GTM webinar draft 10.25.12 final [Compatibility Mode]

This Powerpoint presentation was part of a joint webinar with the National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics. An archived video of the webinar may be viewed online
at http://www.instantpresenter.com/edwebnet/EA52DF81894F
In addition, a half-hour professional development video showing a teacher using Get
the Math in the classroom is viewable from the Teachers section on the
getthemath.org website. (Direct link to video: http://www.thirteen.org/get-themath/teachers/classroom-video/27/)
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Get the Math is an award-winning project that mixes video and Web interactivity to
help students develop algebraic reasoning skills for solving real-world problems.
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Our target audience is Algebra I students in middle and high school. To appeal to
them, the project draws on conventions of popular reality TV shows. It also features
a diverse group of young professionals working in fields of interest to teens,
showing how algebra is relevant to things they care about, beyond the classroom.
The first three modules, which launched in 2011, featured the hip-hop music duo
Doble Flo, Project Runway winner Chloe Dao, and a videogame designer. The
three new modules that have just launched feature chef Sue Torres, basketball star
Elton Brand, and a special effects designer.
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Each module includes a sequence of short videos and interactives that take you
through a content thread aligned to Common Core Content Standards, with a focus
on the Math Practices, specifically, reasoning and sense making.
First, an introductory video begins with a profile of the professional, who then poses
an algebra challenge related to his or her job to two teams of teens.
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Students can tackle the challenge themselves using an online interactive tool…
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…before watching a video that shows the teams’ solutions.
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Then they can deepen their understanding of the same algebra concepts through
additional interactive challenges.
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To give you an idea of how it all works, here’s an excerpt from a video that shows
how a teacher in New Jersey used the Math in Music module with his Algebra I
students. The full version of this video is available on the Get the Math website in
the Teachers section.
[SHOW SHORT CLASSROOM VIDEO EXCERPT - start 1:34, end 4:47]
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So that was a brief look at Math in Music. Now I’m going to take you through
another module, Math in Fashion, in a little more detail. It features Chloe Dao, a
Texas-based fashion designer who won Season 2 of Project Runway, and focuses
on concepts including percent markup; writing and solving linear inequalities; and
cost analysis.
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Let’s start by looking at an excerpt from the intro video, in which we learn about
Chloe’s background before she presents the challenge. In the interest of time, we’re
going to skip Chloe’s profile and go straight to the challenge.
[PLAY VIDEO – Math in Fashion Intro starting at 2:45, Chloe presenting the
challenge]
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At this point, students can try the challenge themselves using an interactive tool
provided on the website.
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The interactive first recaps the challenge Chloe posed…
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It reviews details about the garment…
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and information on the original cost sheet (screen 3).
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The interactive leads student step by step through solving it. [A teacher can allow
this to be more open-ended by presenting the challenge and allowing the students
to develop their own plan.]
The first step is to calculate the maximum wholesale cost. The instructions remind
students of the information Chloe provided – that 220% of the wholesale cost must
not exceed the target retail price of $35.
An important feature of the each interactive is the hints that are provided for
students who may need a prompt.
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In this case, the hint suggests that students use an inequality and offers some
guidance, without revealing the answer.
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It turns out the correct answer, after rounding, is $15.91. So after we type that in…
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We’re prompted to select from a menu of possible design changes that may help us
get the price down to the target of $35 retail, or $15.91 wholesale. These are the
same changes Chloe suggested in the video.
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When you select a change, you can see it reflected in the design. So for instance,
you can remove the sleeves…
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…or the beading…
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…or both.
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After you select your changes, you then need to calculate the cost of your new
design by revising the original cost sheet.
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If you make a mistake in your calculations, you’ll see an error screen,
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and the interactive will highlight in red the values that are incorrect.
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If you made the correct calculations but didn’t hit the target price, the interactive lets
you know that too.
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Once you finally come up with a garment that hits the target, you get a success
screen that will prompt you to either watch a video of the teams’ solutions, or try
additional fashion challenges online.
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The other modules on the website follow the same format and explore other algebra
concepts.
• In Math in Videogames, a videogame designer presents a challenge around an
asteroid game that introduces basic concepts behind programming using
functions. Key concepts include coordinate graphing; rate of change; linear
equations; distance formula; and the Pythagorean Theorem.
• In the Restaurant module, a chef challenges kids to set menu prices through a
challenge involving lines of best fit, as well as using a box and whisker plot.
• In Math in Basketball, NBA star Elton Brand presents a challenge about free
throw shots that involves quadratic functions, parabolas and projectile motion.
• And finally, in the Special Effects module, students learn about the lighting used
in filming explosions through a challenge that involves inverse square law and
inverse relationships.
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We’ve provided materials to support teachers’ use of Get the Math in the
TEACHERS section of the website, including lesson plans, handouts, and answer
keys for each of the modules.
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Each module was designed to address learning goals aligned to the Common Core
Content Standards, with a focus on the Math Practices, specifically, reasoning and
sense making.
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The handouts were designed to support students through the reasoning and sense
making process. They can serve as a form of embedded assessment through
questions that ask students to explain their thinking and strategies.
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The answer keys detail multiple strategies and solutions used by students for each
of the challenges.
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Over the past year, thanks to an implementation grant from the Next Generation
Learning Challenges, we’ve been working to get our materials into classrooms. An
independent research firm also conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of
Get the Math. Results showed that the program succeeded in prompting more
sophisticated algebraic reasoning performance than the students had shown
previously. Also, the majority of students asserted they could now name ways that
algebra was beneficial in the “real world.” A majority of teachers rated Get the Math
positively in terms of its educational value, appeal/engagement for students, and
value/usefulness for teachers.
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Get the Math can help support your students’ engagement in key mathematical
practices, such as reasoning and sense making. We encourage you to check out
Get the Math and all the supporting resources by visiting the website at
getthemath.org. All materials are free and accessible from any internet-connected
computer, and we’ve just launched three new modules to help expand the scope of
algebraic concepts covered.
As David mentioned earlier, encouraging students to engage in the habit of
attending to the process going on in their own minds while solving questions, and of
explaining how they solve them is essential to developing Reasoning Habits of
Mind. Using Get the Math to bring real world applications directly into the
classroom motivates your students to engage in this important analysis and in
making critical connections .
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Over the past year, thanks to an implementation grant from the Next Generation
Learning Challenges, we’ve been working to get our materials into classrooms. An
independent research firm also conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of
Get the Math. Results showed that the program succeeded in prompting more
sophisticated algebraic reasoning performance than the students had shown
previously. Also, the majority of students asserted they could now name ways that
algebra was beneficial in the “real world.” A majority of teachers rated Get the Math
positively in terms of its educational value, appeal/engagement for students, and
value/usefulness for teachers.
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