Clips for Transitions or Breaks

I love YouTube! My students get a kick out the this one



Clips from YouTube or TeacherTube provide great resources to use in the classroom. I use this one to get students' attention at the beginning of class. I found this and other short clips to be most effective during transitions in the classroom. It helps bring students' attention back to focus. As soon as the clip is over, we have a good laugh then move on to the next class activity. It also serves as a good break during long block-schedule class periods.

Using Spreadsheets in Teaching Math

"Spreadsheets build an ideal bridge between arithmetic and algebra and allow the student free movement between the two worlds. Students look for patterns, construct algebraic expressions, generalize concepts, justify conjectures, and establish the equivalence of two models as intrinsic and meaningful needs rather than as arbitrary requirements posed by the teacher." (Friedlander, Alex (1998). An EXCELlent bridge to algebra. "Mathematics Teacher," 91(50), 382-383)
I got this from an article at http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-1/math.htm

I don't know why I haven't been teaching with spreadsheets all along. They present the tools to make meaning out of abstract algebraic ideas. The graphs and charts help students visualize patterns. Overall, probably the best part is that students can easily go from raw data to ordered pairs to tables to charts to graphs in a matter of clicks. I gotta get into this!

I don't know of career in which a student is going to use a math textbook and a calculator--those are much too slow. Careers in math and engineering require spreadsheet proficiency. Math teachers need to get with the program!

Math as a Social Activity

From my experience math has been an almost entirely individual study. Teachers presented basic concepts and student repeated them on their own. I cannot recall any class discussion of a math problem. I don't think I ever participated in group work in a math class. There is now an effort to make learning math more of an interactive activity. Teamwork is a recent trend in teaching and learning math--especially when it comes to higher level problem solving. I came across this video and article about teaching math as a social activity and it gave something to think about.
Check it out -->
How to Teach Math as a Social Activity | Edutopia