Week 5 - Kyle Tibbits
Kyle Tibbits
Title and URL: The Universe and More
http://www.theuniverseandmore.com/
Summary: This tool is a physic game that involves graphing for position v. time and velocity v. time. It requires the adjustment of a slide ruler to meet the desired outcome. As the game progresses, the levels become more difficult and change to velocity v. time graphs. These types of graphs are first learned towards the beginning of the year to demonstrate that the slope of a graph represents a physics quantity.
Using technology to differentiate by readiness: This tool would be used prior to teaching graphing in my physics class. As my students come from different math and science backgrounds, it is important for me to see their strengths and weaknesses.
Implementation: This activity would be performed in the computer lab to ensure all students have access to a computer. Because some students may find this easy and others may have some difficulty, I will group my students in groups of two by common learning experiences. This way, those that excel can move to the harder levels and those that struggle can work collaboratively to figure it out rather than having an excelled student doing all of their work. I would allow one class period for this activity. At the end of the activity, I would require that my students write synthesis of what they learned: the meaning of the slope of each graph, the relationship between the axes, and how to adjust the variables to reach a desired outcome.
Support: This activity takes the direct instruction out of my hands by giving my students more freedom in their learning prior to even learning the material (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). I do not typically give pre-assessments, but as this is to get my students prepared for learning and for me to see where they stand, it will not count as a graded assessment (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). This activity supports differentiated instruction by providing visualizations for learning, think abstractly, and is a tiered activity though a web-based game that starts with the basics of graphing and moves to more difficult aspects (Smith & Throne, 2007).
Title and URL: Using I-Search to Differentiate by Interest
Summary: I-Search is a strategy I which students perform a web search on a topic of interest (Thorne, 2007). At the end of the search, students will synthesize their information and choose their own format to present/share their findings.
Using Technology to Differentiate by Interest: This strategy gives students the freedom to conduct their own research as it applies to their interests and life (Smith & Thorne, 2007).
Implementation: I will implement this strategy next week with my Foundations of Algebra/2 Trig. students. They will perform a web-based search on financially planning their futures. They will choose the college(s) they intend on going to, the price of tuition/room and board, then find a city where they want to live in, the salary of their future job, a house to purchase, and possibly a car to purchase. They will have to determine their monthly payments for their student loans, their mortgage, estimate any other expenses, and possibly a car payment. Once they complete this, I will show the importance of planning for retirement and how to calculate how much they will have earned by the age of retirement based on how much was invested. Each student will create a presentation of their choice and present to the class.
Support: Although my students their goals of what they need to find, each student will have different outcomes based on how they plan their future. This strategy supports differentiation by applying math to real-life situations and giving my students the freedom to choose their own path to perform their research (Smith & Thorne, 2007).
Title and URL: Geometer’s Sketchpad
http://www.dynamicgeometry.com/
Summary: Geometer’s Sketchpad is a purchasable software program that allows teachers and students to bring math to life. Specifically, for geometry it allows for the drawing and manipulating of polygons.
Using technology to differentiate by learning profile: This program, combined with a SMART board involves hands on manipulations and the visualizations and drawing of polygons gives students the ability present their knowledge to the classroom. Geometer’s Sketchpad emphasizes the following intelligences: bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, logical/mathematical, verbal/linguistic, and visual/spatial.
Implementation: The use of Geometer’s Sketchpad could easily be used throughout the entire year for my geometry class. However, I would restrict it to units where it would truly benefit my students. I can see it being used with my properties of quadrilaterals unit to distinguish the difference between quadrilaterals. My students struggle with some of the main aspects partially due to my poor drawing skills and too much explicit instruction. This would put more of the learning in their hands. I can also see this being used during my transformations unit in which shapes are moved, reflected, stretched, and shrunk. Again, by having my students perform the operations and see an exact representation they will be able to grasp the foundations better.
Support: Technology and software allow our students more variety on their learning along with teachers supporting multiple intelligences (Smith & Thorne, 2007). The use of technology will engage students in their learning and allow them to produce information rather than regurgitate what was taught (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).
Rachel Smith
| From : | Kyle Tibbits [spclk...@gmail.com] |
|---|---|
| Date : | 02/09/2013 08:55 PM |
| To : | the-walden-learning-...@googlegroups.com |
| Subject : | Week 5 - Kyle Tibbits |
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