MATH PROJECT - NUMBER DEVIL

Team Members: Namrat, Paramjeet, Erica

ANALYSIS

We chose Susan’s project for “The Number Devil”, which is a very interesting novel to read. Erica already read the novel, so she gave us the idea about the novel. Also, she told us which chapters are more interesting. We read those chapters and decided to work on the chapter which deals with “unreasonable numbers” (irrational numbers).

While doing the project, we find it very interesting, especially the part which deals with the play. We find that this project can arouse students’ interest very easily and has something to offer for all kinds of learners. Some students may like to read, and they have a novel to read. Some students are more artistic, and they have posters to make. Some may like drama and acting, they can write script and act. So, this project covers a variety of interests.

Some of the potential benefits are as listed below:

• Students get to explore numbers in a fun way.
• Reader’s theatre encourages students to be creative.
• The use of words such as rutabaga (square root) and hopping (taking exponents), is interesting (though as teachers we will need to address this and introduce the correct terms).
• Group poster can be appealing for visual learners and can be used for class decoration.
• It will change class routine.

This project has enough for everyone in the class. However, there are some points need to be considered. One of the important factors is the level of concepts. There are some topics in the novel which grade 8 students may not understand. Also, it is hard to provide the books for whole class. The project requires a set of books for whole class or lots of photocopying. To overcome this problem, we can give students photocopies of the chapters which are suitable for grade 8.

While doing the project, we had a difficulty in finding the puzzle, so we are not sure how difficult it would be for grade 8 students. The puzzle we thought of is asking students how to convert a repeating decimal (such as  0.264264264...) to a faction, but that is because we have the math knowledge. Also, this project is time consuming. It can take two classes for all groups to present.

In addition, some students may be shy and do not like acting. Although it is good to encourage them to try out everything, they may not be comfortable in front of the class. A student may feel embarrassed, if he/she is not a good actor. To overcome this problem, we thought that we can ask students to tape video of their play and present it in the class.

During the presentations, students may not pay attention. There should be some kind of strategy to keep them on task. For example, we can ask students for peer evaluation.

PROJECT: The Number Devil (Grade 10)

Purpose: To encourage students to explore mathematical ideas in a creative way

Descriptions: Students will be working in groups of four. Each group will read one chapter of the book as a sample. Then each group will pick one topic from their Math 10 course and write a script on it. They will do theatre presentation for about 5-6 minutes or can play their recorded video. Secondly, they will make a group poster showing their mathematical idea. The poster has to be informative and attractive. Finally, they will leave the class with a question or a puzzle related to their topic to think over. Students will be evaluating their peers during the presentation portion.

Length of Time: The project will span 3 classes (around 100 minutes). In the first class, the students will be given 25 minutes to read a chapter from The Number Devil and discuss which topic they are interested in presenting with their group members. In the second class, the students will be given 25 minutes to work on the project (discussion, group poster, scripts, etc). In the third class, students will be given around 50 minutes, with the assumption that there will be 7 groups. Students are expected to spend about 2 hours outside of class.

Deliverable:

• video or role play
• group poster
• puzzle to share with the class

Rubric for the New Project (50 marks):

	Not Yet Meeting Expectations	Meets Expectations	Exceeds Expectations	Grade
Content	Does not illustrate the mathematical concept or illustrates it incorrectly	Illustrates the mathematical concept with clarity	Displays deep understanding of the mathematical concept	/15
Presentation (role play in class or video)	1. Lack clarity 2. Over 7 minutes or shorter than 4 minutes	1. Generally clear 2. On-Time	1. Exceptionally Clear 2. On-Time	/15
Group Poster	1. Few details about the mathematical idea 2. Little effort spent on design of the poster 3. Text not eligible 4. Does not include references	1. Informative 2. Original 3. Attractive 4. References included	1. Exceptionally informative 2. Exceptionally Attractive 3. Original 4. References included	/15
Peer Evaluation				/5

RESPONSE TO SELTER'S ARTICLE ON CREATIVITY, FLEXIBILITY, ADAPTIVITY, AND STRATEGY USE IN MATHEMATICS

     After reading this article, I felt that I had already read this article. The ideas in this article were not new. This article talks about importance of creativity, adaptivity, flexibility and strategy use in mathematics. "Thinking Mathematically", by John mason gives us the same ideas but in terms of Phases, namely - The Entry Phase, The Attack Phase, and The Review Phase. The entry phase is comparable to creativity, attack phase is comparable to flexibility and adaptivity, the third phase is comparable to strategy use in mathematics.
     To solve math problems accurately and efficiently, students need to develop flexibility—they need to learn multiple strategies, and how to choose among them in tackling a particular problem. But what is the best way to help students acquire this knowledge and skill? If we want our students to achieve these skills, we should not tell them which method is to be chosen to deal with the problem. Otherwise it will act as resistor in the student’s minds and they will not be able to invent strategies. But at the same time, this does not mean that we should leave the students on their own. We should act as a guide who instead of telling the answers, asks questions in way that students should think what they are doing and why. This will help all students especially those who are struggling in mathematics. This is a big leap from just solving the problems, without understanding the logic behind it. Making students creative is not a single day process. It will take time, but once they adapt it, they will be able to use appropriate strategies that are creatively developed  for flexibly selected.   

TWO COLUMN PROBLEM SOLVING

SQUARE TAKE - AWAY ( P. 194)

Take a rectangular piece of paper and remove from it the largest possible square. Repeat the process with the left over rectangle. What different things can happen. Can you predict when they will happen?

SOLUTION:-

WORD PROBLEM ANALYSIS

WORD PROBLEM - grade8 :
  Silver's Cleaners decided to raise the price of dry cleaning a sports coat from $4.00 to $5.00. The same percentage increase was applied to dry cleaning a jacket. The old cost of dry cleaning a jacket was $10.00. What is the new cost of dry cleaning a jacket?


Is it practical?
I think it is practical.

Let x = percent increase

Can it be solved with the given info?
Yes.

 4.00 * x = 5.00
 x = 5.00/4.00 * 100% = 125%
10.00 * 125% = $12.50 is the new cost of cleaning a jacket

Can it be interpreted in more than one way?

No. The language used is simple and realistic.

Would the kids be able to interpret it as intended?

Kids may not be able to interpret it as intended.Students with out thinking anymore can come up with answer as $11. This solutions is abvious for them to come up with because they can misinterpret the word "same" as same price increase instead of paying attention on same percemt increase. If the price increase is from $4 to $5 then  for $10 it will be $11.

Is there anything strange about it?
I didnot found any thing strange about the problem.

How would you change it?
I will rephrase ther problem so that can understand it. 

Silver's Cleaners decided to raise the price of dry cleaning a sports coat from $4.00 to $5.00. The old cost of dry cleaning a jacket was $10.00. What is the new cost of dry cleaning a jacket, if the price increase in terms of percentage remains same.

PRACTICUM STORIES

 Before I Joined this program, was told by so many people that there are lot more behaviour issues with students here in comparison to east part of the world. When I was observing the classes, I found it true for about 40%. Students were really nice when the lesson was being delivered by their respective teachers. So, I thought it would not be hard for me to do the teaching.

I had a very bad experience the very first day I delivered my lessons. Every thing went wrong from the very begining. The font of the transparencies was not big enough that students could read. One by one every student started questioning and I lost the class control. I found it difficult to work on overhead and looking back to see if my writing is visible to students. I got nervous as was being observed by my faculty advisor as well. I was very upset that day. I did not give up. I worked on my lesson plan. Practiced to write on overhead and constantly looking back to see if my writing is visible to students.

I prepared new lesson for both math and science and delivered them with more confidence and with a much improved class room management. I gained my confidence back.

I did learned that as a new teacher, one should practice their lessons prior delivering in the class. Students need perfection. Lesson plans should have to be made in a way that students should be kept on task to avoid any behaviour issues.