Running head: HONORS AND REGULAR

Proficiency Levels of Honors and Regular

Hyun Joo Jung
Hunter College

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1. School and Student

This project will focus on two students: Student K and Student C
a) Student K - School Context
J.H.S. 194 William Carr (district 25) is a New York public middle school that is located at
154-60 17th Avenue Whitestone, NY 11357. 1,041 students attend J.H.S 194 William Carr and
are mostly White (35%), Asian (33%), Hispanic (30%) and Black (1%) (NYC DOE, 2014). 6%
of the students are the English language learners, 14% of the students have special needs, the
students attendance is 94%, and the teachers attendance is 96% (NYC DOE, 2014). The school
overview from directory says that the school aims to educate the whole child by challenging all
students academically, encouraging student voice, and supporting the opportunity for selfexpression through a diverse fine and performing arts department (NYC DOE, 2014). J.H.S. 194
strives to support students academically, socially, and emotionally, through their level academies,
each with a dean, an assistant principal, and two shared guidance counselors (NYC DOE, 2014).
J.H.S. 194 Student Achievements (NYC DOE, 2014):

46% met State standards on the State English test; the average score was 2.9 put of 4.5
52% met State standards on the State math test; the average score was 3.1 put of 4.5
92% is the average pass rate for courses in math, English, social studies, and science
93% of J.H.S. 194 schools former 8th graders earn enough high school credit in 9th grade
to be on track for high school graduation

J.H.S. 194 School Environments (NYC DOE, 2014):

65% of students feel that their school offers enough variety of programs, classes, and

activities to keep them interested in school

93% of parents are satisfied with the education that their child has received

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71% of students feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms, locker rooms, and cafeteria
54% of students say that most students at the school treat each other with respect

High schools students from this school most frequently attend (NYC DOE, 2014):

24% Bayside High School

7% Robert F. Kennedy Community High School
6% Bronx High School of Science
5% Flushing High School
5% Benjamin N. Cardozo High School

a) Student C - School Context

I.S. 025 Adrien Block (district 25) is a New York public middle school that is located at
34-65 192 Street Flushing, NY 11358. 780 students attend I.S. 025 Adrien Block and are mostly
Asian (49%), White (25%), Hispanic (22%), and Black (2%). 7% of the students are English
language learners, 17% students has special needs, the students attendance is 96%, and the
teachers attendance is 94% (NYC DOE, 2014). The school overview from directory says that
the school offers a variety of classes for a diverse group of learners (NYC DOE, 2014).. All
classes follow the Common Core state standards and engage all students in rigorous learning,
preparing them for high school, three-year Arts program in chorus, band, keyboard, dance, and
graphic art for 8th graders (NYC DOE, 2014).
I.S. 025 Student Achievements (NYC DOE, 2014):

50% met State standards on the State English test; the average score was 3.0 put of 4.5
56% met State standards on the State math test; the average score was 3.2 put of 4.5
98% is the average pass rate for courses in math, English, social studies, and science
95% of I.S. 25 schools former 8th graders earn enough high school credit in 9th grade to
be on track for high school graduation

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I.S. 025 School Environments (NYC DOE, 2014):

64% of students feel that their school offers enough variety of programs, classes, and

activities to keep them interested in school

91% of parents are satisfied with the education that their child has received
83% of students feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms, locker rooms, and cafeteria
64% of students say that most students at the school treat each other with respect

High schools students from this school most frequently attend (NYC DOE, 2014):

38% Francis Lewis High School

17% Bayside High School
6% Bronx High School of Science
4% Stuyvesant High School
4% Benjamin N. Cardozo High School

b) Academic subject area: Geometry for both Student K and Student C

Specific topic: Transformation
c) Student
The two students I will be assessing for both assessment episodes are in the 8 th grade,
Korean, and 14 years old. I tutor Student K and Student C every Saturday for two hours from 11
A.M. 1 P.M. and 2P.M. 4 P.M. respectively at their home. Student Ks house is located three
blocks away from her school while Student Cs house is located one block away from her school.
Climate of Student K
I visit Student Ks house to tutor her privately and most of the time, Student Ks mother
and grandmother are at home. Student K shares her room with her grandmother. However, during
the tutoring session her grandmother usually watches television or sleeps on the couch in the

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living room. Since I tutor Student K in her room with the door closed there is no noise distraction
during the tutoring session. Student Ks mother always prepares snack such as tea, fruits, and
pastries during/before the session so the student and I can refresh. Sometimes, the snack distracts
Student Ks learning because she pays more attention to food than learning.
There are celebrity posters on the wall and some pictures on her desk with some books,
pencils and pens, and a bright lamp that she always turns on when I enter her room. The student
K leaves her room light on as well because she said that she cannot concentrate when her room is
dark.

Climate of Student K:
Student Ks mother and grandmother are always at home in the living
Tutor Student K in her room
Have celebrity pictures on her room walls
Has a bright lamp on her desk

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Climate of Student C
I tutor Student C at her house privately. Student C lives with her mother and an older
brother. Her mother works seven days a week and her brother rarely stays home on Saturdays
because he goes to church for the youth activity. Her do list (school work and house duty) and a
picture of her are on the wall. I did not see any celebrity pictures on the wall like the other
students wall. We rarely turn on the lamp. As soon as I enter her room, I see her clothing
hanging/laying down at everywhere including on her bed and by the door. She has a mirror on
her desk and the climate seems a little messy, but did not distract students learning.

Climate of Student C:
No one at home
Tutor Student C in her room
Small lamp on the desk
Clothing hanging by the door

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Clothing on the bed

No pictures on the wall
I have been teaching Student K privately for four years. Student K is a native English speaker
who seems is enthusiastic and bright. When she did not get above 80 on the past tests I provided,
she told me that she deserves extra homework assignment ( before, she told me that she does not
like doing homework and the worst punishment I can give her is assigning a lot of homework).
Another reason why I think she is enthusiastic is because she does not move on to next level
unless she understands the lesson surely. For example, when we went over the transformation on
the first day she was not confident with the materials whether she understood everything fully or
not. So she asked me to send her some worksheets via email that she can practice and check her
understanding. Also, once I gave her a worksheet to do that had the vague instructions. Then she
asked me to do the first question together so she can do the rest by herself. She does all
classwork with precision and attention to detail. She underlines the key words or numbers and
looks up definition of terms that she does not understand. She also checks her solution even
though I did not ask her to do so. She is preparing to go to Specialized High School (Stuyvesant,
Bronx Science, or Brooklyn Tech). Her proficiency level at school is honors and her 2nd marking
period report card average was 95.06. Student K received 94 in her math progress report. Since
94 seems high achievement and she is an honor student, I give Student K more challenging
questions than Student C. This way she does not lose her interest.
I have been teaching Student C privately for six months. She is a non-native English speaker
who is very shy and quiet. However, Student C is fluent in English and never taught the previous
lessons in Korean. Students father had passed away 2 months ago and her mother told me that
Student C is suffering from depression because of this incident. Student C does not want to go to

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one of the Specialized High Schools and proficiency level at school is regular, not honor nor
failing any of the courses. Student Cs 2nd marking period report card average was 84.4. She
received 88 in her math progress report. According to The New York Times article report from
Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, South
Korean 8th grade math ranked top for performing well on math. Therefore, according to Korean
tradition of pedagogy, I believe that 88 is a moderate score.
Student Cs mother told me that her child is unlike other Korean because Student C has
trouble with math. She added that Student C spends most of her studying time on math.
Overall, Student K levels of thinking and skills are higher than Student C. I tested Student K
the five questions that are based on the percentage topic and she got everything correct. I had to
test and work on the percentage with Student C for two weeks because she scored the test below
50%. According to the students progress report from her school and the tests I have assessed, I
have to prepare extra materials to encourage Student Cs learning.
2. Learning progression for goal
A general goal for Student K and Student C is providing instruction in the content area of
To know how to do transformation to augment and reinforce the material that they are learning in
school. Plus, they both will be prepared for the June 2015 Regents.
Specific Instructional Objectives: Given graph papers, calculators, and formulas of
rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations, the students will be able to identify the
transformations of two-dimensional shapes of a square, a triangle, and a parallelogram by
plotting the new coordinates they have computed from the given coordinates and describe the
effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures. In addition,

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the students will learn how to shift, shrink, expand, or relocate the original graph for a new shape
that relates to the original one understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if
the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and
dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the

similarity between them. (i.e. graph of f(x) =

x 2 is a parabola and the graph of the new

function, f(x) +1, is a parabola that is shifted one unit up).

Line Reflections:
When you reflect a point across the x-axis, the x-coordinate remains the
same, but the y-coordinate is transformed into its opposite.

Reflection in the x-axis:

or
When working with the graph of

, replace y with -y.

When you reflect a point across the y-axis, the y-coordinate remains the
same, but the x-coordinate is transformed into its opposite.

Reflection in the

y-axis:

or
When working with the graph of

Reflection in y

= x:

, replace x with -x.

When you reflect a point across the line y = x, the x-coordinate and the ycoordinate change places.
or

Reflection in

y = -x:

When you reflect a point across the line y = -x, the x-coordinate and the ycoordinate change places and are negated (the signs are changed).
or

Point Reflection:

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While any point in the coordinate plane may be used as a point
of reflection, the most commonly used point is the origin.
or

Reflection in the Origin:

When working with the graph of

and y with -y.

, replace x with -x

Rotations:

Rotation of 90:

Rotation of 180:

Rotation of

(same as reflection in origin)

270:

Dilations:
The center of the dilation is assumed to be the origin unless
Dilation of scale factor k: otherwise specified.
Translations:

Translation of

h, k:

Under
the image of
is
.
If h > 0, the original graph is shifted h units to the right.
If h < 0, the original graph is shifted units to the left.
If k > 0, the original graph is shifted k units up.
If k < 0, the original graph is shifted

(Roberts, 1998-2012)
2 and 3. Rationale, teaching, and learning progression

units down.

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A rationale for the goal based on education importance is that Student K and Student C
will apply transformations and symmetry to analyze problem solving situations, understand, and
organize geometry including making sense of area, and designing or creating pattern. and
understanding of the effects of the Earths rotation and revolution.
The learning goal is aligned with the students academic needs for their education in both
the upcoming New York State Mathematics Regents Examination and the future in high school
(i.e. Geometry class and SAT exams) and college. I have been working at the Hunter College
Math Learning Center as a supervisor for five years to assist the Hunter undergrads from math
level Pre-Calculus to Calculus III. I see about two hundred students a week and a lot of them are
weak at geometry (i.e. phase shifting trigonometry and graphing a differentiated function)
because they were never taught efficiently when they were in middle and high school. Therefore,
I want both Student K and C learn geometry meticulously during their middle school years so
they could do well in their high school and college years as well.
Both students and I have been using the Barrons Integrated Algebras practice book,
materials from their schools, and online worksheets during the tutoring sessions. Both students
and I are continuously focus on the math Regents until their Regents date that is on June, 2015.
Transformation lessons will take about a month to cover since I am seeing both students only
once a week. Therefore, there will be 4 lessons for the transformation topics and total hours of
transformation lessons will be eight (4 Saturdays x 2 hours = 8 hours).
1st Saturday (March 21, 2015):

Prior knowledge is linear equation and slope.

Provide graph papers

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Define reflection in x-axis, y-axis, y=x, y= - x, and the origin. Then show at least two

examples of each.
Provide 2-3 questions of the reflections to the students to check if the students are able to
do them in their own. The Think-Aloud Methods will be used as the students solve the
questions. Then I will be able to observe and predict students cognition, not just what
they are doing. The possible DOK level questions are as follows:
a) DOK 1: What happens when you reflect a point across the x-axis? Does the xcoordinate remains the same or transforms into its opposite?
b) DOK 2: When working with the graph of y=f(x), what will be the two steps of the

line reflections in order to transform y = -f(-x)?

Assign homework based on reflections (homework is from the Barrons Regents book,
Math Steps by Houghton Mifflin, Geometry Workbook, or/and online worksheet)

2nd Saturday (March 28, 2015):

Go over the homework

Provide graph papers

Define rotation of 90 , 180 , and 270 . Then show at least two examples of

each.
Provide 2-3 questions of the rotations and see if the students were able to do them in their
own. The Think-Aloud Methods will be used as the students solve the questions. Then I
will be able to observe students cognition, not just what they are doing. Possible DOK
level questions are as follows:
a) DOK 1: Compare the differences between
-rotation of 90 and 180
-rotation 180 and 270
b) DOK 3 might be: In ABC , measurement of angle BAC = 40. Triangle ABC

is the image of

ABC

under reflection and

AB' C '

is the image of

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AB' C

under reflection. How many such reflections would be necessary to

map ABC

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onto itself?

Give homework based on rotations (homework is from the Barrons Regents book, Math
Steps by Houghton Mifflin, Geometry Workbook, or/and online worksheet)

3rd Saturday (April 11, 2015 note: skip tutoring on April 4th because of the Spring Recess):

Go over the homework

Provide graph papers
Define dilations and translations. Then show at least two examples of each.
Provide 2-3 questions of the dilations and translations to see if the students were able to
do them in their own. The Think-Aloud Methods will be used as the students solve the
questions. Then I will be able to observe students cognition, not just what they are doing.
Possible DOK levels are as follows:
a) DOK 1: If the triangle ABC is dilated with the origin as the center of the
dilation, what will be two possible ordered pairs that can represent for the
image of point C(4, 2) after the dilation?
b) DOK 2: If the triangle ABC is dilated with the origin as the center of the
dilation, what will be a possible ordered pair that can represent for the image
of point C(-5, 6.2) after the dilation? Please describe whether your possible
ordered pair stretched or shrank from the point C with the scale factor that is

NOT one. Hint: scale factor of 1 for the point C(-5, 6.2) is itself.
Give homework based on dilations and translations (homework is from the Barrons
Regents book, Math Steps by Houghton Mifflin, Geometry Workbook, or/and online
worksheet)

4th Saturday (April 11, 2015):

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Go over the homework

40-60 minutes of transformation quiz will be given.
Quiz questions will be DOK 1-3.
a. DOK 1: Draw a triangle ABC that reflected in the y-axis by a triangle ABC with
vertices A(4,0), B(2,3), C(1,2).
The students can solve this DOK 1 question by selecting the right formula or folding the
graph in half in the y-axis to get a mirror image. It can be done by one-step.
b. DOK 2: Draw a triangle ABC that reflected in the y-axis and then x-axis by a triangle
ABC with vertices A(4,0), B(2,3), C(1,2).
This DOK 2 question asks for two-step movements. If the student gets this question
correct, I am going to provide that it can be done in different ways because there are
many ways of solving math. Showing in different ways will increase students cognitive
development that they need to apply. For example, DOK 2 question can be done by the

reversed steps: reflect in the x-axis and then y-axis, but get the same result.
In addition, it can also be done by one step, reflection in the origin.
Go over the quiz after I grade them. I grade the quiz as soon as the students are done with

the quiz. We go over the wrong ones together.

Announce that I am going to give another quiz if the student gets 70 or below. Otherwise
reward by giving no homework.

Transformational Geometry of NYS Performance Standards (NYSED, 2009):

8.G.7

Describe and identify transformations in the plane, using

proper function notation (rotations, reflections, translations,
and dilations)

8.G.8

Draw the image of a figure under rotations of 90 and 180

degrees

8.G.9

Draw the image of a figure under a reflection over a given

line

8.G.10

Draw the image of a figure under a translation

8.G.11

Draw the image of a figure under a dilation

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8.G.12

Identify the properties preserved and not preserved under a

reflection, rotation, translation, and dilation

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The following is one of the online worksheets that I am going to provide to the students.

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5. Assessment
Formative Assessment:

Pretest will be given to check whether the students can plot coordinates in all four
quadrants correctly or not.

There will be four exit slips

The followings are the exit slips I provided for four Saturdays:

1st Saturday Exit Slip :

1) What is reflection?
2) Which of the following reflection is/are the hard one(s)? You can circle one or more or none.
If you do not have any, please write down NONE.
Reflection in the x-axis
Reflection in the y-axis
Reflection in y = x
Reflection in y = -x
Reflection in the origin (0, 0)

2st Saturday Exit Slip:

1) Provide an example of rotation.
2) Describe rotation of 0 .

3st Saturday Exit Slip:

1) Are dilations and translations harder than the previous transformations?

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2) Which transformation is easier? Dilation (the polygon grows or shrinks) or translation (every
point of the polygon moves to the same distance and in the same direction) ?

4st Saturday Exit Slip:

1) Was the quiz easy, fair, or hard?

Individual assessment. I am going to provide as many examples as possible until the

students understand the lessons.

Summative Assessment:

For the past 4 years and 6 months, Student K and Student C always completed
assignments on time. This implies that there will be no delay of teaching my weekly
lessons to the students. Also, this will not prevent me from skipping any assessment that I
have planned. Very first thing I do in every tutoring session will be grading the
homework together. I provide answers and student put check marks for the correct ones
and X for the wrong ones. This way the students may involve in developing the
assessment process of their own learning skills; the more they grade, the less they want to
see the X marks (wrong ones). Also this may increase the students responsibility and
autonomy whether they should do homework more precisely or not. About 20-30
homework questions, which will take at least an hour to complete will be given weekly

and the students will have a week to complete.

Quiz will be given to the students on the 4th Saturday to report the students progress to
their parents. Also, to identify students strengths and weaknesses. This summative result
will explain whether I need to reteach certain topics of transformations or students are
ready to move on to the next topic to prepare for the Regents.

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Student K - 1st Saturday (March 21, 2015):

Assessment of Student K through monitoring and assisting her questions regarding reflections:
Did not have any problem with plotting the given coordinates in the graph because the
student was able to do it by herself without my assistant. The student might improve her
cognitive development by multiplying negative sign to x and y coordinates.
Student K wrote down the definitions of reflections on the loose leaf paper
Went over reflection in x-axis, y-axis, y=x, y= x, and origin examples with real
numbers. I showed examples of one of each.
Did not provide any reflection questions to the student to check her understanding
because she already knew the materials from her school work.
Gave 30 homework questions from the Geometry workbook that seemed complicated. I
gave less basic questions (i.e. find the reflection in x-axis of point A(2,1)), but more
questions that seemed complicated (i.e. find the reflection in x-axis of point
Student C - 1st Saturday (March 21, 2015):
Didnt have any problem with plotting the given coordinates in the graph
Student C wrote down the definitions of reflections on the loose leaf paper
Went over reflection in x-axis, y-axis, y=x, y= - x, and origin examples with real
numbers. I provided 2 examples of reflection in x-axis, 2 examples of y-axis, 3 examples
of y=x, 2 examples of y = - x, and 2 examples of origin. Student K had difficulty with
understanding the reflection in y=x, however, she was able to get it in the third example.
Provided the reflection questions to the student to check her understanding because it is
her first time learning reflections. Student did not get the first reflection question
correctly, so I went over another example and asked if she understands now. She said yes,
and I told her to try the rest of the reflections by herself and she was able to do it her own.

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Gave 30 homework questions from the Geometry workbook for a deeper understanding
and the student can be prepared for the Regents Exam.

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6. Using evidence gathered via the task to evaluate student learning: provide an in-depth analysis
of the student work or evidence of student thinking.
Practice questions in every tutoring session for the new topic of the transformation,
homework and the quiz corrections were helpful for understanding exactly how the students
were thinking through the think-aloud method. Both students are often quiet during the tutoring
sessions. Most of the time, I was the one who talked about the lesson, asked if there is any
confusion, waited quietly when the students were solving the practice examples. However, the
think aloud method helped them to correct their mistakes and I was able to measure their
thinking better than what they were doing on a paper.
Quantitaive/Qualitative Information:
Assessment of Student K through monitoring and assisting her questions regarding reflections:

Did not have any problem with plotting the given coordinates in the graph because the
student was able to do it by herself without my assistant. The student might improve her

cognitive development by multiplying negative sign to x and y coordinates.

Student K wrote down the definitions of reflections on the loose leaf paper
Went over reflection in x-axis, y-axis, y=x, y= x, and origin examples with real

numbers. I showed examples of one of each.

Did not provide any reflection questions to the student to check her understanding

because she already knew the materials from her school work.
Gave 30 homework questions from the Geometry workbook that seemed complicated. I
gave less basic questions (i.e. find the reflection in x-axis of point A(2,1)), but more
questions that seemed complicated (i.e. find the reflection in x-axis of point). She got
26/30 of the questions correct and when we went over the wrong ones, she was able to
correct the three questions alone by the think-aloud method. When she started the think-

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aloud method for the first time, she did not like the concept that she needs to talk out
aloud while performing task. However, when she was able to correct the three questions
by herself, she told me that she actually like the method. I had to show her how to do one
of the incorrect ones together because she kept saying, I do not know. I have no idea. I
tried, but did not work. I really do not know. Can we do it together? I repeated the think
aloud method on the following Saturday as well.

**The following picture shows Student Ks progress, assessment, and comments.

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-Student K scored 98% on a quiz that I tested on the 4th Saturday. She did not make any mistake
on the logic of transformation; however, she made a minor mistake (i.e. Student K wrote (3, 5)
instead of writing ( 3, 5)). My feedback was returning back to her quickly (as soon as she was
done with the quiz I graded and returned it). I circled the incorrect answer in red pen. While
returning the quiz, I asked her if she can catch her mistake. She stared at her quiz for about 10
seconds then was able to correct it. She told me that she forgot to put the negative sign in front of
the x-value. Instead of giving no point at all for not answering the question correctly, I gave her
almost the full point for showing all the processes she did, such as, writing down the formulas
and labeling the coordinates. It is because the learning objective is describing the effect of
transformation, not the input of negative or positive sign in front of the value. I shared with
Student Ks mother what she received on her quiz after the tutoring session was over. I explained
to her that she could have gotten 100%, but got 2 points off because of her careless mistake. I
also advised to the student that she can improve her test score if she re-checks her work.

Assessment of Student C

Didnt have any problem with plotting the given coordinates in the graph.
Student C wrote down the definitions of reflections on the loose leaf paper.
Went over reflection in x-axis, y-axis, y=x, y= - x, and origin examples with real
numbers. I provided 2 examples of reflection in x-axis, 2 examples of y-axis, 3 examples
of y=x, 2 examples of y = - x, and 2 examples of origin. Student K had difficulty with
understanding the reflection in y=x, however, she was able to do the third example by
herself through the think aloud method. I observed that her mistake was using the wrong
formula and able to correct her by asking her, Is that the right formula you should use?

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Provided the three reflection questions to the student to check her understanding because
it is her first time learning reflections. Student did not get the first reflection question
correctly, so I went over another example and asked if she understands it now. She said
yes, and I told her to try the rest of the reflections by herself and she was able to do it

independently.
Gave 30 homework questions from the Geometry workbook for a deeper understanding
and the student can be prepared for the Regents Exam. The student got 19/30 questions
correct and was able to correct six of them through the think aloud method. However, we
went over the rest of the incorrect ones together. Instead of showing the right answer to
her directly, I underlined the key words and asked her which formula she needs to use.
When she chose the correct formula, I asked her how she can rewrite the points by
applying the correct formula. Then she solved it by herself. I directed her to the right
pathway so she can correct her mistakes rather than actually correcting for her. Through
this assessment, I repeated the think aloud method for the following Saturday homework
as well.

**Check the following pictures I have assessed and commented on one of the assignment sheets
which she corrected herself by asking which formulas should be used or equivalent when the
degrees are rotated to clockwise instead of counterclockwise.

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-Student C received 45% on a quiz. She made some computation mistakes and the majority of
her points were off from the rotation and dilation questions. I highlighted the wrong computation
ones so she can correct herself. However, I provided extra examples based on rotation and
dilation topics, three in each. Student C was able to do the two rotation questions and two
dilation questions by herself after I explained one of each. Then, I told her correct the wrong
answers from the quiz and bring them to church the next day (Student C and I go to the same
church on Sundays) so I can check whether she did them correctly or not. This way I was able to
check her corrections and give them back to her so she can study for the re-test.

Announce that I am going to give another quiz if the student gets 70 or below. Otherwise
reward by giving no homework.
-Student K did not receive any homework.
-I had to give another quiz on the following Saturday for Student C for scoring 45%. She
received 100% on the second quiz, which I made it slightly harder with different numbers
and figures. It is because it was her second time getting test on the same materials and she
was able to correct her wrong answers from the first quiz by herself. I shared this
summative assessment with Student Cs mother on the phone how she did on the first and
second assessment. (Students mother is always out at work during the tutoring session so
most likely we communicate Student Cs progress through the phone.) I explained her
that Student Cs progress improved and she is little slower than other students I tutor but,
she always master the materials efficiently by practicing.

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Through the exit slips I was able to repeat the reflection lesson again on the following Saturday
for Student C, who was the first time doing transformation. We were able to do the multi-step
required question can be done in one-step to encourage her cognitive development in the
reflection lesson. For example, the question that asks for the three steps: 1. reflection in the xaxis, 2. y-axis, reflection in the original, 3. and then x-axis. I explained to her that this question
can be done by one-step movement: x-axis. It is because the reflection in the x-axis, y-axis, and
the reflection in the original gets to the original point. Understanding the multi-step and
eliminating to one-step seemed the most difficulty process for Student C because she made the
same mistake on her homework.
Student K
Raw Score
26/30
18/22
14/20
19.6/20

Assessment
HW 1
HW 2
HW 3
Quiz
Overall Average:

Assessment
HW 1
HW 2
HW 3
1st Quiz
2nd Quiz

Approximate Percentage
87%
81%
70%
98%
84%

Student C
Raw Score
19/30
15/22
14/20
9/20
10/10

Approximate Percentage
63%
68%
70%
48%
100%
Overall Average:
69.8%
The evidence shows that Student K understands the transformation better than Student C
because I had to test K only once, while Student C was tested twice on the same topic. In
addition, I had to show more practice examples to Student C than Student K.

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What I learned about the Student K:

I learned that Student K is enthusiastic during the tutoring sessions because she asks me
to show more examples based on the ones she felt unconfident. However, she seems less
enthusiastic on her homework. I might not have noticed it if I did not keep the record for a
month.
What I learned about the Student C:
I learned that I need to teach the lesson to Student C at a slow pace than Student K. The
think aloud method was extremely effective to Student C because she in the past 6 months when
I asked her if she has any questions, she never respond. She never said yes or no either. The only
way I was able to assess whether she understood the materials were through the test. The only
reason I did not bother her with her respond was because her father past away (committed
suicide) not too long ago and her mother told me that their family is still traumatized. However, I
was able to measure her learning other than test through the think aloud method. I am so glad
that I chose the right method for this assessment, which I needed it for Student C so badly.
The think aloud method let me arrange the students thinking to the right path. This let
Student C to improve her homework. According to the above table, Student K did better than
Student C on every assignment which I have assigned. However, both students scored the same
for the homework 3- both scored 70%.
Because student metacognition is an important component of formative assessment,
teachers need to understand what student metacognition entails (Heritage, M. 2010).
7. Feedback

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Student K:
Before I got into the reflection topic, I asked Student K to tell me the degree of a square
point A to point B.
A
B
Student K told me 90 degrees and I asked her how she knows. She replied it is because angle of a
square is 90 degrees. Next I draw a straight line and asked the degree from A to B.
A

Student K said, It is 180 degrees. Then I asked her why then she said it is because a straight
line is 180 degrees.
Then when I asked her to locate A(1,0) in 90 degrees and label the coordinate as A she did it
without any problem. She already had transformation lessons at her school so she seemed she
knew what she had to do.
A(0,1)
A(-1, 0)

A(1,0)

Next, I asked her to locate the point A(0,1) in -90 degrees by using the think aloud method when
and label it as A. Then I heard her saying, My x-value of point A is 1, y-value of point A is 1,
but Ms. Jung said NEGATIVE 90. then my x-value or y-value must be -1. HmmmmI think
it is A(-1,0). Her interpretation was great, but it was not right. The right answer was (0, -1). I

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told her that positive direction is counterclockwise and the negative direction is clockwise. Then
she was able to correct herself and re-label A at (0, -1).
Student C:
I tested the same materials to Student C. She did not have any problem for a square and a
straight line. Then I introduced a graph paper and asked her to located point A(1,0) in 180
degrees and label it as A then she did it correctly. Then I asked her to use the think aloud method
to locate point A(1,0) in 270 degrees and label it as A. She started saying in low voice, Straight
line is 180 degrees so 270 degrees shouldnt be at the same place as 180 degrees. Her
verbalizations were correct; however, she placed the point at rotation of 90 degrees instead. I
gave her feedback based on her verbalizations. I told her, Yes, you are right that 180 degrees
and 270 degrees are not same so point A should be located at a different place than point A.
How many choices do you have to locate A? Only one? Or two? Then Student C replied,
Two.now I see where A should beit should be here (pointing at the right location with her
pencil) because x and y axis are 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees.
I tested Student C with rotation of -180 degrees of point A(1, 0) instead of -90 degrees
with because she was better with a straight line. She was able to get the right answer.
Me: What about -270 degrees?
Student: Here, the same point as 270 degrees.
(I did not tell her that her answer is incorrect, but asked her to explain why. )
Student: It is because when I located -180, it was the same location as 180 so I thought that logic
of -270 must be the same as well.

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(After I heard her explanation, I pointed at the watch on my wrist.)

Me: Is an hour AFTER3 is equivalent to an hour BEFORE 3?
Student: No
Me: Why not?
Student: After 3 is 4 and before is 2.
(I asked her another similar question)
Me: What is 9 hours before 3? And what is 9 hours after 3?
Student: Six and twelve respectively.
Me: Good! Now lets look at the graph paper again. You said that 9 hours before 3 is 6 and 9
hours after 3is 12.
Student: I see it now that -270 degrees is 12oclock and 270 degrees is 6 oclock.
Me: Great! I will give you more homework. You can think that clockwise is negative and
counterclockwise is positive degrees. So, if you are confused rotations of negative and positive
degrees, look at the clock!
My feedback conclusion: I spend less time and did not point at my watch when I was
explaining about the rotation lesson because she already knew positive rotation at school.
However, I had to show more examples, and more related feedback to Student C so she can
understand the materials naturally rather than just memorizing the rotation formulas that I

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provided. In addition to developing new skills and understandings, students who are focused on
learning goals develop a greater sense of intrinsic motivation (Heritage, M. 2010).
8. Plan use of results: instructional responses and further assessment.
The next step in the instruction involves:
Pythagorean Theorem:
a2 +b 2=c 2

And
The distance formula:

( x x ) +( y y )
2

I would work on these two topics that related to the distance of one coordinate to another
coordinate. The students should be informed that their work will be evaluated according to
finding the length, the missing coordinate, and why the two formulas are equivalent.

Justification of Instruction and Assessment:

Based on the evidence derived from this episode, both of the students need a review of
algebra (how to solve for x and how to simplify a radical number without using a calculator) by
using a graph paper and perfect squares. The students will locate coordinate points by doing
more algebra than the previous lesson. This instruction cycle and assessment then align with the
outlined learning progression that will lead to the ultimate goal of the geometry.

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Closing the Gap:

Student K and C will review the topic again during their Regents week because we will
be working on the Regents practice problems. Both have well understanding of reflection,
dilation, and translation; however they still need to improve the rotation topic to score well on
their math Regents.
10. Reflection
One of the strengths of the assessment method was a summative assessment because I
was able to test whether the both Student K and C were understanding the materials enough or
not. When Student C failed the transformation test, I provided another test that is similar to the
one she failed in the following week. After the first test result, we went over the incorrect
answers with my quick feedback. This way, the students do not forget what they just did and able
to review, re-correct, and practice for a deeper understanding. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a
psychologist, discovered that most forgetting occurs during the first nine hours after we learn
new information, especially during the first hour (Ellis, 2013). Therefore, when I tutored both
students individually I practiced the same routine as follows: While the student was taking a test,
I graded her homework when the student was done with the test, I gave back the homework
and told her try to re-correct the incorrect ones when I was done with grading the test, the
student and I went over the wrong ones (if there was not any), then we went over the homework
that the student could not re-correct her mistakes independently.
I have not seen either of the students not doing homework at all because I told them how
value the homework is. I gave a week amount of homework to do because I see them only once a
week and to prevent them from cramming to get the assignment done a night before the due day.

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I give about 20-40 questions of practice questions for homework, and I have never seen any
student getting all questions correct. Most of the time, Student K did between 70-90% of the
homework questions correctly, while Student C did 60%-70% of the homework correctly.
The students homework result implies that my weakness of the assessment method was
homework. When Student C was not sure with the challenging questions, she guessed with
random answers, while Student K skipped. They had to wait a week to ask any questions or
concern of homework. They both had my cellular phone numbers and an email address.
However, Student C never texted, called, or emailed regarding any homework questions. One
time, Student K texted messaged me two days before the tutoring day about the homework that I
gave her. The text message was about her complaining of homework difficulty. I replied back by
saying, Try your best by looking at your notes, practice questions we have done together, and
look at the formulas sheet that I provided. You try and still cannot do it, then skip the problem
and do the next one. I think telling Student K to skip the ones she does not really understand is
the biggest mistake I made during the assessment because she started skipping few of the
homework questions regularly. Sometimes, when I went over the homework together, I have
noticed that she did not even read the questions. Her excuse was that the problem seemed too
complicated with lots of wordings. I felt that she started being careless with homework. Also,
when I spoke to Student K s mother, she complained that her daughter was not spending enough
time to complete her homework and asked me to give her more homework to do.
On the other hand, Student C often showed her assignment work incorrectly. When I
asked her how she came up with the wrong solutions, she said that she did not know how to
answer the question so she just did it by relating to the previous questions. Although Student Ks
proficiency level at school is honors and her marking period report card grade is higher than

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Student C, Student Cs metacognition was greater than Student K. Student K has been skipping
homework questions habitually, while Student C showed solutions for all homework questions
with effort. For example, when one of the assignment sheets asked to rotate the triangle ABC
about the origin by -270 degrees, she showed the work of rotation about the origin by +270
degrees instead. She said that she was vague, but assumed it is correct otherwise she knew that
we are going to go over together anyway. Before I provided this assignment, I went over the
same exact question during the tutoring session. I believe she did not look at her notes back and
forgot about the logic because when I explained to her by pointing at my watch, she answered
the question correctly.
My concern was how to prevent Student Ks skipping homework questions habitually
without giving her pressure or stress to do something that she does not know. I came up with
solutions by telling her that making mistakes is acceptable so write down anything that she
thinks is related to the question including formulas and numbers that are given. I came up with
this solution from the Edwards Reynolds High School, where I observed this semester. The
school had a big bright sign above the Smart Board saying, Celebrate your mistakes. Student K
still skips few of the homework questions that does not imply any formulas such as simplifying
question, but does not skip as many questions as habitual as before.
**celebrate your mistake on the wall above the Smart Board picture is below.

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References
Ellis, D. (2013). Becoming a master student (14th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Heritage, M. (2010). Formative assessment: making it happen in the classroom. Thousands Oak,
CA: Corwin Sage Company.
Lau, J. (2012, December 13). So Asian kids are good at math. What does that mean? The New
York Times. Retrieved from http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/so- asiankids-are-good-at-math-what-does-that-mean/?_r=0
Math-Aid. (n.d.). Rotations. Retrieved March 4, 2015 from https://s-media-cacheak0.pinimg.com/736x/65/56/9b/65569b8a80669227a5148739df421516.jpg
New York State Education Department. (2009, May 15). Mathematics core curriculum of grade
8. Retrieved from
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/math/standards/revisedg8.htm
NYC DOE. (2014). In Middle School Quality Snapshot. Retrieved March 4, 2015 from
http://schools.nyc.gov/OA/SchoolReports/201314/School_Quality_Snapshot_201
4_EMS_Q194.pdf
Roberts, D. (1998 2012). Review of transformations. Retrieved from
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algtrig/atp9/reviewTranformations.htm