Lesson Sketch: Not a lesson plan, but a sketch, an idea, adaptable to your context and content
Theory: If you’re going to do math you need numbers. And they might as well be about something. And that something might as well be how learning happens.
Practice: Tonight’s lesson on ratios and proportions.
- Conduct teeny (anonymous, paper) survey about big learning topics.
For my class, three yes/no/maybe questions: learning preferences (aka, learning style*), do you know yours?; math anxiety, do you have it?; studying independently, do you do it?
(Here’s a version, if you’d like to borrow it)
2. Three questions, become 3 student groups. Groups convert data to ratios, then ratios to proportions as they estimate the number of students in the school who do or don’t have math anxiety, study independently etc. Statistics become posters as they present their findings. (Or not, if like me, you run out of time for posters)
Expansion possibilities:
-Offer resources on learning preferences/styles, anxiety etc. when students complete math project.
-More statistics! Sample vs. population, survey methods etc.
Easily adapted to: Making bar/pie graphs, percents, simple statistics.
*Yes, I know the research that learning styles aren’t a thing. But for students who’ve always experienced school as a disempowering struggle, thinking about their preferences and the different ways one might learn is still a useful conversation.