Games provide a unique opportunity for integrating the cognitive, affective and social aspects of Mathematics learning. The professor adopted
a technique similar to 5E learning cycle as follows: 1) Engaged students by creating interest and generated curiosity when he called students to follow his instructions and stared hard at the crystal ball with the symbol in their mind
2) Extended curiosity by showing three possible students’ beliefs. Told them today’s task is to find out the trick behind this game based on this belief.
3) Allowed exploration as students started making predictions by observing possible similarities between the numbers and symbols and started devising various problem solving strategies that they could think of to see possible patterns.
4) Got elaboration from students on what their classmate has done. Encouraged students to try several sets of different numbers to see if the same pattern appears.
5) Get students to evaluate their working processes. Showed them the power of coming up with symbols to set the general form of algebraic expressions and get them to clap for their good work during lesson closure.
Research Interest
A possible research area: Developing Conceptual Understanding in Mathematical Problem Solving (MPS) Using Games. Conceptual understanding refers to an integrated and functional grasp of mathematical ideas. Students will know how to organize their knowledge into a coherent whole, which enables them to learn
new ideas by connecting those ideas to what they already know ( Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 1999).Participants are from 3 classes of Secondary 1 Express students. Pedagogy adopted is the Multi-Modal Strategy (MMS) where modes of representation are translated into a systematic and practical technique for teaching of MPS. This helps to stress the linkages among different modes of representation, thus deepening understanding (Wong, 2004). Students in the first class will go through the first research lesson where the teacher observed uses a card game, similar to the Ghost Whisperer-crystal ball game which fits the Sec 2 scheme of work i.e. on forming algebraic expressions.
Students’ responses will be recorded down as observations and categorized in an observation form. Entire lesson will be filmed as part of documentation for post discussions where Sec 2 teachers look at the lesson again to identify important misconceptions and come up with areas of improvements. Post discussion will be held and an improved version will be taught to the next class and this entire process is repeated. The next improved lesson will be taught to the last class and a final post discussion was done. To increase inter-coder reliability, a group of sec 2 math teachers from cluster schools can be invited to participate in the lesson study cycle and the coding of results. Measuring variable used would be the improvement in students’ ability in making connections with symbols to form mathematical expressions. End product would be to design a game by applying mathematical concepts and thinking skills that they have learnt during problem solving.
Future research areas
Could be further extended to adopting the 5E Learning Cycle to see the effectiveness of using this cycle in developing conceptual understanding in Mathematical Problem Solving (MPS) using games. It can also be extended from the use of games to authentic performance tasks or alternative assessments which promote mathematical problem solving.
Benefits of the research
Lesson study provides an avenue to the exchange of teaching ideas. It allows teachers to constantly reflect and improve on the lesson within their professional learning committee (PLC). It is seen as a professional development tool and many schools in Singapore have adopted it to improve teacher instruction. A unique characteristic of lesson study keeps students at the heart of the professional learning activity. It emphasizes on process of students’ learning rather than product. An effective lesson study can have a long term effect on students’ learning, since well-prepared classroom practitioners who have a shared strong understanding of the subject content knowledge and pedagogy can produce better results (Takahashi & Yoshida, 2004).
By incorporating games into lesson study, it aroused students’ interest and developed critical thinking, essential in MPS. By exploring the usefulness of games in motivating and engaging students in MPS during lesson study, it allows teachers to work together and refine the lessons, thus helping in their professional development and improving students’ conceptual understanding in MPS, thus increasing their confidence and interest in MPS, the core of Mathematics education.
Usefulness of tools like blogging
Technological advances help in shaping future learning and redefining the skills need to thrive in the 21st century. With internet access been made everywhere, it is convenient and efficient as anyone can view the pages anytime, anywhere. I can initiate a discussion by first creating a platform where visitors can share useful websites on teaching pedagogies or the latest trends in lesson instruction of improving students’ MPS skills in the comments section. For example, I can discuss about my views after attending the Mass Teachers’ conference or the professional development course that I have attended and share with viewers the latest developments. This acts as a trigger to opinions that viewers have and even a healthy discussion on the possible research areas to explore. I can upload certain research articles useful in promoting MPS and get viewers to comment or suggest the viability of using such a measuring instrument in our local context. The use of blogging facilitates independent learning as viewers can comment at their own leisure time. However it is useful only when there is an active exchange of ideas. The user has to constantly update the webpage with information to elicit interest and discussion. Otherwise it will just form another personal blog.
References
Bransford, J., Brown, A. Cokcik, R. (1999). How people learn, Brain, Mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Takahashi, Akihiko & Yoshida, Makoto (2004), Ideas for Establishing Lesson-Study Communities. Teaching Children Mathematics, vol 10, no 9.
Wong, K.Y. (2004). Using Multi modal Think-Board to Teach Mathematics. A presentation for TSG 14: Innovative Approaches to the Teaching of Mathematics ICME-10, DTU: Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.
http://faculty.mwsu.edu/west/maryann.coe/coe/inquire/inquiry.htm
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