Tuesday, March 11, 2014

C4T (Continuous chosen by me) Authentic Inquiry Maths

Authentic Inquiry Maths
Bruce Ferrington is a middle school math teacher in Canberra, ACT, Australia.


C4T Wk #1
Math in Sports - Miranda Carfrae
This post is a series of posts he did of interviews with athletes in January 2014. Miranda Carfrae is an Australian Ironman. He asked her questions about her experience with math in school and about how she uses math in her training and racing. She responded that she did not have a great experience with math in school and she only took classes that she needed for what she wanted to study in college. Although math was not her favorite subject, she does use it everyday in her training and racing. While racing, she has to do quick mental calculations of her time so she can pace herself.

I commented that this was a great project for him to do to show students how math is used in their everyday lives. He interviewed several athletes during this series so I commented that he spent a lot of time on this project and hopefully the students will have a greater appreciation for math as a result.

math symbols

C4T Wk#2
The Laws of Math - The Associative Law
In this post Mr. Ferrington writes about the lesson he taught on the Associative Law. He writes that he explained to the students about the Associative Law and how both sides of the equal sign must be the same. Then to make the class more interesting, he asked the students to think of a way to display the associative law. Some students used the number line, some used blocks and a scale, and one student got creative and drew two sets of three men of different heights standing on top of each with both sets equaling the same height.

I commented that I love to look at his blog for ideas for teaching in my future classroom. His students seemed to like doing something different than solving math problems on paper and they are very creative.


C4T Wk#3
89 and 98
During a lesson on the Commutative Law, a student realized that if you reverse two numbers that add up to 98, like 57 and 32, then the answer will be reversed, 89. He encouraged him to test this out with other two digit numbers that end in 9 and also with three digit numbers, and then look for a pattern.

I commented that it's great to see that his students are thinking creatively in his lessons. I told him that I'm sure he loves his job on those days! Last week, I asked him if he uses textbooks in his teaching. He responded that the short answer is no, so I asked him if he uses the Khan Academy, and if so, how?


C4T Wk#4
The Laws of Math - The Associative Law with Multiplication
Mr. Ferrington is finishing the unit of the Laws of Math. In this post he writes about his students' displaying the associative law with multiplication. They use colored discs, blocks, and tiles to demonstrate (2x4)x5 = 2x(4x5). Some students understood the concept better than others so this was a good moment to evaluate and discuss.

I commented that he is still having fun with the laws of math. I also commented that I continue to enjoy reading his posts about the different ways of teaching math. I liked reading about how he uses tiles and blocks to informally assess whether the students understand the concept. I also let him know that I look forward to learning more about teaching math from his blog.

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