In
class this week, we participated in learning activities that were designed for
a grade 11 University/College mathematics class. The first activity involved
the Domain and Range of Quadratic functions. We were each given three cards
with different domain and ranges on them and we were asked to stand at the
station set up around the room that applied to our cards. The stations around
the room were signs that read: Word, Number line, List of Numbers, Inequality
Statement. The objective was to then find people from other stations who had
the same domain and range represented in a different way. This was a great
activity because it allowed the students to understand that the domain and
range of a function can be represented in many different ways. Additionally,
this activity provided the opportunity for all students to be involved and
participate in a discussion with their peers to figure the activity out as a
team. I really enjoyed this part of the activity because it got the students
out of their seats, and actively involved in their learning through peer
collaboration. After each card was
matched in the correct place, the students were provided a worksheet to
complete that displayed graphs and prompted the students to state the domain
and range in at least two different notations. This worksheet was beneficial
because it promoted reinforced learning, and allowed the students to
collaborate once again to ensure everyone was grasping the concepts. I would
love to try this activity in my classroom because everyone in the class seemed
to really enjoy it, the material was well covered, and it created a positive
classroom-learning environment.
The second activity presented was also for a grade 11
University/College mathematics class, involving an investigation of the
Exponential Growth and Decay rate. The idea of “chain letters” via e-mail was
used to demonstrate an exponential growth. A person in the class was picked to
start the chain, and the chain letter required the person who received it to
send it to two more people. Thus, the first person chose two other classmates,
and they all came up to the front of the class. The chosen students each chose
two more classmates. This process continued until all classmates were chosen,
and we were able to record the data in chart form. Furthermore, we arranged
ourselves in a way that represented the exponential growth based on how we were
chosen by our peers sending the e-mails. This was a great activity to try to
reach the students through a real world example that they could relate to,
however I would have preferred to have some structure as to how the students
were chosen to receive an e-mail by their peers. To ensure that a negative
classroom environment does not form as a result of students worrying that they
will be picked last, it may be wise to have the students call out two names of
students down the rows starting from one end of the classroom, or have them
pick two names out of a hat. If the students are able to pick whomever they
want it may become a popularity contest, and cause an unpopular student to feel
embarrassed in front of their peers. After this exercise, the students worked
in pairs on a worksheet that involved the use of a technological tool called
Desmos. This was a great technological tool because it easily allows the
students to graph out the equations given and make connections and comparisons
between them. Furthermore, Desmos showed a clear and precise graphical
representation of functions. The worksheet provided asked guiding questions
that were very beneficial since it allowed the students to really think about
what they were viewing on the Desmos graph.
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| Desmos |
Overall,
this is definitely an activity that I would like to use in my classroom, and I
especially liked the final question of the activity, which asked the students
to come up with their own real life scenario of exponential growth and decay.
This question will truly test the students to see if they understand the
concepts demonstrated throughout the activity.
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