Elizabeth's+Math;+Literacy+and+Technology+Articles

=Elizabeth's Math; Literacy and Technology Articles =

===Writing in Math ===

Marilyn Burns
The article I read was titled 'Writing in Math' by Marilyn Burns. Burns has been a teacher for over 20 years, teaching elementary and middle school. She stated that she didn't think, during her first 20 years of teaching and while she was in school, that writing would ever mix with math. She thought they were like "oil and water, seemed to have little in common". Today, she is unable to see how math could be effectively taught without using writing as an important factor. She states that since her epiphany, she uses writing in math class because it "supports learning because it requires students to organize, clarify and reflect on their ideas." She does this a few different ways; keeping journals/logs, solving problems, explaining ideas and writing about learning processes. The logs are an ongoing record of what they are doing in class. She gives the students ideas of what to put in the journals, and sometimes they must write about specific things, but for the most part it is up to the student, as long as it is about the math class. For solving problems, they will discuss different options out loud and then students must write what they thing their answer is, and why they do. For explaining mathematical ideas, Burns asks her students to write an essay about a moth concept, to assess what they understand. For writing about learning processes, students can discuss the activities they liked the best. Burns then goes into the best ways to incorporate writing into math. She goes into detail, but basically teachers must establish the who, what and why of writing in math.

In the first paragraph, Burns speaks of how she did not think that writing was a factor in teaching math. I have to admit, before taking this course, and the reading course, I didn't see how in depth literacy was involved in helping students learn math. It has always been a part of math but now that I know the names of activities and how they are used, I see it more. If I could ask the author any questions, I would ask for more details on her examples. I am very interested in doing something like her learning log. Yet I wonder how she thinks the best way to do this is. Perhaps assigning it as part of the students' homework or using it as an exit slip. I am also curious if she has tried it in different ways and has found the most effect way of doing learning logs. I imagine she has, as she has been a teacher for 20+ years, so she has had multiple chances to tweak her methods and make them work.

I have come to realize many of the ideas that Burns portrays in her article. She solidifies what we have been learning in this course, that writing is a big factor in learning math. The way she applies it, in the examples she uses, are applications that I can use or refer to once I am a teacher. I can see myself using the examples Burns wrote of and recalling her words if I ever struggle when trying to include writing into teaching math.

==Math Educators See The Right Angles For Digital Tools ==

Ian Quillen
This article was written to promote the use of technology in math classrooms. The article makes reference to many different schools that do this heavily, as well as prominent programs that are used. The article states that the use of online drawing programs can "immediately give users the sense of relationships" in geometry, calculus and algebra. The article then battles itself and says that though these are good tools for demonstrations, students usually don't have to use them for homework or assessments. That doesn't mean they aren't still valuable resources. It goes on to show how software and games are helpful for reinforcing concepts in the math classroom. Though they aren't necessarily needed for teaching a concept, they are helpful for visualizing things that can't be drawn free hand. It is much more easier to understand the concept of 'drawing' 3D objects on a computer program instead of with a paper and pencil. The article then goes on and asks, but what about the standards? One teacher, Mr. Ellis, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics board member, was quoted in the article. He said that in order to teach students all of the concepts, " you're going to need to bring in tools beyond pencil and paper". He hit the nail on the head with that statement. Ideas are changing and the way the world works is changing. If educators want to keep up, they have to be able to include technology. This text would be a good article to share with those educators who don't think that technology is useful for math classrooms. The article shows both sides of the coin yet still manages to prove that overall, that technology will help. I think that this is a perfect article for me to stumble upon at this time. As I am working through my undergrad program, I am currently taking a 'using technology in math' course. I did not have the best luck in using the programs we tested. I know that with more practice, I will be able to work with them in a more productive way, so that I can use them for my students. With technology a big of a part of everyday life as it is, why wouldn't you want to incorporate it into the classroom?

=Capitalizing on Emerging Technologies: A Case Study of Classroom Blogging =

Robyn McBride and April Lynn Luehmann
The article is titled "Capitalizing on Emerging Technologies: A Case Study of Classroom Blogging" In this article, one teacher's use of blogging was looked at in detail. Those researching this topic wanted to see how blogs have been used and how they can further be used in secondary math/science classrooms. They wanted to know how it would help students with using technology and how it would support classroom learning. The blog that was researched was one of "Mr. K's" 11th grade pre-calc course. The question that was to be answered by the end of the research was "How does one high school mathematics teacher, Mr. K, capitalize on blogging affordances to enhance classroom-based instruction?" The article then goes through all the components of this classroom blog. Students would have to take turns doing "scribe posts", which is them writing on the bog what happened in class that day, which they can do however they want. Students also write who has to do the scribe for the next day, which is incentive for them to check it. This is also the place where students can ask questions for their peers or their teacher to answer. Students also had to write mathematical stories for their classmates to solve. There were many other little things that students had to do also. Overall, it seems like this is a perfect idea, and it works amazingly for this classroom.

As I was reading this article, I was very impressed by the idea and how nicely it was working. But it seemed like it was a lot for the students to do. I assume they have other homework and tests/quizzes that they have to do. The other aspects of the classroom weren't mentioned so I don't know what else is done in the classroom. For some of the parts, it didn't say how often they have to be done, if they are required or other requirements. I would have liked to know more information about that. Another thing I wondered as reading the article, was "what are the downsides of this idea?" All they talked about in the article was all the great things that came of using blogs. I am not sure what, but I assume that not everything in this is perfect. I know that the article was focusing on it can be used, so it would show the best parts. It just makes me question how valid all of these things are, if there is no mention of a downside. It would have been better if they showed the bad parts, but proved that overall it was still a great idea and others should try it.

The teacher says that using the blog has created more classroom participation and an increase in interaction between the students and himself. He states that very early on in the year, the very first week, the students felt very comfortable asking questions and being active participants in the classroom. So I would like to find a way to use this in my classroom. I don't think I would do it as extensively as he did. In a class I have taken, the professor tried to do a blog like thing. We had to put vocabulary words/important topics and people were supposed comment on them or mark important ones. I don't remember exactly what it was, because I didn't participate. It wasn't mandatory, there was no grade for it and I found it useless. So I like the idea, but I think it should be changed a bit.

=Math in the Writing Center = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">William L. Morris

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This article was written by a writing center coach at a high school in Ohio. He writes about his want to have all students go to the writing center, not just for English and composition but for history, science and even math. He was able to get a math class into the writing center when a desperate teacher needed help. When Morris was able to talk to them, he wanted them to define what they were doing in "English" terms. He wanted them to show that they truly understood what they were learning in terms that someone who didn't know about this concept would still be able to know what was going on. Many students in the class were solving the problems without showing any work, either doing it in their head or doing it in a simple way just to get the answer. Morris tried to slow them down, so they could have a better understanding. He told them that what mattered was the process they did, not the answer they would eventually get. The department chair for the Math department got wind of this and he did not like it. He said that having the students take out days of their lessons to go to the writing center was a waste of time. He said that the students would learn the "why" of the questions/answers in a later course and now was not the time. Morris accepted the fact that he wasn't able to work with the math students anymore but he worried that the students would be getting their deeper thinking too late. He later states that the education system was a disgrace for a long time and the implementation of writing centers fixed all the problems. Though there may be studies that show how this is true, I doubt that this one thing was the miracle education needed. There are far too many factors on why or why not parts of education are successful for there to be a miracle cure. He also briefly mentions that he did similar work with a Physics class but for a longer period of time and it seemed to work really well.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">I do like the idea of having the math students work with a writing center to help them analyze what they are doing. I do have the same fear that the department had though. I am afraid that if they do this too much, they will get caught up in it and not be able to learn everything they need to. It is really great if they know the "why"s behind what we're doing. But at the same time, there is some instances that that type of higher learning is far too beyond the abilities of the class. I'm sure classes wouldn't go into those details but once you start teaching that way, students will expect to learn like that for other ideas too. Its not very nice to tell a class, "no we can't learn that because you aren't smart enough." All in all, I think it was a good idea to have the math class use the writing center but I don't think I would use it on a frequent basis.

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