My Portfolio!

      

      Within this blog post I am going to create a personal portfolio for my math classroom. I personally believe the categories or activities listed below are useful in every lesson, but have also made direct connections to curriculum and assessment strategies. I think all of these activities will increase engagement in the class and will allow for a more enjoyable learning environment for everyone. 

          Desmos

      I was first exposed to the Desmos online tools during a tutoring session where the student that I was tutoring was using it as an online calculator.  This course expanded on this usage and introduced me to a wide variety of games, activities, features and purposes. I was impressed by the functionality, availability and ease of use of all aspects of the Desmos software. I decided to include this software in my portfolio since I can see myself utilizing a variety of the activities in my future classroom. The activity that I will focus on for this portfolio is called marble slides. This activity can be utilized in a variety of courses but is most applicable to the grade nine and ten academic and applied courses. The activity offers a linear version as well as a quadratic option, allowing students to engage in the same activity over the course of their progression from linear to quadratic relations. The activity directly addresses the curriculum expectations that state, “By the end of this course students will be able to understand the characteristics of a linear relation” or  “relate transformations of the graph of y = x2 to the algebraic representation y=a(x–h)2 +k”. Both of these expectations can be met using version of the game marble slides in class. Classroom participation will allow the instructor to complete a checklist of student participation as well. This activity would serve as an assessment for learning as it would provide the teacher with a baseline of student knowledge. I would use this activity in partnership with another type of technology such as the smart board or computer so that students can directly interact with and explore the activity.

 Smart Technology (or similar devices) 

        As mentioned above, I would like to utilize a variety of technologies in my future classroom. In the past I have mentioned that I was going to take a Smart Technologies workshop and was excited to combine this knowledge with other mathematical activities. I now believe that Desmos and Smart technologies are one of the best combinations of technology in the classroom. Utilizing the interaction of the Smart Board with other software’s such as Desmos will allow me to influence student participation and enjoyment. Another example of this interaction was brought up at the Math Conference. We all physically participated in “the game of frogs”, where we were physically trading chairs and trying to solve the puzzle. We then continued this game on the Smart Board, utilizing tiles as people changing chairs. This allowed the entire class to participate and ensured that everyone was engaged in learning, rather than being a piece in the puzzle. I feel as though this could be accomplished for a variety of other mathematical activities as well. In saying this, even though the Smart Board itself may not have accomplished a specific expectation, it allowed for a larger variety of students to be impacted by the lesson. This game of frogs allowed students to “apply data-management techniques in order to investigate relationships between two variables”, but without the Smart Board was limited in application. The use of technology allowed more of the process expectations to be addressed including reasoning and proving for all students, communicating, and connecting the patterns between each level. Lastly, this game could be used in a formative assessment setting to ensure students are comfortable connect the patterns involved in first differences or second differences, before moving on to creating an equation for similar problems.

Fun

       This game of frogs connects to my next item in my portfolio, the use of games in the classroom. I have mentioned many of them in my blog already, but I was extremely impressed with me peers use of games in their lessons. One of my favorites was the use of a speed dating game. We were all given either a slope or a y-intercept and then set up in two circles, an inner and outside set. We then combined our equation pieces in order to find out weather or not were ‘matched’. This game can be utilized as an assessment as learning as students will assist one another in making connections. As an instructor there are a variety of things I could ‘look for’ during their participation. These include the pattern that should be represented on their graph, the unique conversation between each pair and the number of ‘matches’ that each student has found. They will communicate with one another and collaborate to create a line from their equation. This will allow students to better understand the characteristics of a linear relation and will ensure that they can visualize various representations of these relations, and communicate the differences based on graphical representation or equations.

 Popular Culture

        Lastly, this notion of games in the classroom can also be connected to the presence of popular culture in the classroom. A variety of games that can be used in the classroom are games that students will already know. Examples of this from class include the battleship activity, the ice bucket challenge as well as the deal or no deal activity that I talked about in a previous blog. The deal of no deal activity was something that students could relate to, as many of them have seen the game show and already understand the rules. This activity would be useful when looking at probability and determining theoretical probability. It will allow students to problem solve when making a decision about which case to open, and communicate their decision based on the theoretic probability. This game could be used as an assessment of learning in a conversation or interview setting. It would be unique to play a game with each student and converse with them about why they are making each decision. This conversation would bring out more of the student’s reasoning and allow them to make connections between their decisions. In general, these games would foster enjoyment and allow the students to make connections to their knowledge outside of the math classroom. They can apply these skills outside of the typical math drills and utilizing games like this will allow them to understand the connections and similarities.

Notice and Wonder Charts

     Wednesday was the last day of class, and the last peer presentations as well. In saying this I was glad to have been introduced to another style of inquiry that can be utilized in a variety of lessons. The instructor began the lesson by showing us a small clip of a man attempting to break the world record for most claps in a minute. She showed us 4.5 seconds of this video and then instructed us to record our observations on the 'notice and wonder' chart. I had seen these charts in an online forum before, but had never used them in a classroom setting. I was intrigued by the use of the charts and the discussion that was created. She then also asked us to predict whether or not he would beat the world record of 721 claps in a minute. Many of us used reasonable strategies to predict this outcome that included trying to count the claps per second or the total number of claps in the 4.5 seconds.

     Once we had all recorded our predictions on the sheet we then watched the remainder of the video and were asked if we thought our prediction was reasonable. This would allow students to demonstrate their understanding of mathematical processes and theories. They can show connections to topics outside of mathematics as well. For example, my group factored in fatigue as we did not think he could hold the same pace for a minute straight. In the end this prediction was correct as he did miss some beats near the end.

     After this activity I began to think about how I could use these 'notice and wonder' charts in my future as an educator. I feel as thought it was a highly successful tool in creating discussion and allowed students to either share their thoughts with the group, or record them on their own sheet for later. I think they could apply in a variety of lessons in the math classroom, as well as a variety of other subject areas as well. I could not help but connect this to my first teachable, Physical Education. I can see myself using these charts to analyze the mechanics of a specific skill. Showing two videos side by side and allowing students to 'notice and wonder' about the differences in that skill. We could then talk about which style may be more beneficial and how the mechanics could be changed to reach the highest level of success. Overall, these 'notice and wonder' charts will be useful in my future as I can utilize them in every aspect of my classroom.

Mr. Moore

Making a Purchase

This week was my turn to present to my peers. I was given the grade eleven foundations for college class and chose to create a lesson plan based on personal finance expectations. Continuing with the theme of last week’s blog I chose to create an activity that was based on real life events and provide students with knowledge that they could use. The lesson focused on researching the differences between a variety of payment options, including debit and credit cards. The consolidation activity then focused on choosing which payment method was most appropriate for a given situation. The students were encouraged to think about what the downside of each payment would be and how other factors would affect their decision. These factors included account balance, incentives, fees, and interest levels.     Even though I was only given 20-30 minutes to teach a portion of this lesson I feel as though the class was engaged in beneficial conversations and exploration. Instead of having the class research card options I provided each table with one of the payment methods. They were then instructed to calculate the cost of a TV purchase after factoring in account fees, annual fees, interest fees and incentives offered.     

     Once this was complete and all totals were recorded on the smart board we engaged in a discussion about which card would be the most reasonable choice. Most of my classmates chose a credit card with a high promotional cash back offer, since it lowered the overall cost of the TV. I then prompted them to think about what if this purchase was made later and the card was no longer in the promotional cash back period. This changed their thinking and made many students realize that they must consider these things when purchasing items in the future.
     In general, I was happy with how my mini-lesson unfolded but there are a few things that I would change. I was hoping to engage students in a discussion regarding the differences between specific cards, but this was difficult to do. This was difficult since each table had one method of payments and could not see the factors of the other tables’ payment options. It would have been beneficial to hear the differences between cards before hearing the total. This would have been different in a full lesson, as the students would have researched their own cards before being given a full set during the consolidation. 

Thanks for reading!

 Mr. Moore

Connections to Real Life

 
  As an educator it is important to remember that we must make connections with students every day lives. These connections will keep them engaged in the course material and will also make the subject more interesting for them. If they realize that they can use the knowledge outside of the classroom it will give them an insight to learn and will encourage them to expand their knowledge. These connections can also include examples from the media and popular culture. These examples will allow students to make current connections and will encourage them to stay engaged. 

     During peer mini-lessons we were presented with a great example of an example of bringing popular culture into the classroom. The instructor engaged us in a version of the game show "Deal or No Deal". This classroom version was designed to focus on expectations from the grade 12 Data Management course. The expectations included probability and allowed students to learn through participation. We were given a game board, an instruction sheet and a set of bankers offers. It was not until I looked at the back of the instruction sheet that I noticed we were directly working on probability concepts. This sheet directly asked 'what is the probability' of specific events and encouraged students to make statements about what is the most likely outcome of their case. 

     While playing the game I began to realize how creative we can be as teachers. I have used games in the classroom, but have yet to use a game like this. This game was taken directly from a TV series and fits the expectations of the curriculum. The instructor took the time to set the game up and then allowed us to play and explore our learning. I immediately made connections to real life and began to think about how else this type of probability appears. 

     

     In my future classroom I would love to use games like this, with some modifications. I feel it may be beneficial to play a game as a class first. One large game would demonstrate how the game looks and may decrease the time that students spend reading instruction. This would also allow technology to be utilized. I can see myself using the Smart Board in order to create a similar board, while allowing students to take turns coming up to pick cases. In general, I am excited to make personal connections with student's lives and encourage them to explore their learning outside the classroom, becoming life long learners. 

Mr. Moore 

Making Lessons Personal!

This week in class I was provided with a great example of how to make a lesson more personal for students! One of my peers demonstrated the action activity of her lesson that focused on exponential growth. The lesson utilized worksheets, stations and manipulative counters.

To start the lesson she instructed us to divide ourselves into small groups and find a station. Once we got there we found an instructional sheet that matched one of the sections on our work sheets. We then had to read the problem, and collect the data that was required to complete our worksheet. This created a student centred lesson and allowed the teacher to circulate around the room incase there were any problems. Each station related to students lives or things that they can connect to.

The first station that we started at was called “Zombie Apocalypse” and involved the number of new zombies that would be infected each day. The theme of zombies is ever growing in relation to television shows and video games, allowing the students to connect to their learning. Similarly, the second station focused on the growth of the ice bucket challenge. This allowed students to explore the growth of viral videos or challenges. Many students will already have completed the ice bucket challenge so they may have been interested to explore how it got started and how it travelled so fast. With 3 people being nominated each day the group of people completing the challenge would ‘exponentially grow’.

In addition to the themes that were used during this lesson the instructor also provided a range of instructional techniques. She implemented differentiated instruction by using pictures numbers and words while also providing the students with tactile manipulatives at all three stations.

I can see myself using student centred lessons similar to this in my future classrooms. Connecting the learning to students lives will not only allow them to understand the material but it will also challenge them to apply their learning outside the classroom. I feel as though it would be interesting to utilize open-ended questions in the consolidation of a lesson like this one. Challenging students to create their own viral trend or task and track the growth over a set amount of time would individualize the content even further. I look forward to exploring personalized lessons more in the future and enjoyed this 21^st century learning!

Mr. Moore