Blog Post 5: EDBE 8P29 (October 14th, 2016)

Good Day Bloggers!

Objective: 

For this week, it is my objective for this blog post to present my responses to questions, ideas and information presented this week in the course EDBE 8P29 at Brock University! To begin this class, we reviewed our problem solving assignments, and the issue that most people had were to compare their problem solving activities to specific curriculum expectations outlined in the Ontario Math Curriculum Grades 1-8. 

                                                     Battleship in Mathematics Anyone?

žJeopardy Battleship:  

Following the review of the previous week as well as our assignments we were handed back, we played Jeopardy Battleship! The purpose of this game is to be the last person standing, relying on your math skills and some luck. First, we were instructed to shade in the squares representing each type of ship (three ships), and also to draw a missile on one of the squares. If it lands on your missile than you get to pick the next square. Once all your ships are sunk then you join another player’s team.

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While I thought this game to be engaging, for younger students this could be a really confusing concept, so as a more fast paced game to begin with, it might be more efficient to learning to slow down the battleship sinking so students having difficulties with mental arithmetic can be inclusive to the game as well.

Presentations: 

After the Jeopardy Battleship game, we had 3 presentations of 10 minutes in length performed by various students in the class. I like this aspect of the course because it allows us to perform a mini lesson and can get feedback both from our peers and the teacher to perfect our presentation image for the time that we engage young students in our practicum.

Number Sense and Numeration Expectations: 

Grade 4: Solve problems with +, -, x, / of single digit and multi-digit whole numbers, + and - decimal numbers to tenths and money amounts

Grade 5: Solve problems with x, / at multi-digit while numbers, + and - of decimal numbers to hundredths

Grade 6: Solve problems with x, / of whole numbers, + and - of decimal numbers to thousandths.

Grade 7: + and - fractions, solve problems with whole numbers and decimal numbers

Grade 8: Solve problems with whole numbers, decimals, fractions and integers (including x and / of fractions) 

Integers and Exponents 

Next, we discussed integers and exponents, and how we can use real life situations to explain to young students how they already use integers and exponents without even realizing it through money problems, temperature, etc. Using coloured tiles for adding and subtracting integers also is beneficial to students, because you can allow students to have a visually appealing and interesting way of showing that the problem 5/2 is not 5 x 2, rather it is 5 x 5. 

When? 

Lastly, we discusses the question of when. When should teachers introduce a new concept to aid in discovery or to help them go from a concrete idea to an abstract idea? In what cases should teachers need to re-teach a topic or to develop the understanding of a concept? These are very important questions that I will have to ask myself when I am provided the opportunity to teach a classroom of students, and I will have to aim to their individual needs to determine an answer for these questions. 

Reflect

In this past session, we reviewed mental arithmetic and number sense and numeration. We discussed in detail about integers and exponents, and the use of manipulatives. Some strategies can you use to make sure your students do not become dependent on manipulatives are to have the student preform the equation/question in multiple ways; with and without the manipulatives, to ensure the students complete understanding of what is being taught. Specific to how to ensure students development and conceptual understanding of integers and exponents, I would use various manipulatives such as blocks, or anything the student could visually count with, and allow them to see that 5 / 2 is different then 5 x 5. What could also work is allow the students to draw out the problem themselves and then to group 5 sets of 5 to 5 times 2 and compare the differences!

That's all for now! Until next time bloggers!

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