During the fall semester, we were fortunate to have participated in several math fairs at the local elementary schools and at UBC’s Family Math and Science Day. We welcomed groups of students to our station and gave them basic instructions to solve math problems. Every group tried to solve the problem in a different way, which proved that every child is different. We observed students working on these problems. From our observations, we got a deeper insight into children’s mathematical thinking by asking them \u201chow they did this?\u201d. Since there was no one solution to the problems, students competed with each other to find alternative solutions.<\/p>\n
We learned a lot about the thinking of different students by listening to their reasoning and\/or by observing them while working on the problems.<\/p>\n
During the fall semester, we were fortunate to have participated in several math fairs at the local elementary schools and at UBC’s Family Math and Science Day. We welcomed groups of students to our station and gave them basic instructions to solve math problems. Every group tried to solve the problem in a different way, … <\/p>\n