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Various Teaching Scenarios

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The past week we went through teaching Grade 12 courses and the challenges that it may present. We went through a number of scenarios that could (and have happened) within in our courses, and discussed in small groups what we would do in each. They were all very interesting and challenging as each had multiple ways that you could deal with it. For example one scenario was that you heard one of your students was programming his graphing calculator to include his notes and formulas to use on an upcoming test. Some of the possible solutions included having everyone reset their calculators, providing students with a set of calculators instead of letting them use their own, or just keeping a close eye on the student in question. Another possibility would be to try to design the test so that a calculator is not necessary and then not allow the use of calculators. One of the other scenarios involved a student asking the teacher for an 85% as he needed it for his university applications, w...
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Games in Class

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During our past class we got to play various games related to topics in Advanced Functions and Data Management. It was fun the various activities that were brought out to bring out some competition in the class. The one was a simple game of war, using logarithms and having us practice how to do basic logarithm calculations. Another game was solving problems using logarithm laws and then if the we got the correct answer we got to attempt to score a basket using our crumpled up piece of paper. This was fun as not only did it involve math but also some skills outside of the math classroom, so those who may not excel in math may still be able to do well in the game. The final activity wasn't a game but still a hands on activity, involving various stations in which probabilities were determined. The station I was had a pair of dice and involved determining the probabilities to get a certain sum when rolling a pair of dice. Overall I think the addition of games and activities like th...
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Using Hands On Activities in Class

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This past week we went over the Grade 11 Math college level course. What I found very helpful in the class was seeing some great hands on activities that would be great to do in the classroom to get the class engaged, and also applying their learning. The first was in the topic of mean, median and mode. The activity we had was playing a game based around a deck of cards. We randomly got dealt 7 cards (anywhere from Ace to 10) and out of these cards we had to determine the mean, median or mode, depending on which game we were playing. It was fun to turn it into a game since it will ensure that students are actually doing the calculations as opposed to just assuming they know what to do. Also, with the use of cards it is easier to visualize and sort the cards for determining something like the median. Overall, I think the activity is a good one to use for the class in order to reinforce what these important measures are. The next activity which is pictured above was investigating 3...
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Ferris Wheels

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When it comes to trigonometry, the one type of question that students always seemed to be ask, is to give the equation of the rotation of a Ferris wheel. However given this type of question, it can sometimes be difficult for students to visualize how rotating in a circular path relates to a sinusoidal wave. This is where seeing the presentation by Reza in class was very helpful. He showed us a Geogebra app of this exact problem type. Considering how often these questions are asked I think it's a very good idea to use the app to demonstrate to students how the rotation of the Ferris wheel corresponds to a sinusoidal graph. Having seen the app students will be able to more easily grasp how each part of the Ferris wheel, such as it's height or radius, relate to the graph that is created. Through this students can more easily understand a concept that without a visual may be more difficult to understand. As a whole I think this reiterates the usefulness of technology within th...
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Teaching Efficacy

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During this past week we watched a video, and were given an article about teacher efficacy, that being the teacher's thoughts on their ability to promote learning in their classroom. This was an interesting topic as the findings that come from it, that teacher's with greater levels of efficacy leads to greater learning, has an impact on me as a student teacher. As a result of this study I want to ensure that I have a high level of teacher efficacy, and am also able to maintain during my years of teaching. Of course, this is easier said then done. As a student teacher, going on to become a new teacher, I think one of the most important things to having high teacher efficacy is to not be too self-critical. As a new teacher, there are many new experiences that will be happening, and new lessons that have never been taught before to students. Some of these might not go well, however I think it's important to recognize that this is part of the growing process of being a t...
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Pythagorean Theorem

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This past week we had a couple presentations on lessons for Pythagorean Theorem, and I found both of them unique and very interesting ways of helping students to learn. The first was from Carly and some of the interesting parts of her lesson were the doodle sheet we were given, and the mini activity we had. First, the doodle sheet was a really fun way of being able to take notes for the students, especially since it was for an applied class, it would make it easy to follow along with the lesson, while also at the end of class having a set of good notes. Also, you can draw on it, colour it and have fun that way too. The activity was also interesting as we got to actually try to see Pythagorean Theorem work by cutting up squares and matching them together to show the theorem. This was a neat little hands on activity that further reinforces what they should have learnt in the lesson. Next, was Danielle's lesson on Pythagorean Theorem, and the main component of the lesson was a g...
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Reflection on Placement

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Having gone through my first placement, a two week internship where I was teaching a grade 11 university level math class, I have learned much and have found areas in which I would like to improve. First though, some of my highlights was first just being able to get into a classroom and actually start teaching. It's been a few months of just in class time and it was nice to actually get into a school and begin to put into practice what we have been going over in our classes. I was a little nervous going into, but as I got settled in and got to know my class I felt very comfortable and excited to teach. One of my favourite lessons was a lesson in which I showed a simple little animation using GeoGebra of transformations of exponential functions. I thought little of the animation going into the lesson, it was just something small that I wanted to include to help their understanding. However, going through the lesson and showing them the animation they really enjoyed seeing and it h...
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