Use this activity to support students in working together, recognizing one another’s contributions, and leveraging their mathematical strengths to solve challenging problems.
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Amanda Helgerson
This department provides a space for current and past PK–12 teachers of mathematics to connect with other teachers of mathematics through their stories that lend personal and professional support.
Mathematical Explorations: A New Twist on Collaborative Learning
classroom-ready activities
Stephanie M. Butman
Research on students' learning has made it clear that learning happens through an interaction with others and through communication. In the classroom, the more students talk and discuss their ideas, the more they learn. However, within a one-hour period, it is hard to give everyone an equal opportunity to talk and share their ideas. Organizing students in groups distributes classroom talk more widely and equitably (Cohen and Lotan 1997).
Anna F. DeJarnette, Jennifer N. Dao, and Gloriana González
Elicit productive discourse from students as they work through a bicycle rate problem.
Thomas Hammond and Lanette R. Waddell
These activities develop pattern-seeking, prediction, and explanation. All the problems use Google™ maps (http://maps.google.com/) and some use little-known features of the tool. Before sharing these problems with your students, explore the site to become familiar with what the tool can do. Be careful, though–you may find yourself spending more time playing with its features than you had planned!
Rebecca R. Robichaux and Paulette R. Rodrigue
Sorting shapes and solving riddles develop and advance children's geometric thinking and understanding while promoting mathematical communication, cooperative learning, and numerous representations.
Patricia O'Donnell and Amanda Frick
Do you remember clever, energetic Speedy Gonzales, “the fastest mouse in all Mexico,” one of the animated characters in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoon series? This month our “math by the month” activities, reminiscent of the spirited Speedy, will have your students calling ¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! (colloquial Spanish for “Come on! Hurry up!”) as they ask for more problem-solving scenarios based on this month's racing theme.
