Week 7
Reflection on Reconfiguring mathematical settings and activity through multi-party, whole-body collaboration
Molly L. Kelton1 Jasmine Y. Ma
This research looks at how doing activities that involve moving the whole body in a group setting can make learning math more fun and understandable. The study compares two cases: one where middle school kids participate in a special program in their gym called the walking scale number line, and another where elementary school students do a math activity called "whole and half" during their regular math class. Both activities use the space and the body to make learning math more interesting. In the first case, seventh and eighth-grade students act as points on a giant number line on the gym floor. They engage in activities that explore displacements and mathematical concepts like doubling and opposites. The goal is for students to move efficiently and safely to their opposites on the number line, combining movement, spatial awareness, and math understanding in a dynamic learning experience. The school gym is transformed with taped number lines and activities, creating a dynamic math space. Students use their bodies to represent quantities and movements on large-scale walkable number lines made with colorful tape. This turns the familiar concept of number lines on paper into a tangible, shared experience, challenging traditional ideas like left and right and making students' movements meaningful interactions within the setting.The second case focuses on ratio and proportion through interactive and immersive experiences. It is a task called whole and half (W + H) where students used their hands and bodies to understand mathematical concepts. In this activity, one person created a space with their hands, and the other had to respond by placing their hand halfway in the interval. This interactive task aimed to engage students in embodied learning, emphasizing the use of the body as a tool and object of measurement. While similar to some existing math training tools, W + H didn't require any technological apparatus, relying solely on manual actions to explore mathematical concepts within a broader context of bodily and spatial understanding.
Stop 1
"How we think, learn, and communicate about mathematics depends a great deal on our opportunities for physical movement, interaction, and expression ."(Hall & Nemirovsky,2012).
As a math teacher, this sentence struck me because we used to depend on traditional methods of teaching which follow the curriculum. But, there are other options to teach them math more engagingly. Students think about mathematics when they get real-life experiences like physical movement, interaction and expression. When they touch and feel math in the outdoor setting with embodied activities, they feel it. Otherwise, math appears to be an abstract thing for them.
Stop 2
Maggie and Thad solved the problem from their respective physical and mathematical perspectives in the material arrangements of the space - Maggie from nine units to the right of Thad, needing to get to nine units to the left, and Thad needed to stay put but everyone on either side of him swap to the other.
(p 186).
This situation in case 1 really struck me because it shows a fascinating exploration of logical thinking and problem-solving. When the students got a situation from their life experience, they tried to solve it. We can see that the problems in textbooks are repeating and become boring for students. But, when they are really involved in a physical real-life problem, they connect it with math and get the solution for it.
Question
Reference
Kelton, M. L., & Ma, J. Y. (2018). Reconfiguring mathematical settings and activity through multi-party, whole-body collaboration. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 98(2), 177-196. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45184633
I sometimes like to integrate games into my teaching methods. For instance, when introducing new vocabulary, I enjoy playing Pictionary with my students. I divide the class into two teams and give them a word to draw. Then, the rest of the class has to guess what the word or concept is. This game helps to keep the students engaged and helps them in conceptualizing the material they are learning, all while having fun
ReplyDeleteWhen I am teaching math, I like to make use of hands-on experiences and visual aids as they are effective ways to increase students' engagement and understanding and shift the focus from just memorizing information. For instance, for fractions and symmetry, I used various shape blocks and for practicing arithmetic operations, I used numbered game boards played with the help of two or more dice. Additionally, I also incorporate digital tools to aid visualization and improve technical skills.
ReplyDeleteWhen teaching the concept of functions, I used fish-like images to aid instruction, which significantly increased student engagement and understanding. By integrating abstract mathematical concepts with elements familiar and interesting to students, not only was their curiosity sparked, but complex concepts also became more intuitive and comprehensible. Students found this method fun, making it easier for them to remember the concepts and properties of functions. This integration of hands-on activities and visual representations not only made students more proactive in their learning process but also allowed them to grasp and retain mathematical knowledge more deeply, thereby enhancing their problem-solving skills. Moreover, this teaching approach encouraged discussion and collaboration among students, further increasing classroom interactivity and motivation for learning. In summary, incorporating hands-on activities and visual elements into math teaching not only boosts students' interest in learning but also effectively helps them build a more solid and lasting understanding of mathematical concepts.
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