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Oh there's that familiar feeling. My brain is finally rousing from its summer slumber to the cold, harsh reality that is Math Class.... Okay, maybe I'm being dramatic. We got this! Thank you Kelley for reminding me to have a growth mindset. Bonus marks for you ;)
Firstly, how great was the game about squares? I'm not going to lie, this got me pretty pumped about getting back into Math.... but did I really leave? Hmmmm (math is everywhere).
I love puzzle games (portal anyone?) and a little competition never hurt anyone. This is a great way to engage students that thrive in competitive situations to challenge themselves to think outside the box. There is a challenge that presents itself however when you want to get the class to transition to another task. I admit that I initially had a hard time getting focused on the next task.
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| Game About Squares. Level 24 [photo]. Retrieved from gameaboutsquares.com |
After we had solved a few puzzles we consolidated as a class to discuss the different methods we had used to problem solve and it was really interesting to hear the different approaches that classmates used in order to be successful. Just goes to show how important it is to diversify your instruction to meet your different learners. Not only that, but it also shows how much the class can be involved in its own learning! Students can work together and learn from each other, teachers must remember to facilitate learning among peer groups.
I really enjoyed watching the video in which the speaker had suggested to a curious little child that kept looking to their father to explain what something was to them, to ask themselves what they thought about something. This is a wonderful way for children to become more autonomous in their learning and empowers them to figure something out, instead of just looking for the "right answer" from their teacher. This also communicates to students that they have something to offer to their peers and they can find it within themselves to think creatively and uniquely about a Math problem.
I remember from last year that I really appreciated more open Math questions as they do not simply ask students to find a formula to solve a question.
Overall, the most important thing to remember is to ensure that real life application comes into play as much as possible. So many of us don't even realize how often we are using skills we learned from Math class, this can occur multiple times a day! By providing students' with a context in which they can use their Math skills in real life it gives them a chance to practice it and also to appreciate it.
I love here how you reflected on the game of squares in terms of how each student has their own learning style. As you and I completed this activity in pairs, I know that discussing strategy with you helped me to be successful when playing. I also liked hearing some people speak about how they traced their trajectory, or talked it out loud, or made mistakes and learned through them. I think by learning more about our own learning styles we can then become better educators for our students.
ReplyDeleteI loved the little video about math that we watched! I too think that open ended questions are so important when we're allowing students to develop math. How many times have students become soooo bored with the classic "mathy" question that asks students exactly what to find? Why not change it up so they can choose for themselves? If we provide the students with the base knowledge to be able to understand math concepts, then they will start to discover new things in math on their own!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the game of squares. Pat was right in commenting on strategies for stopping students when they begin an engaging activity such as this one, I was having difficulty stopping myself from playing!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the importance of real-life application. That was one of my biggest takeaways from the module this week. We need to be providing students with real-life opportunities to apply their skills and real-life examples of the day-to-day importance of math so they are unable to settle into the belief that math is somehow unimportant or useless.
Don't worry about your feelings coming into another year of math, I too felt slightly uneasy. It will be important for us all to constantly remind each other to have a growth mindset! There's nothing better than a little positive support from peers.
Level 24!!! Girl you are into this Game of squares...can't lie so am I! You are completely on the money when you say have we never left because as we know Math is everywhere! I definelty appreciated the conversation after the game about how we can implementing this game into different teaching strategies. I completely agree with you when you talk about real-life application of math and how it occurs in our daily lives multiple times a day. I look forward to exploring more of these teaching strategies throughout the next 6 weeks.
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