Integrating 21 st Century Teaching Practices into a Unit of Instruction on Systems of Equations

1. Integrating 21st Century Teaching Practices into a Unit of Instruction on Systems of Equations Capstone Project MaryBeth Clark Spring 2010

2. Purpose

3. Purpose • Our responsibility is to prepare our students to succeed in the 21st Century workplace. • We must teach them how to… • Use technology to accomplish tasks. • Work collaboratively to complete tasks. • Think critically to solve complex problems. • Work as professionals in the field.

4. Mathematical Objectives • Solve systems of equations using three methods. • Graphing, substitution, elimination. • Identify and describe the three types of systems. • Consistent and dependent, consistent and independent, inconsistent. • Solve a variety of application problems.

5. 21st Century Objectives • Use the internet to conduct research. • Learn to work collaboratively to complete projects. • Learn to use the web 2.0 tool Chart Gizmo. • Act as professionals by using systems of equations in real life situations.

6. How the Project Achieves the Program Objectives

7. 1. Student Centered • Throughout the unit various student centered activities were implemented. During these activities, the teacher was there to guide, scaffold, and provide assistance. • These activities include: • Webquest • Application Problem Group Work • Product Comparison Project

8. 2. Learning and Doing • Students learned about systems of equations throughout the unit and at the end of the unit, they completed a real life project where they compared two products using systems of equations.

9. 3. Using Information • Students used the information that they learned to prepare presentation on application problems and complete the product comparison project.

10. 4. Facilitator • During the student centered activities, the teacher acted as a facilitator providing proper guidance and scaffolding to ensure student success.

11. 5. Flexible Grouping • There were two main projects in which groups were used and they were designed to use flexible groupings. • Application Problems Assignment • Students were grouped according to learning styles. • Product Comparison Project • Students were grouped according to interests.

12. 6. Multiple Instructional and Learning Modalities • While conducting research, students were able to collect information from various sources. • For the product comparison projects, students were able to choose what type of a product they wanted to create. • While scaffolding and providing instruction, various strategies were used to meet different learning styles.

13. 7. Higher Order Thinking Skills • The product comparison project required students to research, apply their knowledge of systems of equations, analyze information, and make conclusions.

14. 8. Performance Based Assessments • There were two performance based assessments given in the unit. • The Application Problem Assignment • The Product Comparison Project

15. 9. Multiple Sources of Information • There were multiple sources of information used throughout the unit. • Direct instruction • Textbooks and other related texts • Information gathered from internet research

16. 10. Technology Integration • Technology was integrated throughout the unit. • Webquest • Internet Research • Presentation Software • Web 2.0 Tools (Chart Gizmo)

17. 11. Learning How to Learn • Several of the activities were designed to help students learn how to learn. • Webquest: students researched questions to gain basic information about systems of equations. • Application Problems: students were given an introduction to application problems and then worked as a group to learn more about a specific type of problem that they presented to the class.

18. 12. Students Acting as Professionals • In the product comparison project, students used what they had learned about systems of equations to compare two products.

19. Timeline

20. Week One: • WebQuest • Three Methods for Solving • Graphing • Substitution • Elimination

21. Week Two: • Day 1: Introduction to application problems and group work assignment. • Day 2: Work on group work assignment and prepare presentations. • Day 3: Group work presentations. • Day 4: Introduction to product comparison project. • Day 5: Complete product comparison project.

22. Week Three: • Day 1: Product comparison project presentations. • Day 2: Unit test.

24. Project Components

25. Inquiry • Students conducted research to learn about systems of equations. • Students completed research and used systems of equations to learn about a product that they were interested in.

26. Projects • Students completed a project using systems of equations to compare two products. • They used what they learned to analyze and make conclusions.

27. Technology • Internet • Research for webquest and project. • Presentation Software • To present to the class the results of their project. • Web 2.0 Tool: Chart Gizmo • To make visual representations of their product comparisons.

28. Flexible Groupings • Application Group Work • Students were grouped according to learning styles. • Product Comparison Project • Students were grouped according to their interests.

29. Authentic Teaching and Learning Experiences • Application Problems • Students used systems of equations to solve problems that were reflective of real life situations. • Product Comparison Project • Students worked as they would in real life if they were deciding between two different products. They research, compared using systems, created a visual representation, analyzed, and made conclusions.

30. Resources • Computer Lab • Coordinated with lab monitor. • Access to Chart Gizmo • Coordinated with technology director.

31. Desired Outcomes

32. Mathematical Objectives • Recall: • To solve systems of equations using three methods. • To identify and describe the three types of systems • To solve a variety of application problems. • Success will be determined by: • Teacher observation and monitoring. • Section quizzes and unit test.

33. 21st Century Objectives • Use Technology to Conduct Research • Monitor students during webquest. • Product comparison presentations. • Working Collaboratively • Monitor students. • Presentations. • Products prepared for presentations.

34. 21st Century Objectives • Web 2.0: Chart Gizmo • Monitor and assist students during group project. • Charts used in product comparison presentations. • Acting as Professionals • Products and presentations created for the product comparison project.

35. Evaluating Success • Results of unit test. • Quality of presentations. • Quality of products created. • Overall notion of student understanding of concepts covered throughout the unit.

36. Reflections

37. Successes • WebQuest • Students were able to locate answers to questions and gain a basic understanding. • Application Group Work • Students were able to understand assigned problems and express this understanding through their presentations to their classmates.

38. Successes • Product Comparison Project • Students enjoyed learning more about products that interested them as well as using their understanding of systems of equations. • Overall Student Understanding • The students really seemed to show a greater understanding of this material than students have in the past.

39. Opportunities Missed • Online Discussions • I was unable to implement the online discussion portion of my proposal due to both time constraints and lack of access to technology.

40. Changes for the Future • Application Problems Group Work • I would try to make sure that in the future, students have access to technology to prepare the presentations for their application group work assignment. • Product Comparison Project • In the future, I would try to allow more time for the product comparison project. The project went well but if given more time, I feel the students would have been able to do more.