Neil Moakley

Community Math Unit Plan Final Reflection

Description
If I want to get to my destination most quickly, should I ride my bike or take a train? Questions like this may appear straightforward on the surface, but multiple factorssome easily described mathematically, others less socan influence the answer in sometimes-counterintuitive ways. This mini-unit will allow students to develop the tools necessary to answer, with quantitative evidence, questions about travel time, travel cost, and the interrelations between these factors. Knowledge of linear equations will be extended into a contextually relevant set of problems that students will work together to solve; they will be asked probing questions to further develop their understanding, and be encouraged to ask such questions of each other, and the teacher, in return. This mini-unit is designed to encompass a full week of instruction (five 45-minute lessons) in a freshman or sophomore Mathematics I integrated curriculum classroom. However, the math skills being developed and assessed are primarily found in algebra I instruction, and this lesson could be easily adapted for a context-based Algebra I curriculum. It is anticipated that students will have already been exposed to the construction of linear equations in abstract form, as well as their graphical representations. Students may also have limited experience extending this knowledge into contexts, e.g. traditional word problems. This lesson is designed to extend students understanding of the uses and limitations of linear equations in evaluating real-world data, and to introduce the idea of using mathematical justifications in constructing arguments to answer questions such as If I went to get to my destination most quickly, should I ride my bike or take a train?

Neil Moakley For further discussion of the enduring understandings and essential questions this lesson is designed around, please see the attached Unit Plan documentation, specifically Stage 1 Desired Results.

Explanation and Analysis

In traditional algebra I instruction, linear equations are often taught in abstracted form, as equations (e.g. = + ) and in graphical representation. Word problems, which apply these understandings to real-world or quasi real-word information, are often an afterthought, and many students struggle to make connections between these attempts at contextual learning and the rote math of their traditional instruction. This lesson is designed to strengthen students confidence in applying their algebra skills to real-world contexts.

Academic Success
As Ladson-Billings suggests, students must develop their academic skillsstudents neednumeracy [and] technologicalskills in order to be active participants in a democracy. (Ladson-Billings, 1995). By integrating students algebra skills with questions that may be relevant to their everyday lives, my lesson is constructed to emphasize not just the quantitative procedures necessary to answer textbook questions correctly, but also the critical thinking skills necessary to choose the appropriate mathematical tools for a problem, and to carefully analyze their results. Student understanding will not be assessed using a traditional exam format; instead, in-class worksheets and take-home projects will emphasize their ability to move between different representations of data, their ability to examine their underlying assumptions, and their ability to ask and answer critical questions that their results may elicit. Very little of this units assessment will be at the individual level; students are encouraged throughout to seek each others counsel.

Neil Moakley This units structure is also relevant to student standardized testing. Contrary to common belief, standardized testing in mathematics is not solely mired in the abstracted, context-free problem sets at the end of each chapter in a traditional textbook. The Keystone exams and the SAT both emphasize critical thinking skills, and this unit on contextualizing algebraic problem-solving is designed to encourage the development of the same.

Cultural Competence and Critical Consciousness

Although the primary emphasis of this unit is on academic understanding, some attention has been given to cultural relevance. The questions posed about various modes of transportation are unique to high-density urban areas; students in a rural of exurban community may be very unprepared to assume that public transit will take you nearly anywhere you want to go, or that desired destinations can often be easily reached by bike or on foot! In adolescence, students begin to explore their world more independently, and knowledge about the best ways to do this can help them make better decisions in their own private and social lives; focusing on the options and environments that urban students find themselves in ensures that the lessons remain relevant to their own experiences. This unit does not engage overtly in Ladson-Billings Critical Consciousness criterion, but it does deliberately introduce information and tools that may be quite relevant in developing a broader sociopolitical awareness. For most trips that students will measure and analyze in this unit, traveling by car and by taxi will be among the more expensive modes of transit. In high-density urban neighborhoods, they will also not be appreciably faster modes of transportation. The lessons do not preach conclusions to students, but with these results, students can begin to construct their own arguments for economically and environmentally friendly modes of transportation, and perhaps dissolve any socioeconomic stigmas taking the bus or not owning a car might carry.

Neil Moakley

Instructional Techniques and Theories of Learning

Direct instruction is kept to a minimum in this unit plan; the instructor will demonstrate sample work for certain aspects of the final project to set expectations and provide a model for students to follow in their own thinking; the remainder of the unit, however, is primarily student-driven. Following the ideas of Vygotsky and other sociocultural theorists (Ormrod, 2012), I have deliberately focused the bulk of this lesson on groupwork. Peer-to-peer instruction and group learning can help foster a more robust understanding of the questions posed. The teachers role will be limited; he or she will provide informal assistance at the group level, ask probing questions to encourage student reflection, and encourage students from one step in these projects to the next, deliberately and methodically extending their understanding of the context to more complicated mathematical questions.

Math Philosophy
One of the key tenets of my originally expressed philosophy of mathematics education was the importance of extensive use of applications that emphasize not just modeling, but careful critical thinking. I further emphasized my own conception of this importance of context as follows: Context allows us to connect with students in multiple ways

To engender interest in math through a recognition of the omnipresence of mathematical ideas in [students] own lives

To suppress the boredom factor of stale textbooks and completely abstracted work To build students engagement with their own communities and experiences To extend the boundaries of students knowledge of (and interest in!) the broader world (Moakley, 2013)

Neil Moakley This unit was created out of those principles, which have been further shaped and extended through our course readings:

Student engagement may be higher when students are tasked with assembling their own data, rather than analyzing already-compiled data sources. (Turner & Strawhun, 2005)

There is controlled-data suggesting that context-driven classrooms provide equal or superior preparation for standardized assessments and further learning, even among learners of varying ability level. (Boaler, 2001)

It is important for teachers to be honest with students about the necessary simplifications involved when translating real-world experiences into simplified mathematical models. (Wiliam, 1997)

Contextualized math learning can be either a hollow attempt to engage students, or a critically useful way to extend and deepen mathematical understandings; designing lessons and units backwardsstarting with overarching mathematical and critical thinking goals, rather than starting from a fun contextcan aid in maintaining this focus. (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)

Higher-level demandsasking students to maintain contextual connections with the mathematical procedures they are learning, and requiring non-algorithmic thinking, should be an essential part of a math classroom. (Smith & Stein, 1998)

Moving forward, I plan to remain cognizant of the research and readings when designing my classroom and curriculum. While the direct instruction model happened to work well for me in my own mathematical development, I can also remember the struggles of my classmates and colleagues. I want my classroom and my pedagogy to do far more than just reach students who think like me. My primary personal foci will be on critical thinking skills and relevant contextualization.

Neil Moakley

Works Cited
Boaler, J. (2001). Mathematical Modelling and New Theories of Learning. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, 121-127. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 159-165. Moakley, N. (2013). Philosophy of Math and Math Education. Philadelphia. Ormrod, J. E. (2012). Human Learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Smith, M. S., & Stein, M. K. (1998). Reflections on Practice: Selecting and Creating Mathematical Tasks: From Research to Practice. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 344-350. Turner, E. E., & Strawhun, B. T. (2005). With Math, It's Like You Have More Defense. In E. Gutstein, & B. Peterson, Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice (pp. 81-87). Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Pearson Education, Inc. Wiliam, D. (1997). Relevance as MacGuffin in Mathematics Education. British Educational Research Association Conference.