4.1. April 16, 2002: Observation Report

"A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems."--Paul Erdös

Caveat Lector: This is a web-friendly version of the handout OBSERVATION REPORT. You can also download the file (RTF) for your own use. (RTF is Rich Text Format, which can be opened in Microsoft Word, AppleWorks, ClarisWorks, Okito Composer, TextEdit, Mariner Write, and likely other word processors of varying vintages on varying platforms.)

OBSERVATION REPORT

Your goals:

1. Take notes on what gruops actually do in class using these guidelines and charts.

2. Find out what's working well and what's not working well in terms of students learning math and working together.

3. Talk to Ms. Lee about what you found out and what you notice from your notes.

4. After talking to Ms. Lee, report to the class about what you found out. It can be written or oral. (If you choose to write it, I can take care of making photocopies for the rest of the class.)

Remember these rules for your notes and report:
1. Be polite.
2. Be constructive.

NAME OF ACTIVITY:

PEOPLE IN GROUPS:
Use this to keep track of who's who in your notes.

Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
Group 4:
Group 5:
Group 6:

See how many people are doing the following things when you visit each group for 5-10 minutes:

discussing the assignment/math (D): Talking about how to get the assignment done. If someone's in this category and another category, list them in this category first.

looking/listening (L): Not talking, but paying attention to a discussion on how to get the assignment done.

writing/materials (M): Writing something down, measuring something, or working with materials for the assignment.

off-task (O): Talking about prom, goofing off, or staring off into space. It always happens occasionally in groups, and that's okay; it's when someone does it for more than a few minutes that you should note this down.

You should also jot down specific notes such as "X. was talking about using Cartesian coordinates" or "Y. was distracted when the group was trying to measure the tree."

Copyright © 2002 Yoon Ha Lee <requiescat@cityofveils.com>
Last updated on 18 May 2002