Real World & Kinaesthetic Learning

Real World Learning
In class this week, my instructor brought in donuts and muffins from Tim Hortons and told us to come up with all the ways that we can use these to teach math. I thought this was a really good way to connect everyday objects to math because really, when you think about it, math is everywhere! After reflecting on this activity, I realized how important it is to connect math in the classroom to students everyday lives so that they have an understanding of the importance of the math we are doing, as well as start thinking about math even when they are not in the classroom. Using real world experiences gets students excited and engaged about the math they are going to do because they are able to connect it with something that is familiar to them. Another way to connect real world situations to student's learning in regards to math could be to take them to a grocery store and have them compare different prices of products compared to how much they weight.  Afterwards, you could take it a step further by having the students design their own grocery store using area and perimeter. 

Kinaesthetic Learning

During the same class, we also learned about teaching the metric system using kinaesthetic learning by teaching students acronyms to know the order of the metric system as well as a song and dance to teach students where the decimal place goes. I really liked this idea as this is how I always learned as a child and I think that allowing students to use kinaesthetic learning is a helpful tool to keep information in their brain. Often, students learn best when they can connect movement to knowledge in order to remember something. It also is a fun way of learning math which will make students less resistance or anxious to think that they must have the information memorized. In my placement this semester, I am teaching my grade 4's and 5's about measurement of units and this will be a great tool to have as they are at an age where dancing, singing and being silly is how they like to learn. It is always important when teaching using this style that the sillier you are the more likely they will remember. Giving students the opportunity to be silly with their learning allows them to have fun with it and is something they will likely never forget. 

Problem Solving Process

The Explain Everything App

This app is an interactive whiteboard that allows your students a variety of different methods to explain their thinking. Students can post pictures to the virtual whiteboard, draw on it, dictate speech to it. This app is not only beneficial for math classes, but rather any type of lesson no matter what subject you are focusing on. You can create stories, presentations, reports, fact sheets and so much more all with this one app. It is also great because you can have all students using the same app, however, they can gear it towards their learning style, whether that be dictating their speech, drawing their thinking or typing it out.

For more about the Explain Everything app, check out their twitter page for great information and updates on what the app is capable of.

In math class this week, we used the problem solving process to understand patterning. Our instructor began by giving up balloons with a piece of paper inside that had a different characteristic for a pattern. I got texture. We then had to go around the school with our group and take pictures of patterns with that characteristic. Afterwards, we used the Explain Everything app to put our pictures into a slideshow and type or dictate an explanation of the picture, while answering these three questions:
1. What is the pattern element/component
2. What is pattern rule?
3. Explain what type of pattern

I really enjoyed this activity and think it would be a great way to get students thinking about the problem solving process as it is engaging. This activity got students out of their seats and moving around, it was a transference of learning to real world problems for them to connect with and they were able to collaborate with their peers to help solve the problems.

Another way of doing this activity while using the Explain Everything app would be to set up a scavenger hunt bingo activity for students to do. Before starting, you as the teacher would have to walk around and take pictures of patterns in the community.  Have your students take iPads or their iPhones with the Explain Everything app and walk through the community as a class. The goal is for the students to find all the pictures that you took of patterns without any help. As they are finding the patterned pictures that you took, they could also be taking pictures of their own patterns through the Explain Everything app, and dictating what kind of pattern it is.

An extension to this would be to only write the attributes of a specific pattern on the virtual bingo card and then go for a walk with your students and have them take pictures of things patterns that have those attributes, while dictating into the app why they think their picture fits with the description.

Giving the answer first

During class, my instructor gave us a number and said, this is your answer now make questions. When she first said this, I panicked! How was I supposed to come up with a question, there are so many possibilities! My group and I started with simple addition and subtraction. Okay, that wasn't too bad, I cam up with 5 possible questions in the matter of a few minutes. Maybe I can do this! After that we started brainstorming. Could we make a question that had to do with area and perimeter? Yes! Could we make a question that had to do with calculating the days of the week? Yes! Before we knew it, we had several complex questions written down ad we were just getting started!

This activity made me realize the importance of giving students ownership over their work. As a 21st century learner, we are not evaluating students based on their ability to answer the question correctly, but rather helping to guide them towards problem solving in order to solve any question based on their learning style. By giving us the freedom to choose what I wanted the question to look like, I was able to work backwards in order to problem solve and gain confidence in my ability to complete a math task.

This is an activity I would love to do with my future students. I think it is a great way for students to focus on a growth mindset and get rid of the fear of being wrong. When they are in charge of developing the question, there can be no wrong solutions. This activity would be great to do in a class where differentiated instruction is needed. As a teacher, I could group students based on their level (not telling them this of course) and have students come up with questions based on their ability. Maybe one group would be focusing on multiplication, as that is where they struggle. Maybe another group would be focusing on surface area, as that is where they struggle. Either way, I am focusing my lesson based on my students needs and letting them take ownership of their work.

This type of activity is also great because it can be manipulated to fit under all the strands of the math curriculum. Depending on whether you have a primary, junior or intermediate class, you can use this activity to help students understand number sense and numeration, measurement, geometry and spatial sense, patterning and algebra or data management and probability. Not only does this activity develop a growth mindset for our students as well as ownership, it also helps develop creativity. By leaving the answer as broad as just a number, students can manipulate it in many ways and give it different representations such as the amount of apples in a basket, the amount of meters needed for a tile floor, or the distance between earth and their favourite star.

Breakout EDUC

How you can implement a Breakout EDU into a J/I math class, and what are the benefits? 

A breakout EDU can be used in any math class where you need your students to work collaboratively in order to problem solve. It is a way to immerse your students in math lessons that will get them thinking creatively and be able to break down their thinking in different steps through different QR codes. The Ontario Math Curriculum states that society now requires students to be critical thinkers about complex issues, adapt to new situations, be problem solvers, and effectively communicate their thinking. At first, this seems like a lot to have to teach students, however, through an activity such as Breakout EDU, you can incorporate all of these elements into one lesson by having various QR codes.

Breakout EDU is also beneficial for a group of math students who have difficulty sitting still and reading from a textbook in order to learn. By doing a Breakout EDU, you are allowing your students to get up, move around and explore different tools in order to enhance their learning. Breakout EDU lets students use iPads or their phones to learn, which helps engage them in their learning. Using Breakout EDU also lets students explore their thinking in different ways such as playing virtual games, watch videos or work on math problems as a group on surfaces such as white boards or windows by giving instructions through QR codes. 

I really like the idea of Breakout EDU because it is a guided way to have students work independently as well as collaboratively. However, this also then allows you, as the teacher, to work with smaller groups on more specific issues that they are having with the math, while still knowing that the rest of your class is organized and occupied with math. You could also adapt the QR codes so that specific students get specific codes based on their abilities and their math level. 

A Site for Reflecting

Welcome to my blog about using mathematics in the classroom!



The information in this blog are reflections from my EDUC 8P21 course at Brock University during the 2018-2019 academic year. Throughout this blog I will be taking what we have learned in the course, reflecting on it and connecting it to the classroom environment.