ED6639 Technology and the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Winter 2008 with Margo Kondratieva.

February 12, 2008.

Building items for your teaching portfolio with technological tools. (40%)

For this part you are expected to create or adopt four mathematical activities or assessment items using technological tools of your choice (including but not restricted to graphing calculators, excel, geometry software, videos, online-resources, multimedia lessons, etc.).

For each of your items explain:

• what is the mathematical idea or concept to be learned?
• what are mathematical procedures, algorithms, rules to be learned?
• what are other skills such as team-work, communication etc. to be acquired?
• how would you (or your colleagues) teach this topic without technology?
• what is the pedagogical challenge to teach this topic?
• why it is difficult to teach this topic without use of technology?

(what are common students’ mistakes, misconceptions etc. when learning this topic?)

• how technology may help to teach this concept/skills more effectively?

(e.g. save time, improve understanding, introduce some flexibility, etc.)

• what are conditions for successful teaching of this topic using this type of technology? What is the teacher’s role in conducting this activity in class?
• what is the key feature of your activity that makes it better than other approaches?
• does your item enable various learning paths (representations) within it?
• does your item link procedural and conceptual knowledge?
• does it support development of mathematical language (verbal or written), proper notations and terminology?

Please have teacher's notes (and solutions) for in-class implementation of each of your activity or assessment item.

Please discuss with me mathematical topics and technological tools you are going to use before Feb 26. Submit your items as you have them ready any time before the end of March. You can use some of them in your presentation in March.