#6 Inquiry/Ideas



After students are presented with intriguing questions/scenarios, they make connections with previous learned material and future learning goals.  Curiosity gets the best of them.  They think about it, own it and make it fun.  They have a foundation to build on and discover new material.


My mini-lessons will be from a unit in Advanced Mathematical Decision Making (AMDM).  I have been teaching this class to seniors for three years.  I like how the activities bring the real-world into the classroom.

Students will be working on a project that has to do with observational and experimental studies.  They will conduct polls/experiments.  Students can use the phones to record answers.  Using the data collected, students will use be given website to graph and display data.  Once they see the results of the data, it will bring it into context.  One of the lessons will be about using statistics and giving credit from where they received the information.  I am still in the beginning stages of these lessons.  I am struggling with the synthesis part of technology and the lessons. It is upsetting me.  I am used to the teaching without technology (Langwitches).  I am not afraid of technology.  It is the incorporating. The engaging part is easier than the enhancing and extending.  I have a lot do in the next few weeks. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 10, 2017 at 11:29 PM

    Glad to see that I'm not the only having a hard time with the technology piece of this project. As for the "Extending" part, maybe there is a free app that they could use on their phones to track analytics on the go. I'm not 100% sure if the Google Analytics app will help in some capacity, but it's worth looking into.

    Sidenote: Great job on the graphic. The "Hmm" made me chuckle. I've been saying that, and host of other words while trying to wrap my head around this project!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 11, 2017 at 7:34 AM

    I enjoy math and technology. Your mini lessons sounds very interesting to me. If you are conducting polls/experiments then maybe the students could conduct online polls with websites like Survey Monkey. Also, your students may create an infographic of their poll or experiment results using a website like Piktochart. Your students may be the best source of ideas. You may give them an open ended assignment that says that their results must be presented digitally and let them figure out what digital tool they want to use. That's the great part about inquiry learning is that students get to explore while we guide them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 11, 2017 at 8:58 PM

      I love the idea of giving students the option of their assessments. It drives them to do their best and be their best because they gave input. However, I'm with Angela in the somewhat confusion regarding my assignment. I would ask more questions, but I am unsure of what I need help in specifically. Somehow, I always figure it out eventually. Now that school is officially over, I can spend the next few weeks truly focusing on this course and developing my technology and inquiry skills better.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FRIT 7234 Blog Post #2

When I read articles or watch videos, I try to somehow relate to my classes and lessons. In the 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning , the first one is so true.  Teachers have to be flexible.  With the state changes, administration changes and the way students learn, I do not see how you cannot be flexible and still be a successful teacher.  The number 4 way was "Teachers teach kids, not subjects."  I was talking with my principal this week about our students being so needy.  What we do in the classroom goes so much further than just a subject.  My students know I care for them, but sometimes that is still not motivation enough.  My subject is math.  We scaffold because math builds on previous content. It is hard for participation and fostering joy when students already have in the their mind that they cannot do math.  (Is that a scorpion on the boy's face?) What a great analogy in Karen Lirenman's T he Journey from Digital Literacy to Digital Fl...
Read more

Reflective Searching

I will confess that when I want some quick information or even when I am doing research, I will Google it, at first. With research, however, I will do more digging than accepting the first few websites that come up.  I like to write things down, print items and make notes.  Students do not like taking notes at all.  They would rather use Google because they can just look it up again.  When someone needs information, we will say "Google it."  I remember when I would have a question for my mother.  She would say to look it up.  I would go to the dictionary or encyclopedias. (Quit laughing.) In Terry Heick's article How Google Impacts the Way Students Think , the title alone scares me.  Google having control of people's minds is not good. He made very good points.  The following is so true to me: " Having found an “answer,” rabid-Googlers are ready to “finish” the assignment. Or are ready for more Googling (because Googling is easier than t...
Read more

Letting Go

The two resources that we had this week for our blog were informative, and helped me to start thinking of how I want to make changes in my teaching.  After the year, we take time to reflect and think of what can we do to make next year better. In Grant's article , when the co-captain said the other team was not lining up the way we do drills.  In class, I tell my students that on the EOC test the questions will be worded different, but you will have to solve the same way.  It will be presented in a different way, but that does not mean the students will not know how to do it.  This example Grant gave also reminded of a quarterback that school use to have.  He knew how to adjust to the other team and could run great plays.  There are players that can just do that one play that the coach told him to do. The coach was able to let the quarterback go and run the plays.  Going back to the classroom, I will admit that I struggle letting go. I sometimes do...
Read more