Tools for Success: Calculator Math 1512 Post #6

I plan to continue this blog...although it won't be math anymore.  Instead I will focus on the rest of my schooling and my journey to becoming an educator.

As a final post, I decided I would post about calculators.  After all, we were supposed to post about things that we learned or tools that helped us along the way.  My calculator was my lifeline.  The truth is, it always was and probably always will be!  I was always allowed to use my calculator and I became dependent upon it. 

Is this good?  Is this bad?  Well, in my opinion, application is key.  However, there are many times when I KNOW how to apply something as well as compute the answer in my head.  It's simply faster to use the calculator. 

Here is an essay on whether or not calculators should be permitted in school.Calculators: To Be Or Not To Be?

What does this say about my future as an educator?  As of now I have decided that calculators are OK.  I will be sure to assess every student's knowledge of the application of math.  The calculator will be waiting for them at graduation, and the average household has a few of them in the junk drawer.  I don't care if you use calculators in my class.  (However, could you be so kind as to not use the one on your cell phone?  Thanks!)

Here is a neat video about calculation tricks.  Calculators have always amazed me.

Mean, Median, & Mode Math 1510 Post #6

Simple computation such as mean, mean, and mode is the type of math I enjoy.  I like to add a ton of numbers up and solve equations WITHOUT letters in them.  Growing up, I often found myself in the back seat playing with a calculator trying to spell naughty words <---NO! compute crazy things.  I would type in 556+43 and press the "equal" button hundreds of times until I hit a number with an exponent.  I may have been bored out of my mind slightly bored!  Anyway, I have always loved calculators. 

With that being said, I'm excited to teach my students about things such as mean, median, and mode.  However, I picture myself doing it much differently.  I may even delegate it out to P.E. class.  Who knows, in a couple of years, I may BE the P.E. teacher.  I must be prepared!

Here is an example of how I would teach something as simple as mean, median, and mode!  I would have the class go outside and we would break into groups.  We would complete simple acts such as running a lap or throwing a ball up in the air and catching it ten times.  Every group would have stop watches and would record things.  We would discuss converting seconds/minutes, minutes/seconds, etc.  We could then decide the mean, median, and mode for each group as well as the class.  We could work toward beating our record or we could change the activity up. 

Does it sound like fun?  I guess I always had more fun if we had class outside.  I would have the best of both worlds with this lesson.  We could be outside and exercising, as well as learning the intended information.  However, I think the most important fact is that the students would be engaged.  After all, if all goes well, we will do it again!

Place Value Blocks Math 1510 Post #5

My favorite teacher in elementary was Mrs. E.  She was my first grade teacher.  You may be surprised as to what made me like her class well above the rest.  It wasn't snack time, nap time, or extra play time.  It wasn't stickers or prizes.  OK, you got me...it was the PLACE VALUE BLOCKS.  Yep, I said it.  I loved playing with those place value blocks more than anything.  It was more than the fact that I could get them figured out before anybody else.  I'm sure the sense of pride helped my liking, but I think it was the overall experience of using the blocks to solve math problems that I enjoyed the most.

Place value blocks are an excellent way to differentiate instruction to suit our students' specific types of learning.  For the most part, I'm a visual/spatial learner, so the blocks worked well for me.  However, there are different ways to use the blocks to tailor the instruction to suit the other models as well. 

Here is a video of base ten blocks in action!  The video will also explain how to eplain the blocks to the students as well as what to do when they don't quite understand.

Place value blocks, also known as base ten blocks, can be used for so many different things!  Here is a link to a site that has ideas for learning place value as well as basic algorithms.  We have to teach the basics before we can go wild, right?  Why not make it fun?Base Ten Blocks

My Mindmap Math 1510 Post #3

If I'm going to take ONE THING away from these math courses, it's confidence!  Before I took these two classes, my math skills were completely numb.  I couldn't remember things as simple as  the Pythagorean Theorem.  I had just shut things off since high school.

Well, I'm back!  I have to say that I'm confident with my math skills again.  Most importantly, I'm confident with teaching math.  I worry a lot.  I worry about my future as an educator.  I worry about my students not "getting it."  I worry about not having money the resources I need to make sure every student succeeds.  It turns out, this math class taught me a lot about what is out there.  I was able to find hundreds (thousands!) of legitimate websites for a unit that I zeroed in on.  I took a simple chapter from a math book and made something called a Mindmap.  Here is a link to the website I used.  Mindomo 

This website could be used for many things.  I plan to use it for lesson planning.  It could also be used for honey-do lists, to-do lists, goal-setting, budgeting, or just crazy thoughts!  Check it out.  MindMaps are becoming super common in the educational world.  (I'll just assume you are interested in education...which would be why you are reading this.)

Here is a link to my MindMap.  This map was on a unit called "Estimation and Computation."  There are many links, videos, and best of all, GAMES!  Estimation and Computation MindMap

In a nutshell, I'm not scared anymore!  This project made me step out of my box to look for curriculum on the Internet.  I'm confident that I will have the tools to succeed--even if I have to fish for everything myself.