Week+8+Review+Questions

1.  Give examples of instructional games that you might use in your teaching context. List at least one game along with where it can be found that could be used in your classroom.  ·   Sudoku can be played to increase logic and problem solving strategies.  ·   Cribbage can increase counting abilities and multiplication as well as strategies to get the most points.  ·   Fun Riddles and puzzles can also increase problem-solving skills and creative thinking skills.  ·   The following websites also has some interactive computer games: http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html, and http://www.cut-the-knot.org/games.shtml 2.  What are the modifications that you have made to the inquiry rubric so that it could be used in your classroom?  ·   Not much needs to be done with the inquiry rubric because mathematics and science are closely related. Clink on the below link to see the changes I made. 3.  What ideas and examples do you have regarding assessment in your classroom and mastery learning and-or criterion-referenced examination? How might you differentiate assessment in your classroom to meet student needs, and how might you assess learning in an inquiry activity specific to your teaching content?  ·   I believe that assessment should be an ongoing activity in class. Assessment doesn’t happen only on tests or quizzes, but throughout the classroom. Whenever a student offers an explanation to a problem or shows their work, I assess their thinking process and their understanding of the concepts. Mostly, I want my students to be able to assess their own thinking process and build confidence in their knowledge and understanding of the world. In order for students to become independent learners they need to be assessed frequently and given feedback often. I also believe that it is better to correct mistakes sooner rather than later. The longer a student does something incorrectly the harder it is to break this habit or train of thought.  ·   You can differentiate assessment to meet student needs in many ways. First give feedback often on class work, homework and tests. Also we can provide special need students with added support or more time or just a quieter setting.  ·   I could assess learning in an inquiry activity in mathematics by having the students give mathematical support to their conjectures and to show these ideas with graphs and patterns and justifications. I can also assess their learning by guiding questions during the inquiry activity. 4.  How might the case-study approach be used in your classroom context? Give examples. Find at least one example of case study for your classroom.  ·   A case study approach could be used in a mathematics class to assess student understanding of a concept and their ability to communicate this understanding. For example, I could find a case study where students explain some mathematical concept or problem and the steps they took to reach their conclusion. Then the student could respond to this explanation and agree or disagree with additional support or a counter-example. Case-studies could be a good starting point for class discussions and to counteract students’ misconceptions. 5.  What ideas and examples might you have regarding WebQuests as an inquiry approach for your classroom? Give at least one example of a WebQuest activity that could be used in your classroom?  ·   WebQuests can be very intriguing and motivating to students because they deal with more real life problems and require higher level thought processes. Some ideas that I might have regarding Web Quests have to deal with interest rates, linear relationships, statistics, and probability pertaining to games. The Following are a few examples that I could use in my class: http://www.uni.edu/schneidj/webquests/spring04/nose/julie.html, or http://questgarden.com/45/79/1/070120175316/t-index.htm 6.  What inquiry activity are you planning to present and what journals and/or educational resources were/will be used to create the activity?  ·   The inquiry activity that I am planning on presenting is an experiment on the relationship between thickness of a bridge and how much weight it holds or the relationship between length of a bridge and weight. One relationship is linear and the other is not. After you understand the relationship more; we can then begin to develop a plan for building a strong bridge. I will be using the Connected Mathematics 2 book: Thinking with Mathematical Models by Lappan, Fey, Fitzgerals, Friel and Phillips