Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.orillas.org/math/announcement
.html (<- This link does not work anymore! Is that just me???
-Clair)
Participate Project
Click here to view the rubric for this project.
The intent of this project is for you to plan how you would participate in someone else's
telecollaborative project. If you are planning your own telecollaborative project, then you should
look at the Plan-A-Project project.
1.4 Candidates model and promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness by
using digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally and globally.
Find an existing Internet project and plan in detail how you will participate in that project. You
can find Internet projects in a number of places. Here are few options (see Chapter 4 of the
Marcovitz text for more options):
● How can functions be used and altered to model various situations that occur in
life?
(http://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/instruction/curriculum/mathematics/units/gr
8_functions/)
● Mathematics can be used to solve real world problems and can be used to
communicate solutions to stakeholders.
○ It is important to be well-informed on the correct ways to gather data,
interpret data, and make sound decisions.
○ Use data analysis tools to compare two independent groups.
● Relationships between quantities can be represented symbolically, numerically,
graphically, and verbally in the exploration of real world situations
○ The context of a question will provide insight on the best method for
collecting and analyzing the data.
○ Recognize when to apply simulations to model real world situations.
○ Conduct simulations to represent a variety of real world situations.
● The results of statistical analysis must be interpreted and analyzed to determine
if there is a significant evidence to justify conclusions about real world situations.
○ Statistics need to be applied to make inferences and justify conclusions
○ Recognize possible sources and types of error in context of the real
world.
STL 17
Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use information and
communication technologies.
F. Communication technology is the transfer of messages among people
and/or machines over distances through the use of technology.
N.Information and communication systems can be used to inform,
persuade, entertain, control, manage, and educate.
While the project, Connecting Math to our Lives, requires a lot of data collection outside of the
classroom, students do need to access the website to post the data, discuss the data with other
classes, and interact with online professionals and facilitators. Students are asked to collect
data on how math is connected to their daily lives and the lives of others. Students take specific
data and generate statistics about the community and society in which they live. For this,
students can record their data in Microsoft Excel or Word (Math Equation Editor). The
collaborative aspect of this project requires students share their data with the other classes
around the world. Students will need computers as well as a viable internet connection. In
addition, the students will need a webcam and microphone. This is for communicating with
other classes around the world and interacting with the experts and facilitators. Students can do
this through a website such as Skype. If the internet is not working, then students can certainly
analyze data with partners or in small groups until they are able to reconnect.
● describe exactly what you and your students will do for the project-Mike will
trim the fat of items 1-6 below
● From Mike: Activities in red. Original in Green. Feel free to change any of
it.
Middle High school level.
Our Plan
Adapted from “Connecting Math to our Lives” via h ttps://iearn.org/cc/space-2/group-64/about
and h ttp://www.orillas.org/math/announcement.html
Introduction:
Students will be given post-it notes and asked to contribute at least one answer to the
question “What Mathematics means to me and how it plays a role in my daily life?” Students
may complete more than one, but record only one idea per note. As students record their ideas,
all post-it’s are brought to the front of the room as a visual. Read all notes as a class and begin
a discussion about how to categorize the ideas based on their similarities. Based on the
discussion of ideas, students will write a reflection to summarize today’s activity.
Everyday Math in my Community:
Using previous discussions as inspiration, students will interview an adult (family
member or friend) to answer the question “How do you use math in your life, job, or studies?”
Their goal will be to identify specific connections between math and the adult’s life. For
example, making calculations, handling money, created budgets, taking measurements,
analyzing numeric data, etc. Students will participate in a mock interview with a teacher to begin
to develop the questions they will ask during their personal interview. Using notes from the
mock interview as a model, students will brainstorm who they will interview and the questions
they will ask. Students’ homework will be to complete their interview and bring the answers to
class.
Everyday Math in my Community- Part 2:
Students will work in partners to create a word problem based on the answers to the
interviews conducted in order to apply mathematical concepts to a variety of situations. After
the word problems are written, students will rotate around the class solving the problems
written by their classmates. As a class, determine the 5 best word problems that represent your
society and record them on a Google Doc to be shared with the partner class.
Introduce Yourself to the Partnering Class:
Using Skype and the Google Doc, students will share the challenging word problems
created from the previous activity that incorporate geographic-specific contextual information
to spur curiosity in other classroom. Each class will reflect on a difference they see in the two
societies. The outcome of this lesson is to have students compare the similarities and
differences in their society to the partner class. After having a brief discussion between the
classes, students will have a discussion within their own class to begin a list of the similarities
and differences in the two societies. The students will be developing an on-going graphic
organizer comparing and contrasting the two societies.
Statistics and Society:
Students will research statistical information about the issues faced in society. Topics
for students to consider:
● Population make-up (gender, nationalities, religion, age)
● Job income
● Average rainfall
● Elevation/topography
● Availability/cost of produce
Once data is gathered, students will represent it graphically and share their results with the
partner class. Through a discussion about the results, students will add to their graphic
organizer created in previous classes.
Promoting Equality at our School Site:
Students reflect on the issues of equality between the two societies and begin to create
an action plan that addresses the issue of equity in each society answering the question, “What
can your school do to address issues discovered?” Students will compare data using rates,
ratios, percents, and proportional relationships in order to analyze the information gathered.
After data analysis, students will continue to refine their action plan with the purpose of
introducing it to their partner school.
Conclusion:
As the conclusion of our project, students will be asked to complete a written reflection
that addresses the following topics:
● What did you like the most and least about participating in this project? What
would you do differently to improve the experience?
● What did you learn about other societies by participating in the project?
● How can you use your newly acquired knowledge to help you improve your own
classroom and/or society? Where is math involved in this improvement?
1. WHAT MATHEMATICS MEANS TO ME
(Product: A collage.) In this activity the students consider their attitudes and
thoughts about mathematics, the role that math plays in their lives, or how they might
use numeric data to describe themselves and their families. They then cut out numbers,
symbols, or other text or graphics from newspapers, magazines or other publications.
After arranging and pasting these figures onto a piece of paper or cardboard to create a
collage, the students write about their work in a paragraph entitled "What Mathematics
Means to Me".
(Product: Analysis of a graph or chart showing statistical or numeric data.) In this activity
the students create or find a graph or chart depicting some kind of numeric data or
statistics on a theme of interest. This might include themes related to social, political,
scientific, or environmental issues. After creating or finding the graph or chart the
students explain the information that it conveys and write about the implications they
think the data projects. (Note: it is important to have a written description and analysis of
the data so we can exchange the information on the network.)
Another approach to this activity, which can be used successfully with students of any
age, is for students or teachers to take informal opinion polls in their classes. Students
tally the responses and calculate ratios or percentages. Then they describe in their own
words, being as explicit as possible, the findings and implications. Finally they can
create bar or pie graphs to represent and share their findings. Encourage students to
address questions of concern to the school and community, analyze the responses by
age, gender or other characteristics of the respondents, and write about their findings in
the school newspaper.
(Product: Report on the actions students have taken in their communities or schools to
promote greater equity, including a brief summary of the data and analysis on which
those actions were based.) Have students analyze all the biographies in the school
library on the basis of gender, race, class or disability. Students then categorize these
and use percentages, fractions, and bar graphs to help them describe the library's
biography collection. After students have gathered the information and analyzed the
collection, they can be encouraged to explore why the numbers are as they are. Assist
your class in understanding how publishing and power work.
Next, ask students how they think and feel about the people and groups in the books and
also how how their research influences the way they think about themselves. For
example, when girls have gone through books and found only a certain number of
women doing "important things", what does that say to them about themselves and what
does that say to boys about their own importance? We can expand on that when we ask
what does it mean when very few of the people, men or women are Latino, Asian, or
African American.
Finally, students take action to address issues of representation at their school site.
Encourage students to find out who has the power to make decisions about which books
are selected for publication and which books are selected for purchase by the school.
Students might write letters to educational publishers. They can also work with the
librarian, administration, and the PTA, to encourage a more diverse collection of books
and ensure that a broader range of educators, students, and community members are
included in future decision-making. Variations include:
a. Students use CD ROM encyclopedias in their classrooms or
libraries to gather data on the length of the selections for many famous people, based on
their gender, and race.
-Students use searching techniques taught to look up celebrities based on gender and
race and apply
b. A group of students tours the school to collect and graph data on the images that
appear on the school and classroom walls. Whose pictures and words are portrayed?
Students analyze the data on the basis of gender, race, class or disability, comparing
percentages of voices and images represented in each category with the population in
their class, at their school site, in their state, and in their country.
-Groups asked to tour the school and collect data based solely on visuals in
publications/posters around the school.
c. Students analyze entire newspaper stories. They can outline
in one color all the stories about violence and crime, for example, and use another color
to outline stories about people working for justice and peace. Similarly, one can highlight
how many times people of color are featured in stories of crime or drug-addiction, and
how many times they are portrayed positively.
-Teacher brings in a variety of recent newspapers, students analyze whole stories for
inequities, connections between race and a positive/negative portrayal.
d. Students look at front-page photos for one month in three major dailies to record what
percentage of front-page photo subjects are women or people of color and when they do
appear how they are represented, i.e. as athletes, criminals, victims, or representatives of
government or business.
-“Front page flash”, different groups get different batches of 3-4 daily periodicals to
analyze the front page picture and any representations of a high percentage of inequity
based on gender or race
In each case, encourage students to use math skills of simple computation, averages,
percents, and graphing to create displays on bulletin boards. Be sure to ask students to
consider how these images affect the way they feel and how the decisions are made
about which images or stories appear. Students can then take action against any
inequities they might discover by writing to the newspapers or publishers and using their
findings to teach younger children about the bias they detected.
Any time you embark on a telecommunicative project, there are many places along the way in
which you might encounter difficulties. Of course one cannot predict every possible problem
when implementing a project that involves so many parts; however, with any roadblock, good
planning and help to avoid many of the most common ones.
Language-Much of this project, particularly at the beginning stages, really revolves around
looking at yourself and your immediate community and how math relates to your daily life.
However, as the project progresses, the level of interaction increases. Students move from a
personal stage to critical analysis and social action. In each stage, students share their projects
online with the global community. Likewise, students from other countries also share. So for
students to look at and understand other student work may be problematic if language is a
barrier. In addition, communication with others may also be a difficulty. To avoid this, at the
beginning, you may want to just concentrate on other projects and schools who speak the same
language as yourself. However, within a short time, you will probably want to expand outward.
In this case, the teacher may want to make use of the project facilitators (which we will discuss
further down) or even employ a translator to help translate communications. Again, while this
may be a barrier, it may also be a good teaching moment for students to understand how this
process works and how to communicate with others who may not speak the same language.
Data Collection-Depending on the community in which the school exists may impact how easily
data can be collected. The one section of the project asks students to interview parents, family
members or community members regarding how they use math in everyday lives. The cool
thing about this is that the project itself gives an alternative in which students can write math
story problems about the way they use math. The teacher may want to give students guiding
questions or ideas of what to ask or look for when the students determine how their community
uses math.
Time-The issue of time with this project doesn’t necessarily mean that the activities within the
project are too long and tedious to complete. In fact, they are pretty engaging and of high
interest. However, like it was mentioned earlier, there are many different levels to this project.
And while the students don’t have to progress systematically through the levels, the Critical
Analysis and Social Action levels are definitely more difficult to understand for students and
take more time to complete. Within the project description, it states that students may not get
to the Social Action level within one school year. For teachers, this can pose a problem in terms
of wanting to see a project through to its end (or at least to the point where students employ
higher-level thinking skills). Since most of the time teachers here don’t teach the same
students more than one year in a row, it is entirely possible that students will be left with a
feeling of “unfinishedness.” To address this, teachers may want to limit the scope of the
project, especially if it is their first time participating. The goal may be to only hit the Personal
and Critical Analysis stages in that year.
Using facilitators/experts-One of the supports that the project provides is the use of facilitators
to bridge the communication gaps as well as to provide support for teachers. I think one big
difficulty with utilizing this would be the availability of the facilitators. Teachers would have to
be flexible with when they would be able to get support. Teachers may need to plan out well in
advance when using these services.
Students at different levels of math-One of the biggest issues that may come up is the fact that
teachers may have students at very different levels in math. While the project is somewhat
specific about what type of data should be collected, there is some flexibility. The idea here is
that students will contribute a report of their local project to the “Connecting Math to Our Lives”
site. The report will be on the “issue of global importance” that the project determines. Data is
then collected and analyzed by classes around the world with the intent to “uncover stereotypes,
understand history, and examine issues of inequality.” Because the data that needs to be
submitted is going toward global analysis, the teacher really doesn’t have flexibility in what
needs to be submitted. However, what a teacher can do is to look for different levels of
participation. For example, a student who may struggle with math could identify some ways
math is used in everyday life and work on the collage part of the project. Other students who
have more math skill may be able to look at data collected through interviews (also part of the
project) and graph that data to be presented.
● discuss backup plans in case some of the difficulties are greater than anticipated- Dave
This project does seem like a pretty simple project in terms of the actual working of
it. Basically, students collect data and complete activities on their own and then post
their findings/data to the website at which time classrooms from around the world
analyze the data in order to work toward a solution to a real-world problem. Most of the
actual work and activities are done “offline” in the classroom or at home. So in this
respect, if anything goes wrong in this stage, the teacher should be able to correct or
provide instruction in order to get the students on track or to guide them in the right
direction. I suppose at a basic level, the teacher could have the backup plan of working
only within their school or with one or two other classrooms in their district instead of
having the pressure of posting their data online. In this way the teachers and students
can get a feel for the project and move at a pace that is better for them. At any part
along the way in this project if a teacher feels that the requirements are not aligned with
curriculum or that the students just aren’t able to progress then they should engage in a
backup plan that involves a local issue. Before beginning the project, the teacher should
research certain issues that are pertinent to their local communities and then just do the
same project but on a local level. While this is not ideal and certainly not global, the
students can then try to connect with other students who may have the same issue and
collaborate with them. Again, this is something that should be taken into account
before beginning the project.
● describe of your plans for closure of the project within your classroom- Clair
● describe how you will evaluate the success or failure of the project - Steph
The success of this project can be identified by students connecting to others inside
and outside their community. Students should be able to show connections in
mathematical content in their products by using Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Students will also have increased their conversational skills and ability to develop
well-thought out questions when conducting interviews with adults and other classes.
The end product will be asking students to write a personal reflection analyzing an issue
of equality and identifying a connection to math in your day to day life.
● Carl- Website
This plan should be detailed enough so that you will know exactly what you are doing if you
choose to participate in this project. Note that this project should be of a significant nature,
requiring several hours of classroom time. Alternatively, you could choose a series of simpler
but related projects to plan. Examples of simple projects include data collection projects in
which your students count the number of each color of of M&Ms and enter the data in a website
and projects in which your students enter basic information about their pets on a website.
If you actually have your class participate in this project, include a plan written before actual
participation and critique of how well the plan worked, including what you changed and what you
would do differently next time.
Create this in the form of a Web page and be sure to include a link to the original project's Web
site or project announcement.
What To Hand In
● Copy of your plan/web page
● (Optional, but required for an A) Paragraph describing how you have exceeded the
minimum grading criteria.
● Note that the best way to hand in work is by putting it on the Web and submitting the
URL via the Moodle Assignment. If it is not submitted that way, all work should be
submitted electronically via the Moodle Assignment; you should put ALL files that are
part of the assignment in a single folder and compress it in Zip format to save the files as
a single archive.