Week of Inspirational Math
During the first two weeks of school, we have been exploring some important learning presented by Jo Boaler from Stanford University. We have been watching videos and exploring math problems.
Here are the key messages that we recorded as a class.
- Through the Dot Cards and the Squares to Stairs activities we learned how people saw the activities differently. Math is a visual subject.
- The Squares to Stairs activity was also a great opportunity to talk about the different ways we can justify our thinking. Mathematicians use models, drawings, and charts to represent their thinking.
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- The Four 4’s activity taught us that there are multiple solutions to problems.
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- Students worked to find the fewest number of squares that could be made within an 11 x 13 rectangle.
- Our final activity was to create rectangles using tiles that had frames that answered the two challenges. We also noticed patterns, in our chart, of the areas of the rectangles and frames created.
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Reflections of Our Learning
On Friday students wrote responses to the Week of Inspirational Math. Here are some quotes of what they had to say:
I learned to visualize math problems to help solve them.
Jo Boaler’s videos made me think that math is used in everyday life.
Speed is not important when doing math - it is about thinking deeply into the question and understanding it.
I learned that mistakes make you grow and I always thought that you shouldn’t make mistakes.
I learned that mistakes are powerful and when you make mistakes your brain grows.
After watching the videos and after doing the activities Math has turned into a “mini passion”.
I learned that no one is born with a math brain. It is just a Myth.
It is important to have a “Growth Mindset”.
The most important thing I learned is that you need to believe in yourself and have a Growth Mindset.
