A version of Math Mastermind -- a great logic game to have ready at any moment!

Here is a version of Math Mastermind, slightly different from the way I play it, but really the same game.

Flatland the Film & Flatland the Movie

These two films, both based on the 19th century math novel, are quite different from each other!

Here is a link to the official site for Flatland the Movie, and what claims to be a free download site for  Flatland the Film, Flatland the Movie and Sphereland.

Math Xmas carols and other silly songs!

Here is a link to a new bunch of Math Xmas Carols that we'll try out in our class math party today -- and here are some older ones as well.

Textbook assessment: a chance to practice this important skill

Today we looked at a number of textbooks, new and old, and assessed them in the terms listed below. Interestingly, we found that even a math textbook is very much a reflection of the time, place and society it comes from! No matter that the mathematical content is slow to change -- the social and educational contexts (and printing technologies) change much quicker.

Expectations for your unit plan assignment

Here are the notes from our board in class today:

Pailin's powerpoint on Culinary Math!

Here is a link to the PowerPoint slides from Pailin's great presentation today!










You might want to see Pailin's YouTube channel and blog too -- Hot Thai Kitchen. She is an amazing chef and teacher.

Photos from Monday's class!

Starting to sketch out a unit plan: conic sections

Today we tried out a lesson activity around the focus/directrix 'locus of points'  definition of a parabola, and made a start on researching and thinking about the history and uses of conic sections, reasons to teach this unit in schools, and pedagogies we might take on.

Here are some further resources and a photo of our whiteboards in class today. Arshbir is also planning to upload the photos of the parabolas we made in our two groups outside the Scarfe building!

Here is a clip from the feature film Agora showing Hypatia with her conic sections model.

Here is the Wikipedia article on the history of conic sections -- lots here!

And here is another Wikipedia article, on parabolic reflectors.

Unit planning assignment: The details! Due Wed. Dec. 16 at midnight

A unit of work in secondary school mathematics generally lasts 4 to 5 weeks, and includes about 10
to 12 lessons. In most courses, there are 9 or 10 units of work per year -- approximately one per month. I hope that your unit planning assignment will get you started planning for a unit of work that you will actually be teaching for your long practicum!

Each of your sponsoring teachers will have slightly different requirements for unit planning, and for your practicum, you will need to work with those individual requirements.

For this course, I am most interested in seeing your background thinking and planning for designing the unit. I want to see that you can:

•answer the question "why are we learning this?";
•make connections for yourself and your students with the history, uses, and beauty of this topic;
•think deeply about the pedagogy of this topic and the possibilities for teaching it;
•work out formal and informal ways of assessing students' progress in learning this topic;
•design a large or small student mathematics project that will be part of the unit.

You will also need to think out the sequencing of your 10-12 lessons and outline this in a chart.

In planning a complete unit for your practicum, you will need to write a lesson plan for each of the lessons. For our class purposes, I am only asking you for one lesson plan -- but this should be for an especially-inspiring, creative and actively engaging lesson that does not follow the traditional pattern of lecture/exercises/homework. (I expect that some but not all of your lessons in the unit will follow that traditional pattern -- but I would like to see your plan for one that does not!)

Please download the template linked here to write up your unit plan, and stick closely to the suggested word counts for each section. You will see that you are asked to produce short paragraphs for each section, but I will expect them to be well-researched and well-thought out.


Hope you enjoy the process, and the teaching!

Reading & blog response for Monday Dec. 7: John Mason on questioning in math class

Here is the link to John Mason's short and very interesting article on questioning in mathematics classes ! (*Note that the article starts a few pages into the pdf).

Please read this and comment in your blog on:

1) Do Mason's ideas might connect with inquiry-based learning in secondary school mathematics? (And why or why not?)
2) How might Mason's ideas about questions in math class be incorporated into your unit planning for your long practicum?

Have fun!

Two notices from the TEO : school visits & Dec. 17 guest speaker

1) Here's a notice from John Yamamoto to the FAs about your Tuesday school visits:

Hello FAs,

Just a reminder that your TCs are beginning their three ‘bridging’ visits to their placement schools this Tuesday. On December 1, 8 and 15 they will be returning to their placements and reconnecting with their school advisors and school communities. They should be utilizing this time to continue to build their relationships with their SAs (and you), confirm their extended practicum teaching loads, obtain resources for their spring practicum, and/or further their planning/preparation for EDUC 421. In some cases TCs will also be required to teach, however this is not a typical requirement for these Tuesdays. You are also free to utilize parts of these days for collaborative meetings with your TCs if you wish to do so.

Should you be asked by any of your TCs, these Tuesdays are not optional – they are mandatory for all, and the expectation is that they will spend all day at their schools (unless they have other meetings scheduled through you, or in some cases with the school districts for orientation).

Finally, if you have students who are taking their placements out of town, they will be fulfilling the requirements for these Tuesdays by visiting various local schools. I will be coordinating these visits for them, but if you have any specific goals in mind for these visits please feel free to communicate them to your TCs.

Many thanks
John Yamamoto


2) And here is a notice from the TEO about the Neil Stephenson talk you should attend on Thursday Dec. 17, 12:30 - 2:00 in Room 100:

Dear colleagues,

Could you kindly let your students know about a special presentation by Delta’s Director of Learning Services, Neil Stephenson, on Thursday, Dec. 17th from 12:30-2:00 pm in Scarfe 100? This was arranged based on student feedback that, while there are good opportunities in this program to inquire into one’s own and others’ teaching practice, there are not enough connections being made to how teachers incorporate an inquiry perspective in teaching their students.  Neil works extensively with teachers in his district and beyond in doing just that.  

Info: http://teach.educ.ubc.ca/event/neil-stephenson-sec-17-dec-2015/

We had a less than full turnout of secondary teacher candidates at last week’s mini-conference, which was disappointing for the presenters and a missed opportunity for those who were not there.  It is important that we encourage candidates to attend these important sessions organized (at some expense) for them.  We really hope you’ll attend too if possible.

Thanks and see you soon.

Wendy

I’ll send a separate message about an upcoming inquiry instructor meeting.

Presentation by Neil Stephenson
For Secondary Teacher Candidates

Thursday, December 17, 2015
12:30 p.m – 2:00 p.m.
Scarfe 100

Neil Stephenson, Director of Learning Services for the Delta School District, speaks to teacher candidates and faculty/instructors about adopting an inquiry approach re: the new BC curriculum and the profession.

Presentation:

British Columbia, like many educational jurisdictions, is moving to an increasingly progressive, learner-centred curriculum designed to better prepare students for the future. But how do we do that shift well? What is worth keeping as our system increasingly values creativity and innovation? And what should new teachers focus on as they enter this dynamic profession?

Bio:

Neil Stephenson is the Director of Learning Services for the Delta School District. As part of his position, Neil co­-leads the district’s Coordinator of Inquiry program; a district -wide system that is inspiring and supporting collaborative teacher inquiry whereby school educators and leaders work at the school level to enact various teacher ­initiated programs and new instructional approaches. Before moving to Delta four years ago, Neil’s last stop was at the Calgary Science School in Calgary, Alberta. Spending 9 years at this innovative, inquiry­-based school confirmed Neil’s passion for student­ centered, inquiry­-based learning. During his time at the school, his regular mentoring from the Galileo Educational Network inspired him to design tasks for student engagement and deep learning. During Neil’s time as a teacher at the Calgary Science School he was chosen as an Apple Distinguished Educator, and was awarded a Prime Minister’s Award, a Governor General’s award and an Alberta Social Studies award of excellence.