This fall I will be teaching a new course entitled “Applied Mathematics” which is intended for high school students who demonstrate a need to reduce the Algebra II requirement in the Michigan Merit Curriculum due to academic difficulty in Algebra I and/or Geometry. Understanding the daily applications of math in real world settings is a challenge for many students, and unfortunately, many high school students feel a disconnect between their math courses and their real lives due to a lack of real world examples and activities in the classroom. The opportunity presented in this situation is to engage my students by making concrete connections through a pre-assessment/personal inventory activity to encourage more positive attitudes toward learning mathematics.
I plan to address this educational issue with technology by creating a WebQuest in which students explore the role mathematics plays in various professions (This link is a valuable resource for the WebQuest). Students will then select one profession of interest to them (jobs not included in the WebQuest must be approved by the teacher) and complete short 1-2 minute video blogs that share one or two mathematical concepts that are important for that particular job/profession and one or two interesting points they learned about the selected job/profession from their research.
In order to promote authentic student engagement, students need to feel motivated and connected to the course material. The previous WebQuest activity and video blog aim to engage students by encouraging them to take a personal interest in the course. Throughout the course of the year, I plan to cater to the unique interests of my students (in homework sets, project proposals, etc.) in the hopes that I can help them make real-world connections to their future ambitions. For example, I may have a student who does not believe he/she will attend college, but will focus on working in construction instead. Knowing this as the teacher, I can utilize examples that are pertinent to a specific profession/interest.
The WebQuest/video blogs will span the first two weeks of school (approximately five, 90-minute class periods) with all assignments and research done in class. At least one class period will be dedicated to showing students how to create and edit videos. Class laptops are available as well as school computer labs to complete all components of the project. Students will be responsible for completing their own WebQuests and video blogs.
The “Applied Mathematics” course will focus on project-based learning in lieu of chapter tests to help students make more concrete connections to real-world applications. According to the CT4Me.net Computing Technology for Math Excellence website, “One of the greatest benefits of project-based learning is gains in students' critical-thinking skills. However, as Bryan Goodwin (2010) found in reviewing the literature, a major shortcoming in many student projects is that educators tend to assign projects just for the sake of doing them. ‘Educators can avoid this phenomenon and realize the potential of projects to promote students' critical-thinking by framing projects around a driving question’ (p. 81)… In every good project, students also need to perceive the work as meaningful to them. A clear connection to an entry event adding this meaning might be via almost anything: ‘a video, a lively discussion, a guest speaker, a field trip, or a piece of mock correspondence that sets up a scenario’ (p. 35). Students need a voice and choice in fulfilling project requirements, keeping in mind that limited choices be considered and that ‘teachers should design projects with the extent of student choice that fits their own style and students’ (p. 36). Projects should give students opportunities to build 21st century skills and to use technology that will be useful to them in life and the workplace. Projects should enable learners to conduct real inquiry, as with ‘real inquiry comes innovation--a new answer to a driving question, a new product, or an individually generated solution to a problem’ (p. 37). Learners should receive feedback to use in revision, thus learning that real-world work often involves revision. Finally, students should publicly present their work, as they will be more motivated to produce a quality product when knowing a real audience will view it.” All points aforementioned have been considered when creating the rationale for this particular project with the driving question, “Why does math matter?”
Due to limited resources for implementation, over the summer I will be able to create the WebQuest and test all links to ensure that students will be able to access all pages in the fall. Additionally, I will be working with another teacher for feedback regarding my curriculum planning over the summer and will solicit feedback in regards to this assignment. The actual implementation of the WebQuest activity with video blogs will be completed in the fall by students enrolled in the “Applied Mathematics” course. Indicators of a successful project will be 100% participation and completion of all components of the WebQuest and video blog activity.
Works Cited
Deubel, P. (year from last revised). Math projects. July 15, 2011, from Computing
Technology for Math Excellence
Website: http://www.ct4me.net/math_projects.htm.
Technology for Math Excellence
Website: http://www.ct4me.net/math_projects.htm.
Amanda - this sounds like a great project! I like that the course is specifically geared toward connecting math to the real world. So many students struggle with math and, therefore, see it as a challenge and obstacle in life. Allowing them to see how the math concepts directly relate to the work fields they want to be in is a great idea! I like the website you found that shows how math is used in different careers. The videos would also be a great testimony to future students about how math connects to the real world. I'm excited to see how it all comes together. Good thing you have the rest of the summer to get your webquest together!
ReplyDeleteI think idea has a lot of merit and is well thought out. Coming from my own perspective as an instructor that uses a lot of applied math I am very happy to see you exposing students to how math is actually used outside of academia. Many times I find that my own students don't realize that they are applying the majority of the concepts of geometry and trigonometry within my classroom, or the Machine Trades classroom across the hall. Mostly because their math teacher never told them the actual application of the content. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea of integrating a web quest into the beginning of the school year. I think it is a great idea to use technology to expose students to the possible careers they will encounter if they pursue mathematics as a degree. In addition, I think they will really enjoy the idea of creating a video describing one of the careers they chose. I'm sure it will be interesting to see how the students integrate math into the video they create.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to follow your project as it develops. This is a well thought out project that exposes students to how math connects with the real world. Many times students don't understand how the concepts they are learning will ever be used. Your idea of starting the school year off with a webquest is brilliant. I would like to check out the site to see if it would be compatible with second graders. We will be studying careers in our S.S. unit and it would be neat to so something like this.
ReplyDelete