Welcome 2016!

Welcome to the blog space for Ms. Seto's middle school math classes at Black Pine Circle School! This is the second year for this blog and we are going to pick up where we left off last year. 

My hope for this space is to share and post glimpses into what is happening in the classroom and to share our mathematical adventures with the world. A long-term goal is that the students will be sharing in their own words what is going on in the classroom, but for now, this will be from my perspective (facilitator/teacher).

For students: this is a portal to access materials and resources for class, a place for class notes and shared documents, and a place to share our reflections with a greater community. 

For parents: this is a window into the math classroom and an opportunity for you to access to what happens in your child's day. It can be a tool to connect and create conversations with your child. 

For others: this is a place to share our learning and to reflect on our mathematical journey. 

It is an ambitious project, but I hope that we can live up to the expectations and make our learning visible.  

News: Why We Learn Math Lessons That Date Back 500 Years?

I heard this piece on NPR and followed up by reading the accompanying article. It asks the question of why we learn the math we teach in schools? What are the origins of learning math?
 
NPR: Why We Learn Math Lessons That Date Back 500 Years?

This is a question I encounter every year, multiple time a year. This piece sheds some new light on the historical reasons for the math we teach today. I wonder, why does it remain the same? Why can't we approach math education from a different perspective? Why do we remain so rooted in this historical context? 

Where did the Year Go?

Here we are on June 22, 2016 and I am reflecting on the 2015-2016 school year. I realize that I was able to achieve some of what I set out to do and that on other fronts, I did not quite reach the goal line. Here are some of the thoughts I have about the school year.

• I did a decent job of posting glimpses into the math curriculum until February. The snapshots capture interesting moments in our math journey. I dropped the ball in March and was unable to get back to documenting and reflecting about our work. I would like to continue this practice next year and strive to do better and make it further into the year.
• It was challenging to track and manage three different curriculums and have time to reflect on the work. Reflection is a vital aspect of the learning process and I strive to create more space and time for reflection and to actively work at not getting swept up in the break-neck speed of life. I hope to do that more for myself and my students. 
• I am proud of all that we achieved together in each of my classes.  In reading the students' self-reflections about their year in mathematics, there was much to celebrate and acknowledge. It was satisfying to hear students reflect back many of the values and practices that I value as a teacher and a learner. It was gratifying to see the growth in all of the students and especially when they were able to recognize their growth edges and accomplishments. 
• I had students write a progress report for me as their final assignment in 6th grade. I enjoyed reading them and was reminded of how it feels to be assessed on something that is very personal. Much of their feedback was similar and it was reassuring to get similar feedback from students who find math easy to the students who struggle with mathematics. The comments that stung highlighted the areas that I know I need to address.

It is hard to capture all the ideas, thoughts, questions, and feelings that run through my head at this time of year. It boils down to this: I love what I do. I love that it is challenging and that I will never get it all right. It is the journey and striving towards "better" that keeps me coming back.  I will take the summer to recharge and to fill my tank. I look forward to next fall and having the privilege of trying to do it all over again. 

7A: Tessellated Ceilings of Iranian Mosques

Celling of Hazrate-Masomeh’s mosque in Qom, Iran, all images courtesy of Mehrdad Rasoulifard (@m1rasoulifard) via Colossal

Tessellated Ceilings of Iranian Mosques

Related to our discussion of tessellations, this article came across my feed. The beauty and artistry of these mosques are stunning. Enjoy.

7 Math and Art Connection: M.C. Escher Tessellations

Today, we began exploring how to translate a figure in geometry. We have already looked at line symmetry, rotational symmetry, and reflections. In the course of our discussion, I casually mentioned M.C. Escher's tessellations. I was startled to discover that most of the class had no idea of who M.C.Escher was. I promised the class that I would post a few links so they could explore his work further. 

Resources
M.C. Escher (official site)
Artsy.net: Maurits Cornelius Escher
The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher
Tessellations.org - Escher Gallery 

Snapshot: 8A Documenting the Process

 

One of the great challenges that my students face in math class is documenting their thinking on paper. Most students are resistant to taking the time to show their work in detail. It is difficult to capture all of the decisions and step that are required to show someone how they achieved their result. Every so often, students are able to capture their thinking in a clear, detailed, and concise manner. These are two exemplar samples of what we hope every student can achieve. 

The eighth grade is learning how to factor polynomials. We began the journey by learning how to multiply monomials, binomials, and polynomials. The class spent several periods looking for the clues on how to factor a trinomial in the form of a^2+bx+c. To solidify their learning, they were asked to write out the steps to teach someone how to factor this type of trinomial. Many found this task difficult because they struggled to generalize the steps. Most could tell you what to do with a specific example, but not how to do it without specifics. These two examples were the most successful at capturing what needs to happen to factor a basic trinomial in the a^2+bx+c form.  Both capture the essence of the procedure in very different ways. One is verbal and the other is expressed with tables. We shared in class to help everyone get better at documenting their thinking. 

Snapshot: 7A Playing Card Proportions

The seventh grade is in the midst of reviewing their understanding of ratios and proportions. They worked with unit rates, did unit conversions in customary and metric units, solved proportions, found percent of change, and applied percents to mark ups and discounts. As we transition into our geometry unit, the class was asked to apply their skills with proportions to make a scale drawing of a playing card. 

Detailed calculations done to scale the playing card.

I like this project because it give the students a sense of how much mathematics is embedded in apps and tools that allow them to proportionally scale images on their devices: click and dragging the corner of an image; pinching or expanding an image on a touch screen; or when a mapping application zooms in or zooms out.


The project allowed for student choice and differentiation. There was a large range of difficulty depending on the card they choose (easy = ace, medium = number cards with increasing difficulty as numbers approached 10, difficult = face card) or the scale factor (easy = 2x, medium = 3.5x, difficult = 1.75x). The project required careful measurement and an understanding of proportional change. 

The students did an outstanding job on the assignment. The scale factor range was 0.5x to 8x. Please stop by the first floor of the sixth street building to check them out in person.