My Weekly Report and Reflection 7 (Week 14)

The content for Week 12 was very interesting and provoked some great discussion! We started the session with each group presenting one of our Digital Math Word problems to each other. This was a good presentation for two reasons. Firstly, it was beneficial for us to explain our own problem and justify our problem solving to the rest of the class.

The first activity was a “4 corners” type of activity that had students choose which corner of the classroom to stand in based on our resolution the selected problem. In this case, Joyce asked us what cylinder could be created by folding paper in order to maximize volume: a hamburger-type shape or a taller, hotdog-type shape? At first, the entire class went to the hamburger corner because we are all university mathematics students who are highly proficient at measurement and geometry. Then, Joyce asked us to think like a student would, and we dispersed into separate corners. It was advantageous for us, as future educators, to consider what students might be thinking. Teachers have the responsibility of considering their students perspectives and educating them on why they may be correct, or where they may have gone wrong. This “4 corners” activity is one that I can, and will, use in my own classroom in the future. Not only does it force students to take multiple perspectives and brainstorm different solutions and justifications, but it also creates small groups where all students are encouraged to discuss their thinking. Small groups are much more inclusive and more efficient than larger groups or the entire class. I think that using popcorn for the activity would be especially useful because it motivates children to complete the problem at-hand so they can eat it after.

Measurement and geometry is a mathematical unit that I have not done in a school environment in quite some time. I find that University courses are very advanced and comprise of mathematical strands such as Calculus, Statistics, Algebra, etc. More hands-on mathematical problems, therefore, usually do not occur in University due to an emphasis on solving equations and algorithms mentally or using technology/software. However, solving problems by manipulating diagrams/shapes, measuring, rearranging pieces, or other hands-on strategies, is still a huge part of mathematics at the school-age level and in many practical instances in real-life. Thus, it is nice to have classes like this one that focus on more rudimentary mathematical processes, which are both useful in real life and are what we will be teaching in our future careers.

Joyce divided us into three groups and lead each group through three separate stations, one at a time. She created handouts for us that could be given to Intermediate/Senior Mathematics classes in public school. These activities provided us with a hands-on, interactive way to solve measurement and geometry problems, including parameters such as area, perimeter, and volume. We had to manipulate the objects that we were given to create certain shapes, which extended our knowledge on how shapes translate to another form, either having the same parameters or different ones. I was proud to be part of the only group that solved all eight squares that could be made on the geoboard (see geoboard photo below). These activities could also be adjusted and implemented in any I/S grades and for any level of students’ abilities! 

I look forward to the weeks ahead and am especially excited for the “Teaching a Learning Activity” assignment in which I must teach my classmates a lesson designed for Grade 12 College level students in the unit of Data Management and Probability. I have never been part of a College level class, nor have I observed any lessons in such a class, so this will be a very interesting and education experience for myself as a future Mathematics Teacher!