Author Archives: nicole moxey

Area and Perimeter Simulations

When implemented properly into lessons, simulations can help support student learning. It can help those students who are struggling with a given concept or who need an extra challenge. In the article, Reality versus Simulation, the authors stated that choosing activities within the student’s zone of proximal development is important. “When this type of task is presented, students will perceive themselves as competent enough to be successful and enticed enough by the learning task to sustain their attention” (Srinivasan, Perez, Palmer, Brooks, Wilson, & Fowler, 2006, p. 139). Tasks that are too challenging or too easy should be avoided. Teachers are able to identify the “just right level” of activity through proper assessments, as well as by using activities that have a range of levels. The Phet game simulations have six levels for the students to choose from that increase in difficulty. Simulations also allow students to work at their own pace and continue practicing concepts that they find difficult. In the study done by Finkelstein, Perkins, Adams, Kohl, and Podolefsky, they found that the limiting nature of simulations can actually help support the learner. This is because it prevents the students from getting distracted and therefore, they are much more likely to be productive (2005).

This week I chose to review T-Gem and apply it to a lesson on area and perimeter. When I was teaching grade three, many of my students struggled with this concept. This is usually the year that these concepts are first introduced. My goal with this lesson is for students to generate the rules of area and perimeter so that they understand it better. Far too often, students memorize formulas, without understanding them first. This doesn’t just apply to perimeter and area. For this lesson, I’ve used Phet, but I think Khan Academy or Illuminations (Scale Factor or Side Length and Area of Similar Figures) could also be used or these could be used after this lesson for students to practice.

Generate:

Students explore the area and perimeter Phet application, but focus only on perimeter. See if they can figure out how perimeter is calculated.
Next, students explore area using the Phet application. They are trying to figure out how the area is calculated.
- Each group will try and come up with “rules” to calculate the area and perimeter of different objects. They will record these on large post-it notes around the room.
Students generate questions? Some examples could include
- When do we need to measure perimeter?
- When do we need to measure area?

Evaluate:

Students share their thinking with the other groups. Each group will get an opportunity to “test” the rules that each of the groups came up with.
Students will work on different “problems” to see if the rules work. They can use Phet for this, as well as problems that the teacher puts up for them. These can be solved on large sheets of paper.
- Examples could include, build a rectangle with a perimeter of 15. What is the area of this shape?
- Build a rectangle that has an area of 18 units (squared) and a perimeter of 18 units.

Modify:

As a class, they will discuss these different rules and come up with a rule that works (maybe more than one rule will work). They will show how they solved a problem to “prove” that a given rule works (e.g. diagram on Phet or their problem that they solved on the sheet of paper).
This will be done for both area and perimeter.

References:

Finkelstein, N.D., Perkins, K.K., Adams, W., Kohl, P., & Podolefsky, N. (2005). When learning about the real world is better done virtually: A study of substituting computer simulations for laboratory equipment. Physics Education Research,1(1), 1-8. Retrieved April 02, 2012, from:http://phet.colorado.edu/web-pages/research.html

PhET Interactive Simulations. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/math

Srinivasan, S., Perez, L. C., Palmer, R., Brooks, D., Wilson, K., & Fowler. D. (2006). Reality versus simulation. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15(2), 137-141.

VR Field Trips

Speculate on how such networked communities could be embedded in the design of authentic learning experiences in a math or science classroom setting or at home. Elaborate with an illustrative example of an activity, taking care to consider the off-line activities as well.

In the article, Mathematics in the Streets and in Schools, the researchers argue that students are not able to take the skills that they learn in school and apply them to real life situations or vice versa. Although this study was based on five children with varying levels of education, these children did much better solving informal test questions (problems that are related to their daily life) than informal test questions (paper and pencil). Even though I have a few issues with this study (it’s from 1985, only looks at 5 children, some of the children don’t attend school anymore, etc.), I wonder how we can continue to improve the way that we teach our students so that they are able to easily apply these skills to daily life? Even though this study was just looking at math, I would argue that this applies to all subject areas in school.

BC’s new curriculum has shifted away from focusing on memorization of content and more towards learning the skills of the 21st century. So maybe it’s experiences that are more important than reading about facts from a textbook. Students always seems to remember the experiences that have them “doing” and “seeing.” How do we find ways to give the students the experiences that they need to learn these skills? Some of my most vivid memories are of field trips that I took with my class. One in particular was to a local river during the salmon run. I remember seeing thousands of red fish trying to make the journey upstream. I remember the horrific smell of the fish that didn’t survive and lined the river beds. At the end, we did a tour through the fish hatchery! The problem arises when there is very little funding to get our students out of the classroom. Even though I firmly believe that a field trip OUT of the classroom is the most rewarding and educational experience that we can provide our students, this is not always possible for a variety of reasons. For example, some schools are very rural and it would be time consuming and expensive, and some topics make it impossible (Ancient Civilizations in the grade 7 curriculum is one of these). Thankfully for technology, virtual field trips are a new exciting option. We do need to be careful though not to start replacing our existing field trips with virtual ones just because it is simpler and requires less planning. “Students perceive that using VFT (or at the very least this particular hypermedia approach) is a good and enjoyable way to learn. Many of them were genuinely excited and engaged by the possibilities opened up by the new technology” (Spicer and Stratford, 2001, p. 350). Despite this, according to Spicer and Stratford (2001), although students really enjoy virtual field trips, they do not think they should be a substitute for field trips (keep in mind that this study looked at a field trip course and not just regular classrooms or courses).

In my grade 7 classroom, at the beginning of the year, we studied a few different ancient civilizations. As a class, we learned about Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Israel. Together we created an interactive notebook about some of the landmarks, important dates, vocabulary and lifestyle of each of these civilizations. This got my students excited about creating their own presentation on a civilization of their choice (they could choose between India, Rome, Greece, or China). They were also allowed to display the information in any way they chose (some chose a PowerPoint, poster, research paper). Once this was completed, small groups of students created STEM projects for each of the civilizations (pyramids, chariots, ziggurats, etc.). At around this time, we received a class set of google cardboard viewers, so we decided to try and find some ways for us to explore these civilizations virtually. Since we were running out of time (the holidays were approaching), all we found were some VR videos on YouTube that the students could view (Roman Colosseum, Egyptian pyramids). Now that I have completed this unit for the first time, I would make quite a few changes to it. First, the Nova PBS website has some amazing resources and articles, including “Who Built the Pyramids?” and a 360 degree walk around the pyramids. I have also found an Ancient Egypt app and a Civilization app developed by the BBC. These apps are much better than using YouTube videos as they allow students to guide their own tour and focus on what they think is interesting.

References:

BBC Media Applications Technologies Limited. (2018, February 28). Civilisations AR on the App Store. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/civilisations-ar/id1350792208?mt=8

Carraher, T. N., Carraher, D. W., & Schliemann, A. D. (1985). Mathematics in the streets and in schools. British journal of developmental psychology, 3(1), 21-29.

Inspyro Ltd. (2016, September 20). Ancient Egypt VR on the App Store. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ancient-egypt-vr/id1154044814?mt=8

K. (2011, August 09). Virtual Tour of the Great Pyramid. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmxWHjfoTqU

Spicer, J., & Stratford, J. (2001). Student perceptions of a virtual field trip to replace a real field trip. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 17, 345-354.

Tyson, L. C. (2011, June 23). Explore Ancient Egypt. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/explore-ancient-egypt.html

Math and Science VR apps

My school recently received Google Cardboard viewers for each student in our school. We have been testing out different ways to integrated these into our classrooms. I have been looking at ways to use these in our math classrooms to help get some of our reluctant learners more excited. Our science teachers are excitedly looking for videos and apps that make science more “understandable” for those visual learners (less abstract). I know there are lots of videos on the solar system and human body, but I have not explored these ones yet.

VR Math app – https://vrmath.co/

This app helps students see and learn about 3D shapes. It is free for students, but teachers need a subscription to access all the features (some are free though!). Students can work at their own pace. Watch the video in the website above for a quick intro. This app brings 3D shapes to life, rather than trying to teach students using drawings (some struggle to visualize 3D shapes on flat paper).

Times Tables VR app – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.KhoraVR.MathGame&hl=en

This is a free app that gets students practicing their multiplication tables to 12. Most of my students love it. We use it as a quick 5-10 minute warm-up at the beginning of class and the students can work on it when they are finished their in-class activity. I find it helps with those students who continue to struggle with their recall of facts.

VR Human Digestive System app – https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/vr-human-digestive-system/id1049691297?mt=8

This app is free (it does have a couple of in-app purchase options, but these are not necessary) and has tons of different options for teachers and students, including

1) Users can Zoom and Rotate the 3d model.

2) Students and teachers can Take apart each of the parts.

3) Each Part of the virtual reality model can be made Glassy.

4) Teachers can Label or Title every part of the vr model in application.

5) Analyse feature allows teachers discuss any one part of the VR Human Digestive System.

6) The snap feature allows you to save the image of the 3D or augmented reality model. This image can be used for your next project or learning. Share or upload or print the images to showcase it to your friends.

7) Pen tool allows teachers to draw or pin specific parts of the VR Human Digestive System.

8) The AR button allows you to bring the model from virtual world to real life situation by placing the camera on a marker.

9) Quiz feature allows you to play a fun vr game of naming parts of the model.

Has anyone else used Google Cardboard viewers? If so, what apps/videos did your kids love?

Embodied Learning and Assessment

In the Winn article, it is explained that embodied learning happens when the learner is able to use all of their body to interact with the environment. “Learning is no longer confined to what goes on in the brain… sometimes the coupling between a person and the environment is so tight that it more convenient to think of person and environment as one evolving system rather than two interacting ones” (Winn, 2003, p. 22). Kinesthetic learning allows the learner to move around, rather than passively listen to lectures or read from textbooks. This creates an environment where student learning is constantly changing and evolving. Students should be provided with opportunities to help them actively participate in projects and problems, while collaborating and communicating with their peers. Knowledge is not constructed in isolation or in a vacuum, but rather through critical thinking with groups of people (Winn, 2003, p. 4). These 21st century skills are what students will need as they enter the workforce and these skills allow them to become lifelong learners. Since technology is evolving at a rapid pace, it is even more important for research to keep up and stay current (Winn, 2003, p. 22).

According to the Winn (2003) article, “[l]earning is best explained in terms of the student’s evolving, contextualized understanding and is valued on that criterion, rather than on the basis of traditional objective assessments” (p. 3). Assessment is a topic that I have spent a lot of time thinking about lately and I’ve decided to include some of that in this week’s post. It has been years since I’ve taught grade 7 and I had completely forgotten about the standardized assessment (FSA) that BC teachers are required to administer to their grade 4 and 7 students. I disagree with this assessment for many, many reasons (I won’t get into all of them).

How can an assessment that is administered to all these students (regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, etc) give us a clear understanding of what our students are able to achieve? According to Cowley and Easton (2017), “[t]he act of publicly rating and ranking schools attracts attention and can provide motivation. Schools that perform well or show consistent improvement are applauded. Poorly performing schools generate concern, as do those whose performance is deteriorating. This inevitable attention provides one more incentive for all those connected with a school to focus on student results” (p. 3). Are we not publicly shaming schools that score poorly on this assessment? It is believed that research needs to focus on student socioeconomic status, ethnicity, family support (or lack of) and quality/preparedness of teachers. Focusing on these areas, will give us a more complete picture as to what happens to students as “they go through the education system” (Winn, 2003, p. 4). None of these areas are accounted for when administering a standardized test. The test does not allow students to collaborate with others, use technology to look topics up or even to type the written components (there are 4 components: one math and one English is done digitally and one math and one English is written in the book provided; most of the questions are multiple choice). When in life, would we have students sitting in isolation without access to technology for support?

In the chapter, “Enhancing math learning for all students,” it is believed that graphing calculators help support higher-level thinking because students are able to solve multi-step problems that otherwise would not be able to be solved in the classroom. The use of these calculators prevents students from being bogged down in the calculations and allows them to focus on the process (p. 951). These tools are relatively inexpensive, which makes them accessible to all classrooms (unlike expensive computers or tablets). Students should have access to these calculators all of the time. Studies show that students who use graphing calculators daily learned more than those students who used them infrequently (Voogt & Knezek, 2001, p. 956). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 11% of high school math classrooms use computers, whereas 40% use graphing calculators (as cited in Voogt & Knezek, 2001, p. 952). “Cutting edge research is exploring the latest new advance – graphing calculators that are connected via a wireless network. In simple uses, the wireless network can enable teachers to engage in formative assessment. For example, a teacher can take a quick poll of students’ responses to a conceptual question and display the results instantly. Teachers can use this capability to give students feedback and to adjust instruction” (Voogt & Knezek, 2001, p. 952). It is important to note that calculators should not be used for learning basic math skills (mental math, estimation, etc.) as these are still very important skills that are required in our daily lives (Voogt & Knezek, 2001, p. 953). Going back to my assessment piece, if we are allowing our students to use calculators, computers and tablets in our classrooms to enhance their learning, how can we possibly expect them to succeed on a standardized test that does not allow them to use these types of technology?

Questions:

How can we possibly expect our students to be successful on a standardized test when it’s delivery looks nothing like how we teach our students on a daily basis (little or no technology, no discussion, no embodied learning, no collaboration, etc.)? What does this do to their self-esteem when they get the results back (we have to send home the graded booklets)?
How can we integrate STEM projects into standardized assessments? Why are math and English the only two subjects represented on these assessments? Doesn’t this make students think that other subject areas are not as important?

Cowley, P., & Easton, S. (2017, February). Report Card on British Columbia’s Elementary Schools 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2018, from Report Card on British Columbia’s Elementary Schools 2017

Enhancing math learning for all students. In J. Voogt & G. Knezek (Eds.) International Handbook of information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, Springer, 951-959. Retrieved on March 11, 2018, from http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/k044345111t8v102/

Winn, W. (2003). Learning in artificial environments: Embodiment, embeddedness, and dynamic adaptation. Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning, 1(1), 87-114. Full-text document retrieved on January 17, 2004, from: http://www.hitl.washington.edu/people/tfurness/courses/inde543/READINGS-03/WINN/winnpaper2.pdf

Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments to Create 21st Century Skills

Throughout this module, we explored different technology-enhanced learning environments, including the Jasper series, WISE (Web-Based Inquiry Science Program), My World and Chemland. All of these programs have both benefits and drawbacks, and the individual teacher would need to figure out if these programs would meet the needs of their students. I’ve included the benefits and limitations (in my personal opinion) of each program in the table below. I think the main limitation is that these programs only apply to middle school grade levels and above. I need to spend some time researching and finding programs that would work well with our younger learners as I think technology-enhanced learning environments have the potential of getting these students interested and excited about learning math and science. Does anyone know any that they have already used with a younger group of students (K-5)?

When choosing which (if any) of these programs will work with a specific group of students, the teacher needs to look at whether or not the program will enhance the learning. This is true for any type of technology that is integrated into a classroom. Teachers and students should not be using technology just because it is easily accessible, but rather, the benefits needs to be evaluated. All of these programs fit into a constructivist classroom, where the teacher takes on a facilitator role (instead of being the expert). It allows students opportunities to work collaboratively with their peers while they develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. Through this process students are able to expand their understanding of specific topics that they find interesting and it allows them to take ownership of their learning. I think all of the learning environments teach students the 21st century skills to become life-long learners. It’s up to individual teachers to decide which ones fit the needs of their individual students.

Program	Benefits	Limitations
Jasper Series (used Anchored Instruction)	-Inquiry based -helps students critically think about complex problems -fits in a constructivism classroom -makes connections to other subject areas (science, socials, English) -short enough to hold student attention (approx. 17 mins.) -encourages collaboration -students actively engage with the questions	-A little dated (1990s) -for grades 5+ only
WISE (Web-Based Inquiry Science Program) (used SKI design)	-Inquiry based -can use existing units or can edit own -can create own unit -contains a “teacher community” to help support teachers -has students using technology -fits in a constructivism classroom -encourages collaboration -students actively engage with different activities (answer questions after viewing videos)	-for grades 6+ only -very lengthy units, might need to be chunked by the teacher
My World (used Lfu approach)	-for K-12 classrooms -helps students create and analyze data (visual) -teachers are able to see existing projects -students are able to collaborate -has students using technology -opportunities for teachers to collaborate -supports inquiry skills -fits in constructivism classroom	-many of the existing projects are quite complex, might be more suitable for middle school and up
Chemland (used T-Gem)	-encourages collaboration -teacher is facilitator -fits in constructivism classroom -has students using technology -inquiry based -interactive -students able to explore topics of interest	-complex science topics, therefore, suitable for high school/university students

Developing Division Skills

Pre-Lesson Information:

Teacher figures out what students know about division (basic and long)	Students answer questions or complete assessment
This information helps guide future lessons and supports students who are struggling

Generate:

Teacher gets students to compare multiplication and division and their relationship

Students create fact families, skip counting sequences, etc. to show relationship

Students create a relationship between the two concepts

When do we use multiplication and division?

Division – Used for splitting items among groups, for sharing, for splitting bills at a restaurant, etc.

Multiplication – for purchasing more than one item, etc.

Understanding multiplication will create a solid understanding of division

Evaluate:

Teachers asks students to think about basic division and try and figure out how to solve more complex problems (long division)

Students explore and evaluate questions. Can they figure out how to solve the questions?

Can students figure out what steps are required to different solve problems?

Modify:

Teacher asks students how to figure out problems with remainders.

How can students use their existing knowledge to solve the problems?

What happens when a number does not divide evenly?

What can be done with the “leftovers?” (decimals, remainders)

When would we use decimals vs remainders?

The concept that I chose to explore is long division. Using the T-Gem method, I’m hoping that integrating technology into the process will help students grasp the concept a little more easily. I will start with a bit of information about my class dynamics and what I have done before re-introducing these students to long division. In my math class, even though, I have a grade 7 class, I have only 8 students who are actually at a grade 7 level. This has caused our school to take a closer look at how we can best support our struggling learners, since the majority of them have not been tested and therefore, are not on an IEP. As teachers, we are not able to modify the curriculum, but rather, we must do our best to adapt it in a way that makes it accessible for these learners. As part of our PLC (professional learning community), we have created small groups that focus on mastering one or two concepts before moving on. Our goal is to try and fill some of the gaps that these students have so that they can feel a sense of success. At the beginning of the year, we administered an assessment to all the grade 7s so that we could see what concepts they had mastered and what concepts they needed to spend more time on. After working with our students and looking at this assessment, we discovered that there are quite a few students who do not understand how to do long division.

I believe the first problem with long division is that many of the students do not have a solid understanding of basic division. With these intervention groups at my school, this is where we began our lessons. We started with having the students use manipulatives and moving (dividing) these manipulatives into groups. The students were shown some videos to help explain the process (BrainPop, Khan Academy). We also related division to multiplication and showed how they are related (fact families, etc.). Phet has a division simulation that helps show this relationship. The students played “games,” worked with partners, and used whiteboards to practice. Throughout the process, the teachers in the room observed the students and created formative assessments to make sure all of the students were grasping the concept successfully.

Once this small group of students had a deeper understanding of what division is, they moved onto long division (this is the stage they are at now). One strategy that was used had the students using post-it notes to show the relationship between the numbers.

http://middleschoolocd.blogspot.ca/2013/09/throwdown-linky-post-it-note-division.html – Sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to get the visual in this document.

This helped students see where the numbers go, the relationship between the numbers and the importance of lining up columns (this was an issue for many of these learners). One colour is used for the divisor and one for the dividend. The quotient and product are the same colour as the divisor so students can see that they are related. The difference is a third colour (yellow). I am trying to figure out how I can make this digital. Does anyone have any suggestions? Once students have mastered the PROCESS of long division (I find this takes longer than expected), there a tons of games, programs, videos and apps that help students practice this skill to create a solid understanding of how to complete long division questions.

Games:

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: http://www.math-play.com/Division-Millionaire/division-millionaire.html

Snork’s Long Division Game:

http://kidsnumbers.com/long-division/

Math Mountain:

https://www.funbrain.com/games/math-mountain

Drag and Drop math:

http://mrnussbaum.com/drag-and-drop-math/

Long Division with Scratch

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1387273/

Programs:

Mathletics

http://ca.mathletics.com/

Apps:

Division!! (free)

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/division/id492164003?mt=8

Long Division Touch (free)

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/long-division-touch/id574226151?mt=8

Videos

Khan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org/tag/long-division

Brainpop

https://www.brainpop.com/math/numbersandoperations/division/

One app that is great for getting students to show their understanding and thinking is Explain Everything. In the past, I have had students create a “how to” book so that they can teach others how to do long division. I find this to be a very helpful strategy.

What strategies, resources or technology do you use to teach your students long division?

Nicole

On a side note, I absolutely loved the interactive Periodic Table in the Chemland Interactive website and wish I was able to use this during my chemistry course. Even though many of the concepts within this website are beyond what my grade 7 students are learning, some students might like to explore it if they have an interest in this subject area. In grade 7, students are learning a very basic level of chemistry, but this does not mean that some would not like to extend their learning and use Chemland to do that. They can click on any of the elements to learn more (density, boiling point, melting point, etc.). I also like that the descriptions are clear and written in a way that students can understand.

Lfu to reduce our carbon footprint

First, I have to say that the resources that we were introduced to and explored further were a bit overwhelming (MyWorld GIS, WorldWatcher, ArcGis, and Google Earth). I say “introduced to” because many of them were new to me and I was shocked that I had not heard of most of these as some of them are great for getting students excited and motivated about what they are learning in the classroom. The only program that I had any knowledge or experience with was Google Earth. I however, have only explored it at a very basic level with my students. One of my goals this year, is to try and find ways to connect what my students are learning to real life situations or experiences. Far too often, our students are learning different concepts and they don’t understand how it was important to their life or when they would ever use it again. I definitely will need more time to explore these applications and programs, but this week was a great start to get me thinking about how I can integrate them into my grade 7 class.

“The Learning-for-Use [Lfu] model is a description of the learning process that can be used to support the design of content-intensive, inquiry-based science learning activities” (Edelson, 2001, p. 355). The new BC curriculum encourages teachers to move away from the focus being on reciting and memorizing, but rather focus on a deeper conceptual understanding. This can be done by providing students with opportunities to communicate, collaborate, critical think, question, ponder, infer and make predictions. Lfu is based on a three-step process that includes motivation, knowledge construction, and knowledge refinement. Students are motivated when they find the concepts/activities relevant and interesting. As they are “constructing knowledge,” students are guided by the questions that interest them or that they wonder about. These questions/wonders can be discovered by having them complete a KWL chart or allowing them to brainstorm in small groups or partners. I often do a “pair-share” activity to get students thinking and collaborating on a new topic. Finally during the “knowledge refinement” stage students should be provided with lots of time to reflect upon their learning and apply their understanding to real life situations or scenarios (Edelson, 2001).

Since, I am teaching grade 7 this year, I wanted to explore a topic in the science curriculum. The topics include evolution, chemistry, electromagnetic forces and climate change. One area that I was interested in exploring a little further (as it is a unit that I am currently developing) is climate change. We will be starting an earth challenge in April and May, and the four main topics we will be covering are water-wise, waste-wise, invasive species and air quality. At the end of the month, we will be having a “challenge” game with the other grade 7 classes. Each team of students will be asked questions on these different topics in a Jeopardy style game setting.

As an introductory activity (and to get students motivated), I would have the students brainstorm what they already know about Climate Change (if anything). I have a range of students in my class, so I would most likely have students work in random groupings of 3-4 students and have one student record all of the ideas. This way students would all be able to participate, regardless of whether or not they can write down the ideas (I have a few students with written-output issues). This activity would guide my future lessons. If students have very little knowledge of what climate change is, we would participate in some introductory activities. Nasa has some great activities, including fun facts, videos and interactive activities to get students’ excited and to give students a basic understand of what climate change is (https://climate.nasa.gov/). There are quick one minute videos on a variety of topics to pique students’ interest (Greenland Ice, Sea-Level Rise, etc.), as well as some quizzes and 3D virtual videos. Once students were given some time to explore this site, I would let them break into groups to discuss what they found interesting, what they still had questions about or didn’t understand. and what they wanted to explore more about.

The next activity (I found on the ArcGIS website) is about climate change and how it has affected temperature. It is a geoinquiry map investigating regional patterns to changes in temperatures. Students are able to explore different parts of the world to see how temperatures have changed from year to year. This would lead into an activity that has the students choose a city (could be any place in the world) and month of the year. They would create a graph (math connection) of how the temperature or precipitation has varied from year to year. Another map that I found on ArcGIS is called “Climate Change Stress Index” and it focuses on the degree of change in temperature, precipitation, vegetation and habitat between history and the (projected) future. Depending on time (and student interest), I might have students explore only one or two of these topics.

Once my students have a basic understanding and are excited (that’s my goal!) about climate change, they will choose a topic (water or waste-wise, air quality or invasive species) that interests them and form small groups. The students will be allowed to present the information that they discover in anyway they choose (poster, PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.). This allows students to be as creative as they want. To help students refine their knowledge, they will be given opportunities to think about what changes in their life they can make in order for them to reduce their carbon footprint. Another possibility is for the students to implement a program at the school to help with the climate change issue (school community garden, composting, etc.). Much of this last part will be determined with student input.

Edelson, D.C. (2001). Learning-for-use: A framework for the design of technology-supported inquiry activities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,38(3), 355-385.

WISE-ing up our Science Students

The Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) works with teachers, researchers and scientists to create technology enhanced, interactive, inquiry based projects. All of these projects are then editable by teachers to help fit the needs and interests of their students. The project that I chose to edit and revise was called Photosynthesis (ID 23333). I chose this topic as this is one of the topics my class will be learning about in our upcoming science units. I was really impressed with how interactive these projects were. “WISE has also proven its worth for students and teachers in classrooms around the world. This project can be judged a success based solely on the number of teachers who have adopted WISE in their science courses for all topics from grades 6-12 (ages 11-17). More than 100,000 students have now participated in a WISE inquiry project, and more than a thousand teachers” (Slotta & Linn, p.4).

These projects appeal to all types of learners. For example, our visual learners are able to learn through diagrams and videos. They also have some interactive activities that create opportunities for the students to actively engage in their learning. The students are also provided with a variety of ways to show their learning. The Photosynthesis project has multiple choice and short answer questions, as well as drag and drop activities. I would have my students work in pairs to create opportunities for them to collaborate, communicate and problem solve together. I think these projects would work great in a constructivist setting as the students get to learn at their own pace while they work through the different activities. The teacher can guide the students when they are having difficulty. The activities provided in this project, give the students immediate feedback so that they can go back and review the material if needed. If students show an interest in a particular topic, they would be able to branch out and explore the areas of interest in more depth.

I made a couple of changes to the Photosynthesis project. First, I added a BrainPop video about photosynthesis after the page titled “what is photosynthesis.” I did this just in case the students did not understand the diagram or needed a more thorough explanation.

For the open ended questions (listed below) I will have the students write their ideas down on a large post-it note paper that will be displayed in the room. This will give us discussion points after the whole class had completed the project in partners. I find that this helps students expand their thinking.

Plants Out in Thin Air: Have a look at the healthy plants below. Notice anything they don’t have?
But how do plants turn these elements into glucose? What do plants do with light energy during photosynthesis?

After my students have completed this project, I would probably make more edits and changes to it. I would use the feedback that they provide to help guide these changes. I found that I did not need to make very many changes as the author of this particular project did a great job. I also think that as I become more comfortable with using this program, I would feel more comfortable making more changes. The next project that I am interested in editing is Climate Change as my students will be working on this topic during Earth Month (April).

References:

Slotta, J. D. & Linn, M. C. (in press). WISE Science: Inquiry and the Internet in the Science Classroom. Teachers College Press.

Anchored Instruction and online programs

What evidence exists regarding anchored instruction? What are some important nuances (differences) of the research that are pertinent to your practice? What further inquiries or questions does the research reported in the articles raise for you (e.g. regarding evaluation, professional development, disabilities and/or the content area you teach or would like to promote etc)? Finally, in what ways might a current technology for math (Eg. Mathletics, CTC Math, IXL, Dragonbox, or others) address in part this question?

Anchored instruction uses technology to construct situational problems that students can work together to collaboratively solve. These problems have multiple solutions and can be examined from multiple perspectives. The goal of the Jasper Series and Encore’s Vacation videos are to create independent thinkers and to create a community of inquiry (Cognition & Technology Group of Vanderbilt, 1999, p. 79). Both of these video programs are “used as an ‘anchor’ or situation for creating a realistic context to make learning motivating, meaningful and useful (Shyu, 2000, p. 58).

According to the articles that I read, there are many benefits for the integration of anchored instruction into classrooms. Both the videos studied, Jasper series and Encore’s Vacation, showed an increase in generative and cooperative learning that traditional problem-solving materials do not (Cognition & Technology Group of Vanderbilt, 1999, p. 65). According to the results of one study, the group that participated in the Jasper series outperformed the group that did not participate in these activities, and the Jasper group displayed less anxiety towards math and improved attitudes (Shyu, 2000, p. 67). Students who view these videos are able to work collaboratively with their peers to solve the real-life problems presented. Instead of students having to sit and listen passively to their teacher explain to the class how to solve problems, they are able to discover ways that make sense to them.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of 2003, only 32% of fourth graders and 29% of eighth graders scored at or above the proficient level in math (as cited in Hasselbring, Lott & Zydney, 2005). That is well below 50% of students in these grades. I know that this is an American statistic and it is from 2003, so I wonder where our students are at for mathematical proficiency. They go even further to say that “there has been little evidence to suggest that mathematics achievement has improved significantly, especially for students with disabilities” (Hasselbring et. al, 2005). Each year students with learning differences in mathematics (or any subject) continue to fall further behind their peers. Our goal as teachers is to find ways to lessen the gap and create opportunities for these students to feel successful, thus improving their confidence. If the researchers are correct in that “[m]ost students with math difficulty, along with those lacking consistent math fact instruction, show a serious problem with respect to the retrieval of elementary number facts” (Hasselbring et. al, 2005), how do teachers help these students overcome these challenges? What programs are readily available to help remediate this problem?

In 2005, Hasselbring and Goin developed an intervention program called FASTT (Fluency and automaticity through systematic Teaching with Technology) that was created to assist students having difficulty mastering their basic facts. The program requires students to spent 10 minutes a day for approximately 100 days. I looked up this program and it is available through Houghton and Mufflin Harcourt. According to their website, “FASTT Math is proven effective both as an intervention for Title I, Special Education, or at-risk students, and as a core program for students learning math facts for the first time” (Research Overview). Does anyone have any experience using this program? I had never heard of it before, but it would be interesting to explore it a bit more.
What I find most interesting is that there are two sides to the debate of learning mathematics. According to some, a deep understanding of math is needed and teachers should not worry about memorization or drills as this causes anxiety for students. Hence, the creation of the anchored instruction tools and videos. On the flip side, some argue that memorization of basic facts is essential for students to be successful in more complex math problems. According to Hasselbring et. al., [m]ore emphasis needs to be placed on developing rapid, effortless, and errorless recall of basic math facts… In contrast, most students with math difficulty, along with those lacking consistent math fact instruction, show a serious problem with respect to the retrieval of elementary number facts (2005). What I take away from all of this is that both areas of math instruction are important and that we need to find a balance in our classrooms, and find ways that work for the students we are currently teaching. A one size fits all math class definitely does not work for everyone.

The current program that I use with my students is Mathletics. It provides students with videos, questions and games on each of the topics that you are covering in class. The games are motivational for the students and allow them to play “live” with their classmates. There is also an option to print off e-books for all of the different topics. Although, this is quite different from the Jasper series, it is highly motivating for the students that I am currently teaching. It allows students to work in their zone of proximal development and it keeps them there, until they have mastered the concepts. They can also see how they are doing on the different topics. However, this program does not offer the topics to be integrated, rather they are isolated topics that they learn one at a time. Does anyone know of a better program that they have had success using with their students? I have not tried Dragonbox or any of the others listed in the question.

References:

Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992a). The Jasper experiment: An exploration of issues in learning and instructional design. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 40(1), 65-80.

Hasselbring, T. S., Lott, A. C., & Zydney, J. M. (2005). Technology-Supported Math Instruction for Students with Disabilities: Two Decades of Research and Development. Retrieved February 04, 2018, from http://www.ldonline.org/article/6291/

Research Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from http://www.hmhco.com/products/fastt-math/research-results.htm

Shyu, H. Y. C. (2000). Using video‐based anchored instruction to enhance learning: Taiwan’s experience. British Journal of Educational Technology, 31(1), 57-69.

PCK: Teaching Division

Division in Grade Three

Most of my students have very little understanding of division before we start learning about it in grade three. We start the year with reviewing our addition and subtraction facts and at the beginning of every class, we practice skip counting by a different number to help warm up our brains. We usually start with 2s, 5’s and 10s before moving onto the more difficult ones My goal is for my students to have a solid and deep understanding of their number facts to 20. We practice using a variety of tools and strategies, including fact families, cuisenaire rods, card games (addition and subtraction war) and the Explain Everything app on the iPad. I want my students to have a solid understanding of how addition and subtraction are related. Once they have a solid understanding of these two concepts, we move to multiplication. I introduce as “groups of.” We use the same tools and strategies that we used for addition and subtraction (but we add in arrays and multiplication war with cards), and we spend a lot of time using our digital whiteboards or just regular white boards drawing the visualization for each equation, as well as the related addition sentence. For example, we do 3 x 2 = ?. First they would draw 3 groups and then 2 items in each group. They would write the addition sentence as 2 + 2 + 2 = 6.

Now that my students have a solid understanding of addition, subtraction and multiplication, we move onto division. When I ask my students how many know how to divide, usually I have only a handful of students who know what division is and even fewer know how to divide. Therefore, I always start with using manipulatives so that students can see how to “split” or “share” the items into groups. For example, I will give them ten items and tell them to share them between two hula hoops (or small plastic bracelets). We continue practicing until all my students are successful at completing the “dividing of items” task. The next step is to show them what the division equation looks like for each of the questions that I pose (share 8 items between 2 kids is the same as 8 / 2 = 4). The students practice this in partners until they feel successful. We then move onto using the cuisenaire rods (if you don’t know how to use cuisenaire rods to teach division, here is a video), arrays and fact families. My students use the Explain Everything app to explain how to do multiplication and division. This way I can see if they fully understand both of these concepts.

I teach most of my math concepts very similarly. I figure out what my students know before we start and what they have questions about. This helps guide my lessons. If it is a completely new concept we start with working in small groups on some hands-on exploratory activities (including watching introductory videos) before we practice answering questions using a whiteboard (digital and regular). We usually create a video (either using Book Creator or Explain Everything) to show others our understanding of the concept. My students love watching each others’ videos or sharing them with another class. Here is an example of a video that one of my students created last year (not sure why the top of it is cut off – sorry!)

References:

Making Equal Groups. (n.d.). Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://jr.brainpop.com/math/multiplicationanddivision/makingequalgroups/

Teaching Division with Cuisenaire Rods – Math Video. (2018, January 30). Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://vimeo.com/42309729

P. (2017, November 16). Explain Everything | Interactive Whiteboard App. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://explaineverything.com/