math unit plan

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1lSVtqwYLy0YTIwZjFiNjktNDk0MC00MWNiLTgyNTctNjZhZDUzY2M3MDM1&hl=en

Math Project: the Number Devil

Team Members: Namrat, Paramjeet, Erica

ANALYSIS

We chose Susan’s project for “The Number Devil”, which is a very interesting novel to read. Erica already read the novel, so she gave us the idea about the novel. Also, she told us which chapters are more interesting. We read those chapters and decided to work on the chapter which deals with “unreasonable numbers” (irrational numbers).

While doing the project, we find it very interesting, especially the part which deals with the play. We find that this project can arouse students’ interest very easily and has something to offer for all kinds of learners. Some students may like to read, and they have a novel to read. Some students are more artistic, and they have posters to make. Some may like drama and acting, they can write script and act. So, this project covers a variety of interests.

Some of the potential benefits are as listed below:

• Students get to explore numbers in a fun way.
• Reader’s theatre encourages students to be creative.
• The use of words such as rutabaga (square root) and hopping (taking exponents), is interesting (though as teachers we will need to address this and introduce the correct terms).
• Group poster can be appealing for visual learners and can be used for class decoration.
• It will change class routine.

This project has enough for everyone in the class. However, there are some points need to be considered. One of the important factors is the level of concepts. There are some topics in the novel which grade 8 students may not understand. Also, it is hard to provide the books for whole class. The project requires a set of books for whole class or lots of photocopying. To overcome this problem, we can give students photocopies of the chapters which are suitable for grade 8.

While doing the project, we had a difficulty in finding the puzzle, so we are not sure how difficult it would be for grade 8 students. The puzzle we thought of is asking students how to convert a repeating decimal (such as  0.264264264...) to a faction, but that is because we have the math knowledge. Also, this project is time consuming. It can take two classes for all groups to present.

In addition, some students may be shy and do not like acting. Although it is good to encourage them to try out everything, they may not be comfortable in front of the class. A student may feel embarrassed, if he/she is not a good actor. To overcome this problem, we thought that we can ask students to tape video of their play and present it in the class.

During the presentations, students may not pay attention. There should be some kind of strategy to keep them on task. For example, we can ask students for peer evaluation.

PROJECT: The Number Devil (Grade 10)

Purpose: To encourage students to explore mathematical ideas in a creative way

Descriptions: Students will be working in groups of four. Each group will read one chapter of the book as a sample. Then each group will pick one topic from their Math 10 course and write a script on it. They will do theatre presentation for about 5-6 minutes or can play their recorded video. Secondly, they will make a group poster showing their mathematical idea. The poster has to be informative and attractive. Finally, they will leave the class with a question or a puzzle related to their topic to think over. Students will be evaluating their peers during the presentation portion.

Length of Time: The project will span 3 classes (around 100 minutes). In the first class, the students will be given 25 minutes to read a chapter from The Number Devil and discuss which topic they are interested in presenting with their group members. In the second class, the students will be given 25 minutes to work on the project (discussion, group poster, scripts, etc). In the third class, students will be given around 50 minutes, with the assumption that there will be 7 groups. Students are expected to spend about 2 hours outside of class.

Deliverable:

• video or role play
• group poster
• puzzle to share with the class

Rubric for the New Project (50 marks):

	Not Yet Meeting Expectations	Meets Expectations	Exceeds Expectations	Grade
Content	Does not illustrate the mathematical concept or illustrates it incorrectly	Illustrates the mathematical concept with clarity	Displays deep understanding of the mathematical concept	/15
Presentation (role play in class or video)	1. Lack clarity 2. Over 7 minutes or shorter than 4 minutes	1. Generally clear 2. On-Time	1. Exceptionally Clear 2. On-Time	/15
Group Poster	1. Few details about the mathematical idea 2. Little effort spent on design of the poster 3. Text not eligible 4. Does not include references	1. Informative 2. Original 3. Attractive 4. References included	1. Exceptionally informative 2. Exceptionally Attractive 3. Original 4. References included	/15
Peer Evaluation				/5

Views on "Creativity, flexiblity, adaptivity and strategy use in mathematics" bt Selter

In Selter’s article, Ferit’s story is really interesting. Even though he was not good at mathematics, he has creativity to solve the problems. A person, who has creativity to solve the problems, can be good in mathematics. This story reminds me of some teachers who always force their method for solving problems. This is very wrong strategy.
We, as teachers, should encourage students to be creative rather than forcing our methods on them. Creativity is accompanied by flexibility, adaptivity and strategy. As a teacher, we should guide the students to solve the problems at their own. The students should be taught how they can switch between different methods. This is not easy for a teacher to develop this kind of strategy in the students. In our daily routine, we can easily forget to develop these techniques in the students. However, we can find some time to give them some problems which force them to develop these characteristics.
The other interesting thing is that research on this topic is just started. Math is always considered as a tool to develop thinking. I think that thinking includes creative thinking. The other terms like adaiptivity are new to me. But this research caught my interest. This research does not give any data. I like to observe in my class rooms how many students work with method and how it affects their learning and mathematical thinking.

Word Problem

Problem: On a warm sunny day, Clark went to the car races to watch an automobile race. As the cars sped around the track and Clark tried to watch them, he got dizzy. So, he decided to keep his eyes on one particular car- the bright green one.  Clark then decided to count how many cars were in the race. He noticed that the total number of the cars was equal to one-third of the cars in front of the green car plus three quarters of the cars behind the green car plus the green car. How many cars were in the race?

Is it practical?

I cannot see any practical use of this problem. First of all, if he is feeling dizzy by watching speeding cars then how can he feel comfortable by counting cars? The other thing is that a person, who is going to a race, usually knows how many contestants are there.

Is it imagery memorable?

Imagery can be memorable.

Can it be solved with the given info?

Yes, it can be solved easily with the given information.

Can it be interpreted in more than one way?

No, there is no other way to interpret it in any other way. However, it may be confusing for students. There is too much information in the problem which is not relevant to the question.

Would the kids be able to interpret it as intended?

As said above, this problem is too wordy. It may be confusing for them to interpret.

Is there anything strange about it?

Yes, if Clark is feeling dizzy by looking at cars, then why he is counting them.

How would you change it?

I would prefer to give them fractions only to add rather than giving them an illogical word problem.

If I have to change it, I will make it simple.

In a car race, the total number of the cars was equal to one-third of the cars in front of a green car plus three quarters of the cars behind the green car plus the green car. How many cars were in the race?

Square take-away

Take a rectangular piece of paper and remove from it the largest possible square. Repeat the process with the left over rectangle. what different things can happen. can you predict when they will happen. (Pg-194)

                   

                                                       

Stories from my practicum

During two weeks of my practicum, I have mixed feelings. Some times I felt that it is getting too hard. My first lesson went good. The students were responding very well. During my activity part I got little messed up. Also, I asked them to take notes during the lesson so that they can stay on task but I realized that this is not a good idea to ask them to write too much. So, I figured out that it is better to give them notes rather than asking them to write too much.  I was not happy with my lesson at all. It seems to be worst lesson of my life. I changed my strategy for the next lesson and find out that it works well. Also, I got a feedback from a teacher  on my last day of the practicum which was very constructive and lifted me up again.
Also, I observed a class in which a teacher was using very different techniques like daily life examples, fun activities, humor etc. After watching that I realized that using variety in your lesson can keep the students interested throughout the period. This encouraged me to use more variety in class to keep students on task and well behaved in the class.

Reflection on Micro Teaching

Micro teaching is good experience before going to the practicum. Peer assessment is very useful. Most of them mentioned that lesson was well paced and clear. I got a personal comment that I was teaching with patience and with expressions. One of them said that use of cardboard was good instead of using board for diagrams. However, use of symbols for introduction was considered very simple for grade 9. Also, there was suggestion to use real life examples to introduce the concept. I really liked this suggestion. To create students' interest in math, we should bring real life examples.

I, also, realised that our lesson took less time than we thought. We should have something else for extra time i.e. emergency lesson plan. Overall, it was a good experience. I learned alot for my short practicum.