Review of Class #9

Measurement

J Jay. Architect Tools. March 20. 2006. [Online Image]
Sourced from: http://bit.ly/2g2bCAK

For this week's online session, as a class we focused on the mathematical concept of measurement with specific emphasis on teaching area and length. The presentations by both of my classmates were fun and taught the concepts well. I especially enjoyed the creative and hands-on nature of the activities. I liked how Casey had the class measure their hands by tracing them on grid paper with 1/4 centimeter proportions. I also enjoyed Kursten's activity in which she connected magazine pictures with the definition and comparison stage of area which is crucial for understand when learning the concept of area. The reading that was assigned for his week also does a great job of making mathematical activities practical for students with activities suggested such as using a computer program to create two different rectangles that look similar, and then printing them for further comparison. Another great activity discussed int he reading was having students trace shoe prints and comparing the measurements with other students.

According to the slideshow and assigned readings for this week, teaching measurement should be done in three stages; definition/comparison: compare two things to determine which has a greater measure. Teachers can use experiments, investigations, etc. Secondly students must learn about nonstandard units: define measurements according to scoops, cubes, etc. The third stage is students learning about standard units such as centimeters, grams, etc.

In the beginning of the course Professor Bunz had stated that "you do not have to necessarily be good at math to be a good math teacher!". This is something that I am beginning to understand better and that connects with the assigned reading this week. I think it is imperative that as educators we are able to identify and understand common errors and misconceptions that students may have so that we are prepared and equipped with strategies to help foster understanding. The reading further states that when calculating perimeter and area, students may struggle with ruler placement, comparing lengths that do not align, confuse length with area, and multiply length by the width for shapes that are not rectangular.

I really enjoyed listening to Professor Bunz's presentation and study Evaluating and Integrating Digital Tools into the 21st Century Elementary Mathematics classroom. I agree that using technology in the classroom does positively impact student engagement and achievement. I think that her research and questioning of what functions a technological tool has and the quality of how the tool is used in mathematics is insightful and valid. See the image below for one of the models she introduced in her presentation. The SAMR model talks about the different ways technology can be used in the classroom.

The SAMR Model. This figure illustrates the SAMR model from Puentedura, R. (2014). Frameworks for educational technology: SAMR, the EdTech Quintet, and the Horizon Report.

I really enjoyed this week and I would like to thank Professor Bunz for sharing her research with us.

Cheers until next week!

Ashley