About the WebsiteI created this website as a digital space for students in my Algebra 1 class. I am using it to house various assignments, our class google doc, and links to several classroom tools. A class website provides one digital location for everything students will need to access. I decided to create a weebly because it is extremely user-friendly and allowed me to customize the layout exactly how I wanted it. I wanted to keep the format relatively simple and straight-forward while being able to link, very clearly, to each different tool included. I was also able to embed a YouTube video rather than just a link, which was important in having the capability to view it while also reading the directions.
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Why Google Docs? |
One of the best mediums I've found for facilitating learning experiences in math is whole-class discussion. I generally have students set up in groups, working collaboratively on various prompts, tasks, and problem sets. In the past, I've debriefed portions of group work using miniature whiteboards, having groups write down and hold up their responses. This works well because it allows us to get input from each group and compare and contrast ideas, but there are a few shortcomings. For one, there is no permanence to these discussions; ideas are shared, erased, and replaces with new ones. There is also logistical difficulty in making sure students can actually view one another's responses.
One of the things I decided to incorporate was Google Docs as a debriefing tool. This addresses each shortcoming mentioned above and will benefit students in multiple ways. Google Docs gives students a place to look back at various groups' responses to in-class activities. Students can track where ideas originated, changed, and evolved in this document. It also provides students much easier access to other groups' responses while we are in class, making comparing, questioning, and critiquing a much more in-depth process. Whereas in the past, students may not take in each group's response entirely, this eliminates that issue and allows for a deeper investigation to take place. The other thing Google Docs does is allow me an excellent way to formatively assess students' progress and understanding relatively quickly. In class, I can see real-time progress on this one document and base where I direct my attention on that. It's also a great tool for me to revisit as I'm planning and adapting for upcoming days; I can see which groups ended up where and how I can revisit these conversations to fill in any knowledge gaps we may encounter. |
Why Screencasts? |
The primary goal I set out to achieve is having students become more metacognitive in their problem solving. I've often felt that math tends to become too mechanical for students, that is, they don't make much sense of the knowledge outside of the context of the math problem. In order to combat this, I place the focus for students on identifying and talking through their problem solving strategies in a screencast. I want them to become aware of the roadblocks they have in math, and more cognizant of the decisions they make to get around them.
By using screencasts, students are encouraged to talk their way through problems, explaining each step as they work it. The process is designed to allow students to articulate their actual thought processes while interacting with a math problem. In doing this, they will be able to analyze their decision-making and identify areas they may struggle. Having to talk through their problem-solving process also provides students a way to confront their notion of "not being good at math." It probes students to identify and confront the actual obstacle, whether that's interpreting the text, setting up the problem, or a mathematical issue along the way. It invites students to go deeper into their thinking than they otherwise might when getting stuck on a math problem. Then, after students have created their screencasts, they will comment on two other students' screencasts using VideoAnt. I wanted to incorporate a way for students to collaborate and push one another's thinking when it comes to solving math problems, and VideoAnt provides that interaction. By commenting on classmates' videos, students are questioning, critiquing, and commenting on one another's methods and observations while also revisiting their own ideas. Students will encounter methods that differ from their own and will benefit from reframing how they approached a problem and how to give different forms of feedback. Once students receive feedback on their videos, they will revisit them and synthesize their observations and what they learned. |
Accompanying Lesson Plans
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