Thursday, October 8, 2015

A view from Rm 62- The Math Error Project

It always happens...every start of the new school year... I have a million plus one ideas running through my mind of how I want to incorporate best practices in my teaching. I see a big picture, but actually putting these ideas into action is the difficult part. I decided to start small with the math error project.

Let me start off by saying...Wow, I sure do have a great group of kiddos. They are fantastic. They have done a great job with this project, and I'm so proud of them. I had 2 main goals I wanted to accomplish at the start of this project.

1. Increase rigor for students using activities that would fall in the higher categories of Webb's DOK levels
2. Increase participation/collaboration through the use of technology

The math error project was broken down into two main parts:

1. Students created an open ended math question similar to ones they had solved in class. This problem needed to have at least 3 steps to solve, and it had to include fractions or decimals (We had just finished the number system unit, so they were applying this knowledge.) Once students created the open ended math question they created a Keynote presentation with three slides. Slide 1- The problem. Slide 2- Solving the problem while making an error. Slide 3- Correctly solving the problem. Students chose to either record their presentation through Keynote or Quicktime. The last step of this part was to upload it to the discussion board on our Schoology course.

Olivia  and Breanna explain the math error project.



2. The second part of the math error project was to watch a peer's presentation of the error project to determine the error through error analysis. Students would pause the presentation to solve, watch the error slide to determine the error, and lastly they would watch the correct slide to check their solution. They would then comment on their peer's problem in the Schoology course indicating what error was made on the second slide.

Trent and Parker explain their error analysis of a peer's error problem.



I was really impressed with what the students were finding during their error analysis investigations. They were using higher level thinking to not only solve their own problems but to also create a common error that could be made while solving. This is where I noticed the collaboration really helping. Students also were using higher order thinking while watching their peers problems and determining the error. To know the error the students had to solve the problem and work backwards to determine the error made.

Here is a sample error problem created by Megan  Imogin , and Abigal of period 6.



Most students were cognizant to the fact that these problems are published and therefore should be high quality work; it added a little pressure to the project. One of my "teachable moments" happened during this lesson in my 3rd period class. A group was working on solving their own problem correctly. I noticed they made one of the most common errors I see when dealing with elapsed time. At first they were bummed I found a "mistake" in what they thought was their correct solution. I shared with them that I was so happy they had made this mistake, because they could use it in the error slide. I was able to address the misconception while also praising them for learning from their mistakes. They could use it to teach others as well. #growthmindset ;) Using the rubric provided to the students at the start of this project, they will be given feedback on their groups project.

Overall, I was thrilled with the results of our first math error project. The students really picked the concept up fast. I was thoroughly impressed with their ability to collaborate and share with others. It was totally worth the risk. Shout out to Ryan Donnelly for being there for all of my tech questions, and shoutout to Brooke Sexton for the use of some of your open ended question materials. Mrs. Rogers- your support to the students throughout this project was second to none. Lastly (and certainly not least), to my 7th grade students- you are AMAZING!!!!!


Until the next time I try one of the million and one ideas.... Ciao
Carter and Ian are collaborating.
Jarod and Nolan are coming up with a creative problem.
Megan, Abbey , and Imogin are analyzing errors.
Matt and Andy work together to come up with a creative question.
Trent analyzes another group's error.

26 comments:

  1. Mrs. Collins: This project with error analysis and having kids make their own problems gives them autonomy! This is an amazing project!

    Kids: Great work creating these projects and problems! I love what you came up with! I think this kind of thinking will benefit you a lot outside of the math classroom as well as in the Math classroom! I'm looking forward to seeing more new videos from you soon!

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    1. Thanks Mr. Donnelly! We are excited that you liked our project!

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    2. Thanks Mr. Donnelly, Mrs Collins is keeping us busy; and we absolutely love the partner work.

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    3. Learning and fun... great combination!

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  2. Way to go mathematicians! Keep up the good work!
    -Mrs. Mayo

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    1. Thanks Mrs. Mayo, we love doing these math challenges! All thanks to Mrs. Collins!

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  3. Hey Guys!
    Your error analysis is spot on. It looks like you are doing great work while collaborating with one another. Keep up the good work!
    - Mr. Bushnell

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    1. Thanks! The collaboration is key with Mrs. Collins!

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  4. Hey all,
    This is great. Love the stuff you guys are doing.
    -Mr. Rogers

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    1. Thanks! We're having so much fun at the middle school, especially in math class!-Marina Pd. 6 iHelp

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  6. Wow!! You're doing wonderful work!!
    -Mrs. Tomison

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    1. Thanks Mrs. Tomison, 7th grade math class is amazing so far!

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  7. Wow! This is a fantastic project that encourages mathematicians to challenge themselves! We are so proud of all of you!!!
    -Mrs. Long

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Thanks Mrs. Long! Mrs. Collins is keeping us busy!

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  8. Proud of you guys! Keep up the great work!!!

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    1. Thank you Mrs. Weaver, we're LOVING the middle school!

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  9. These error analysis projects are amazing. Each time I walked through or by your classroom, the room was buzzing with conversation and higher level thinking about math. I am proud of you guys. You are AWESOME!

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    1. Thank you so much Mrs. Ray! We love the middle school!-Marina Pd. 6 iHelp

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  10. Way to go, 7th grade! This is awesome! Puzzled Penguin would be proud! You've gone from identifying his mistakes to identifying the mistakes of your peers. :)
    -Miss Sexton

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    1. Thanks Miss Sexton, I'm sure puzzled penguin will pop up soon!

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  11. Great to see you doing that higher order thinking everyone-keep up the great work1
    -Miss Johnston, Paradise

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    1. Thanks Miss Johnston, the middle school math is keeping us busy!

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  12. I don't think my first comment posted...but wonderful work guys!!! So awesome to see everyone working together and using their higher order thinkings skills! :) -Mrs. Jones (Miss S.)

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  13. Thanks Mrs. Jones! We love working in partners, usually because we get to pick them! -Marina Pd 6 iHelp

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