Private Universe Project in Mathmatics

While viewing video 1 of the Private Universe videos, I immediately related to the students in the study. Like Dana and Stephanie, I would usually take a visual route to solving a problem such as drawing pictures. As I progressed in my school career, I could often solve problems similar to the ones in the video by drawing pictures but I had trouble relating my drawings to mathematical operations. While watching this video, I could not help but notice that as the mathematical reasoning of the students developed, so did there social skills enabling them to work together better. As the students worked through the tasks presented to them, there was almost an excitement that could be seen. The students didn't think of what they were doing as work. The shirt/pants task as well as the tower task brought into play two things that kids generally enjoy doing, drawing and building. It was also interesting to hear the students reflect on their experiences in different types of math classes. Memories of math class in the lower grade levels seemed very positive in comparison to their experiences in 9th grade math. These finding prove significant because I do agree that students typically do not remember much of what they learned several years prior in school. The fact that these students did remember the shirt/pants activity and the tower activity tells me that there was a genuine deep level of learning taking place.

Tower Activity

I decided to complete the tower activity assignment with my after-school tutor group. I must say, it was a big success. Every time I see my students in the hallway, they want to know when we are going to make more towers. I have cube sets that are similar to the unifix cubes so I was able to create several sets for the class. I split the students up into four groups of four. After explaining the goal of the activity, I sat back and watched. Every group immediately created an all brown tower and an all blue tower, or whichever two colors they had. Each group then proceeded to create towers that were split half and half. I found it interesting that each group had the same or similar thought process up to this point. Once the half and half towers were created, the groups proceeded in different direction. Two groups caught onto the opposite or pairing approach almost immediately while other did a type of trial and error. The groups that used trial and error created random tower combinations and checked to see if they already had a tower that looked the same. The students that utilized what they referred to as the "pairing" approach created all of the possible towers faster than the students who used trial and error. After completing the activity I asked my students how many spots there were in each tower, how many options or colors there were for each spot, and how many total combinations there were. I was shocked with how quickly they caught on. My students quickly came up with various equations that they thought would explain the total number of combinations. We soon moved onto five story tower but were unable to complete the task because we ran out of time. I have scheduled time for the students to complete their towers this upcoming Wednesday. I am anxious to see how it goes.

Virtual Manipulatives

I really enjoyed working on the virtual manipulatives' website. I decided to play around with some of the activities while my students discovered the site for the first time. I have used the NLVM site before but not with my current class. I enjoyed the tangram activity. This activity involves the manipulation of various geometric shapes in an effort to create a larger shape. I enjoyed creating the shape that looks like a running man. My students gravitated towards the peg activity and the tangram activity. This site is impressive because it offers such a variety of activities. I would imagine that there is an activity to be enjoyed by every type of student/learner. I also like the way that these activities get you to think and problem solve without any stress. I currently teach an inclusion class with certain students who struggle with most concepts. I saw absolutely no frustration from these students as they completed various virtual manipulatives. They were able to "think" and be successful without frustration and/or disappointment. I enjoyed the site and plan to use it on a regular basis in my classroom.