The scaffolded knowledge integration framework developed in WISE is a good guideline for designing a technology integrated instruction in math. (1) making thinking visible, (2) making science accessible, (3) helping students learn from each other, and (4) promoting lifelong learning are the general guidelines in creating a WISE. I like the website WISE of the University of California, Berkeley. It has good features, here is a link to the website. I haven’t played enough with this website to familiarise with all its features. However, I noticed that once a student starts a project, he or she cannot go back to make any change on an activity he or she already completed. This kind of features is suitable for assessing rather than learning.
I customised a project to help students in middle school appreciate the power, beauty and utility of their own knowledge of quadratic equations. From a constructivist approach to learning that is we care about learning those things that hold meaning for us, I chose to approach the concept of quadratic equations using some examples of parabola in real world. In the lesson, I aim to engage the students in structured experiences designed to support accurate and meaningful knowledge construction. The students misconception over this topic is that parabolas are confined to mathematics textbooks and have no real-life applications. This project will help the students to visually recognise parabolic forms in photographs and architectural landmarks, to practice and refine internet-based research methodologies, to develop an increased appreciation of the utility of algebra in the world around them.
Activity #1: what do you know about parabola?
All germane response that the students give about parabola will be write down.
Activity #2: Examples of parabolas in Architecture – student suggestions
Activity #3: I will guide the students’ research of some examples of parabolas in Architecture
Useful examples from modern architecture appear on Santiago Calatrava’s website.
Activity #4: research and identifying parabolas
After identifying parabolas and other geometrics forms in multiple examples of architecture, students are given the mission to search the internet for interesting examples of parabolic form, that are not “slanted”, as they will self-generate equations using Desmos.
Activity #5: Self-generate equations using Desmos.
In this activity, the students will use the transformation formula over quadratic functions (y = a(x-h)2+k) to self-generate quadratic equations. The student will be directed to a file on Desmos, here is a link Ski Jump. They will need to use the sliders to find the values of ‘a’, ‘h’, and ‘k’ to fit a quadratic equation onto the skiers. They will describe how they got their function to match the path of the athlete.
Activity #6: The students will self-generate equations of their own picture from activity #4
References
Linn, M. C., Clark, D., & Slotta, J. D. (2003). WISE design for knowledge integration. Science education, 87(4), 517-538.
Linn, M. C., Slotta, J. D., Terashima, H., Stone, E., & Madhok, J. (2010, December). Designing science instruction using the web-based inquiry science environment (WISE). In Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching (Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 1-23). The Education University of Hong Kong, Department of Science and Environmental Studies.
Hi Vivian,
Your suggestion of having students explore parabolas in the real-world hold enormous value. It is concerning that so many students are able to determine the vertex and roots of a parabola without understanding their connection to the real world. I find past pedagogical practices reaffirmed the myth that parabolas are only found in math textbooks. With an improved integration of technology in the classroom, I hope students are becoming better equipped to understand how parabolas and other non-linear relations are all around them. I have found that Desmos has reshaped how I teach senior math. Unlike the TI83, Desmos allows students to easily investigate how different coefficients affect the parabola using the slider. Phet simulations, allow students to construct more robust connections between abstract mathematical
concepts and real-world phenomena they experience on a daily basis.
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/projectile-motion/latest/projectile-motion_en.html
Hi Bryn,
The textbooks have lots of great activities, projects, and even questions that we can use to design mathematical instruction that is accessible to the students. However, it is a reality that students usually find those textbook tasks purely mathematical rather than something they can use on a daily basic. I also hope that integration of technology in the classroom will help the students to think out of the textbook and identify those examples of mathematical principles around them.
Thank you for sharing a link to Phet simulations. This is another tool in my toolbox that I will definitely use while designing instruction. I have also come across a video analysis and modelling tool, a software called ‘Tracker’ that would allow the students to analyse videos of real life situation. Tutorial of Tracker is available on Youtube.
https://physlets.org/tracker/