Mathematical Representation What convinces (or doesn't convince) you in the author's argument? I fully agree with the author in that representation is fundamental to the development of a student's mathematical understanding. What convinced me was the simple fact that pictures help kids (and adults)understand. I have to confess, I was unfamiliar with the terminology before starting the article and had a very difficult time getting through it. Had I googled the terminology before reading, I would have seen all of the pictures and examples and better understood the context and direction of the material. On further exploration, I realized that the author is really explaining what is, to my mind, the easiest and clearest way to work. What kinds of mathematical representations are included and excluded in the artcle? The article includes references to representations such as: numerals, algebraic equations, graphs, tables, diagrams and charts, and an example of simpli...
Thanks Ellen, Sue and Vincent! This is one of my favourite curricular topics.
ReplyDeleteI think the lesson you've planned is too long for the given time, and I would recommend dropping the review of sin, cos and tan at the start. It's not really part of this topic, and you don't have time to do a review.
In the main body of the lesson, be careful not too: a) concentrate TOO much on 'tricks' (as it can lead students to believe that math is all just a big list of meaningless magic tricks that you have to memorize exactly). Mind you, the tips and tricks you are showing sound very interesting -- they are ones I have never encountered!
b) Make sure that the lesson is not all just teacher-talk and explanation -- be sure to have some student participatory engagement, even in this short micro teaching lesson!
c) Make sure your 'hook' is more than just saying the topic of the lesson. (For just one possible example, can you offer some kind of interesting teaser about the fact that triangle trig is now going to transform into circles and sinusoidal curves?) The 'hook' should be brief but also intriguing.
c) I don't think you'll have time to deal with ACTS/ CAST and the signs of the four quadrants in this very short lesson. Stick to what can actually be accomplished in 15 minutes, rather than trying to pack in more! It will give you space to really do a good job with the teaching.
Thanks! Looking forward to a great lesson.