What are your Spring Break plans?

My Spring Break dates are March 30th through April 3rd. I do not have any confirmed plans, but I may take a few days to visit my dad in Alabama....what a beautiful and peaceful place it is!

Reaction to the Slavit article

This article is clear proof of a very strong point - As I read through the article, I became more and more confused! However, if I were to actually do the activities which I read about, I'm sure I would gain a much better understanding. The author mentioned the educational importance of "doing" mathematics. In geometry especially, the possibilities of teaching through hands-on activities are endless.

I also thought it was interesting how the author continued to build and extend the lesson from using triangles to quadrilaterals, to pentagons, and then hexagons, which led to a deeper understanding. After participating in several ISTEM courses, I've taught myself to extend problems for my own students more often. It's so easy to work a problem, solve it, and quickly move on to the next one. However, I am now more aware of finding those "teaching moments" to pause and have a deeper discussion with my students. This has led to great results!

My reaction to the assigned article is ...

While the article had little text to read, I spent a lengthy amount of time on working through the problems. It's great to use real-world examples and I understood what the problems were asking me to do. However, due to my lack of geometry skills, they were difficult for me to solve. I relied a great deal on The Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) software. As I followed the steps listed in the article, I thought to myself, "I'm not seeing how this will lead to the answer." All of a sudden, the results appeared, and the problem was solved! Now as I compare myself to a student doing this for the first time, I know I would need the teacher to explain why these GSP directions give the solutions. Other than that, I thought the article was a great resource.

I am interested in learning more about ...

Last week we read an article about teaching geometric vocabulary. I strongly agree that our students will gain a much better understanding by exploring and discovering the definitions on their own. The article led the reader through the process of students defining an "angle." I thought the discussions and activities were great. I would really benefit from learning additional ways to help guide my students through more vocabulary terms. There is an excessive amount of terminology in the subject, and I would like to see more examples other than "the angle."

Vocabulary

Reflect on the role of vocabulary in geometry.

The importance of vocabulary in any subject cannot be stressed enough! Just as we learn the Spanish language in Spanish class, we must learn the Algebra language in Algebra class, and the Geometry language in Geometry class. I must admit, I did not do so well in my high school geometry class, nor have I ever taught it myself. Therefore, I feel somewhat like a beginner in this graduate course. I find myself trying to keep up during class discussions because I'm still trying to remember what "corresponding angle" means! Until I strengthen my knowledge of these geometric terms, I will always be behind. The same goes for our own students. Before we teach the concepts, we must be sure that they know and are comfortable with the vocabulary.

Logo Technology

Reflect on the role that the technology is taking as you work with Logo. How does using this program change the teaching and learning of angles and lines?

I have never worked with any program like this before. My first thought was, "My students would love this." I feel that all students benefit a great deal from hands-on instruction. I constantly hear requests to use the computers in my class. My students would enjoy experimenting with the Logo program, mostly because of the simple and concrete directions. After following the lessons in the book, it would become easier to see what the angles actually look like and what image the turtle is creating. Students would be able to see how the image changes when they vary their rotations and directions. Finally, my students would definitely show an interest in this program, which of course, leads to learning.