interviews with two 8th grade students in order to try to learn what information the students "took" from back-to-back lessons of pre-algebra, I began with closely observing those two lessons as they were presented to the class. I followed this activity up by discussing the lesson plans with the teacher who presented them. According to the teacher, both lessons, which focused on identifying patterns within a string of numbers, and the order of operation for solving problems with multiple operations, were meant to be review for the students.

On the first day of my observations, the teacher reviewed with her class two strategies for problem solving. The first strategy was, when looking for patterns in a string of numbers, to break the string of numbers down, look at each pair of consecutive numbers, determine what could be done to the first number mathematically to get to the second number, and identify a pattern being done. The teacher and students together worked through a few examples, including examples which offered more than one way to get to the next number in the string to remind students that the first thing they try may not always result in a pattern. The second problem-solving strategy the teacher reviewed was, when solving a math problem with multiple operations, to recall and solve the problem with the correct order of operations. The teacher then offered one method for her students to remember the correct order; to use an anagram with the first initials of the correct order, Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction, such as Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. Again, the teacher and students worked together through some examples of this type of problem.

On the second day of my observations, the students were given a "group quiz" to use these strategies to solve these types of problems. For the group quiz, the students were asked to work in groups of three, ideally with each member of a group turning in the same work as her other group members, as one paper from each group would be graded and that grade given to each group member. The quiz lasted the entire class time.

Based on my observations and discussion with the teacher, I compiled the following rough outline of notes and questions I wished to cover with the students I would interview.

Interview

Goal: To figure out what students "took" from the instruction, and why they learned what they learned.

Ð'* Student is helping me learn how to do interviews

Ð'* Interview will not affect their grade

Ð'* Not a test! Not looking for right or wrong, only what their understanding is.

Ð'* Example of Ethan (my son)

Questions:

Ð'* Mrs. Teacher intended the material on patterns with strings of numbers and order of operation to be review. How much of the lessons Wednesday and Thursday were new to you? How much was review?

Ð'* If learned before, what do you remember about it?

Ð'* Do you remember the order of operations? How do you remember, or how could you remember it? Is there something you do (same or different) than what Mrs. Teacher suggested or offered?

Ð'* Why do you think you're learning about these things?

Ð'* How do you think you'll use them in the future?

Ð'* If your friend were absent and asked you to explain what you did so he that could do the homework, what would you say or do?

I would like you do the following sample problems and explain to me what you're thinking as you do them.

Patterns

1 2 1 3 2 5 4 _ _ _

Order of Operations

6 ( 8 Ð'- 2 ) / 4 + 3 ( 4 + 1 )

Extension! Can you tell me the order that you would do the steps in this problem?

[ a + ( b / c ) ] [ d ( e ) Ð'- f ]

Immediately following both interviews I conducted, I wrote out the answers the students responded with to my various questions, which I've included, along with the work the students did on the problems I posed to them, at the end of this paper. In summary, both students I interviewed were very comfortable talking to me, and talked a lot. Based on their responses, I felt student #1 had strong confidence in her understanding of the material reviewed, whereas student # 2 had less confidence with her understanding of the material. Student # 2's responses involved more restatings of what Mrs. Teacher had said, and at one point, she forgot