The educational need that I plan on addressing with my TechQuest is going to revolve heavily around factoring a quadratic equation. Students seem to have an extremely difficult time when factoring some of these problems, which only leads them into further difficulty when it comes time to solve quadratic equations using this concept. Dealing with quadratic equations is a mainstay in the current Michigan mathematics curriculum, spending a significant portion of time being studied in Algebra 1, as well as a much larger and even more significant amount of time in the strenuous Algebra 2 course. Students need some sort of way to receive better instruction on these concepts so that they can better apply factoring when dealing with some of these quadratic equations.
My means of addressing this with technology will involve two Web 2.0 technologies that I think will make a real difference. I believe that by incorporating a blog and a wiki into the classroom, which has specific ties to this topic, will ultimately make a genuine difference in students' ability to understand and retain information about factoring with quadratic equations. Students will have an opportunity to make blog posts which will describe their concerns and misconceptions about the topic. In doing this, other students will be able to share these same struggles, while other students can begin to interact with their classmates by providing helpful hints and information. Students will be able to create a dialogue, creating a social network that will spread their ideas and get a wealth of different means of understanding the topic in one large forum. Students will readily be able to access this blog and put their own thinking into words, as well as get their questions answered to better understand the areas of factoring with quadratic equations that still trouble them.
The wiki will be used as a means of students to solve particular quadratic equation factoring problems. Students will be able to solve problems on the wiki and create an annotated wording of how they solved specific problems. This will take their conceptual knowledge that they can discuss in the blog and put it into real practice. Students will have an opportunity to review each other's work, while still working through their misconceptions about the topic. Not only that, but since it is an evolving and editable resource, students can watch as problems grow more difficult or search out the ones that give them the most trouble. In addition to seeing the problem done correctly, they will also see wording that can fill in the gaps where they do not understand why certain steps are being taken. An even greater tool to this is that students will be forced to question their own knowledge, since some editing done on these problems might be incorrect. It will give them an opportunity to do more than just solve problems, but force them to really understand what and how things are being done with factoring.
In searching the Internet through Google Scholar and ProQuest, I was able to find a few pieces of research that seem to support the use of Web 2.0 technologies improving student understanding. One article discusses the need for a more social type of learning, since engaging students in using Web 2.0 type applications allows them to build large stocks of knowledge in the quickly changing 21st century. Another gives a description of using a wiki in a similar sense of creating a study guide for a final exam, which students actively participated in and showed an increase in achievement of about 5% for the overall final exam. Finally, there was a specific thesis that used blogs and wikis in a math classroom using proofs and although the article was limited, it showed that students who had difficulty with terminology or handling homework problems benefited a great deal from these resources.
My current plan for implementation will begin at the start of the next school year. I am hoping to create a classroom blog and wiki for my courses immediately so that students will be able to get misconceptions handled and work on practice problems from the very beginning. Then, when we come up to quadratic equations in approximately November, they will feel very comfortable at accessing the blog and wiki portions which contain these topics.
How this addresses the four common places of education is as follows:
Someone teaching - It allows myself as the teacher to work as a more facilitator point of view than lecturer. I will be able to fit more the "guide on the side" role in which I can monitor student learning. It also gives me an opportunity to see a multitude of student learning and misconceptions in one large place at one time.
Someone learning - The learners here will specifically be high school juniors taking Algebra 2 over the course of two years. This project gives them an opportunity to work with math in a way that might better suit their means of comprehension. They will be required to most a minimum number of posts, instilling a sense of responsibility and community, where they must contribute to their classroom setting. It also gives students an opportunity to show their understanding of technology and how they can incorporate it into their everyday learning.
Subject matter - This project will follow the Michigan High School Content Expectations (HSCE's) when dealing with these topics in the Algebra thread. More importantly, it will also address issues of Michigan technological requirements in having students spend a certain number of hours completing online learning activities. The actual material of factoring to solve a quadratic equation will also be dealt with, since that is the main emphasis of this particular portion of the project.
In some setting - The beauty of this project is that it is not confined to the classroom. Students can access these Web 2.0 applications from various computer labs, their own homes, or even their cell phones. They will have an open place to access this information, making it readily available when they might need it or when they might choose to post, comment, or edit. It begins to take the "traditional" sense that all learning is done in school and begins to shift that thinking away into a place that learning can be accomplished anywhere.
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Don, I too see how using blogs and wikis can be very effective for any learning environment. I am a firm believer that students just as much from each other as they do from us, if not at times, more. The more they can work together to accomplish common goals the more successful they will be. I think this type of thing would have benefitted me had it been a possibility when I was in high school, especially in Math. :)
ReplyDeleteNicely state problem of practice=8-) Both tools are also powerful teaching tools, in their own right - students will be reinforcing their own learning on how to solve equations, while teaching/helping others who are struggling.
ReplyDeleteIs there a way you can tie in your district's MEAP scores or information about current % of students who struggle with solving this type of problem - ball park estimates would work for % failing to master the skill (classroom). It would lend support to your effort, especially if you have an administrator who doesn't actively support blogging and wikis.
Something to think about ~ If you join Wikispaces for Educators, the staff will walk you through the process on what you need to do to batch load students. They are very supportive. This process doesn't require that students have email addresses or Wikispace accounts.
You will also want to consider developing a few "rules of the road" for their use. Students will need a set of "markers" to go by when posting content. They will need to know what types of information they are expected to have in each post.
These tools will add a motivational aspect towards learning as well. Students tend to participate more when technology is involved - especially when it involves social networking with classmates. Looking forward to learning more about this project in your next post=8-)
Don - sounds like a great plan. I will be excited to hear from you as to how you thought the blogs and wikis enhanced student learning. Hopefully you will have a plan as to rules or guidelines for your students, as I remember in CEP 811, one of the lessons and discussion posts was picking a side either pro-blogs/wikis or against. There are many road blocks that can occur, so just be prepared! I'm sure you will be :)
ReplyDeleteDon - I enjoyed reading your description. I too am trying to promote both blogs and Wiki in the TechQuest. I am not too familiar with them and am going through the tutorials. It seems that you might be the one who could get me to master quadradic equations.
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