For this task students were asked
to read the description of the time and then place the clock hands in the
correct spot on the clock. Most students in the class have a good understanding
of how to place the hands if the time was easy to understand for example twelve
o’clock. The students started to become more confused and made more errors when
the time said half past one or a quarter past one. They have no understanding
of what the terms quarter and half mean. If they do understand what these terms
mean that are unable to relate them to telling time. This particular student
had no trouble writing the time on the analog clocks but needed some assistance
when writing the hands on the other clock. They often got confused about which
hand went where and needed reminding that the long hand was the minute hand. Another
common mistake was that some students struggle with counting by fives. If the
student can’t count by five they have trouble knowing where to place the minute
hand on the clock. Even the students that have mastered counting by fives still
sometimes forgot that they needed to do this in order to place the minute hand
in the correct location. I think having more practice with reading clocks would
be beneficial to these students.
1.
How can the teacher incorporate telling time
into other activities in the classroom rather than only filling out worksheets?
2.
Should the students be learning about fractions
while learning about time? Would this help the gain a better understanding of
quarter and half?
3.
Do the students in this class understand what
each hand represents or are they only memorizing the procedure of how to place
the hands on the clock? Would they know that the hour hand moves after 60
minutes have passed?
These are all very good questions. I especially like the idea of connecting the concept/representation of fractions with the idea of telling time - which only makes sense, if we are using words like "half after 2" or "quarter before 3".
ReplyDeleteIn light of these ideas and the common mistakes that you saw, what is the next task that you might device for these students, specifically so that it addresses these misconceptions? (it is important to become very specific here, and not just say, "give them more practice"...what in understanding in particular needs to be addressed (based on the information you have gathered about student thinking?))