Exit Slip (November 13th)

 Today's Focus: Research for relevant articles on my Inquiry Project topic

While researching for literary articles, I came across a term called Documentational Approach to Didactics (DAD) which is a theory in math education which studies how math teachers professionally develop through interactions with resources they use for teaching (i.e., teaching materials). I will continue to look into this new theory since this encompasses the idea of teacher's work as a documentational work where people adapt and integrate 'documents' such as textbooks, online resources, etc., which is closely related to my interest. 

Exit Slip (November 6)

I have slightly shifted my topic from solely AI tools/resources to all educational resources (websites, videos, textbooks, pre-made lesson plans of your own in the past and from other teachers).

I've started off my Literary Search with key words such as "math education teaching resource usage", which gave me many articles that I actually thought were relevant to my topic and interest. I made sure to take some notes about the articles I looked through so I know what it is about when I go back to the list. Through the search on Google Scholar, I noticed that many recent articles focus on digital and computer-based resources reflecting the technological advancements in many schools. From now until the Annotated Bibliography due date, I would love to look more into articles on paper resources like textbook-use in developing homework problems and lesson notes!

In-class Inquiry Topic Write-up

Topic: 

Teacher professionalism and the degree of customization on the use of resources in a Math Classroom

Current Ideas:

• Collect data/opinions from teachers, parents, students, student-teachers on their views of how customized a teaching resource should be (in certain situations)
• 'Certain Situations' => is it a short 5 minute class activity idea? or are you designing a unit test? making homework questions?

• 
  

Extra Ideas:

(If i can talk to other subject teachers:) How would this "limit/degree" differ in subjects? => Math compared to English, Science, Language Courses, etc.

Exit Slip (October 2nd)

When I think of geometric shapes and functions, I probably visualize them in their simplest math form. If said a "circle", then I would picture it as the simple 2D circle, rather than picturing the form of a clock or a hula hoop. However, this class was interesting since we all had a chance to brainstorm where we see these shapes, as well as how the concept of shapes arise in the world as a verb rather than a noun.

Action words like circling words with a pen are commonly heard, but there are other things like ellipsing, which could be a way we can say to omit words/phrases, or hyperboling, which could explain the unique movement of cars merging to a lane and back out, or a crowd of people exiting though one door and spreading out after (This last idea is from Danielle's group). My group brainstormed a variety of examples where we see these shapes, like an ice cream cone, hourglass, race track, etc, and had lots of fun discussing while drawing them out on the white board! Drawing is always fun!

Entrance Slip (October 2nd)

    This article made me realize an important aspect in language and in our perceptions. I can't quite remember how I was taught to use specific pronouns like "it", "he", "she", and "they" a long time ago, but I feel like our current world is more open to diverse perspectives (and teaching methods!) where there's a possibility that educators or parents teach the young ones about various pronouns and how important it is when addressing non-living and living things with correct pronouns. 

    Trying to remember what it was like in a math classroom, I couldn't recall (or maybe I just wasn't paying attention) times when teachers were NOT objectifying variables. They would usually use "it" as a way to refer to xs and ys in an equation. When I tutor younger grade students, I try to say things like "this guy right here" when pointing out something specific or want the student to pay attention to a certain thing. Now, what about the concept of "Feeding the Chicken", when we want to multiply into an expression in brackets? Are those methods of explanation an evidence on how we might be trying to look at mathematical ideas in a non-objectifying way?

    To indigenize my own classroom and the math curriculum, I think I can start by noticing what is around me to not just learn about but also learn with and from my surroundings. I've always loved to think that learning doesn't just happen in the classroom, at your desk, and how there are many significant ideas outside of what you normally see. Anything can be a tool to communicate new knowledge and can hold specific meaning to nourish our learning experience. Learning about something is interesting in terms of gaining that knowledge, but I think there's so much more to gain by learning through something. For example, I currently have a chopsticks stand on the side of my screen. I can definitely learn something new if I make a quick search on the history of cutlery stands and how they may be produced. However, I can learn more and gain more critical thinking and reflective skills if I come up with questions like "what's so significant of this cutlery stand being a dark brown colour and not something like neon yellow?" or "how do they make our daily lives better (or worse)?".

Exit Slip (September 25th)

    In this class, I had so much fun attempting to make ropes with different materials. On my first try, it was hard to deal with the small parts to stick out when I wove in a new piece, but learned that I can twist it into the other strand to prevent this from happening. While I learned through practice, I noticed that the dandelion and the thin strips were easier to turn into a rope, compared to the corn husk that was thicker and shorter. 

    Through our activity with the colour palettes, I slowly realized how natural things (ex. the sky, plants, etc.) don't have a single colour that fit its true colour, while man-made objects (ex. wagon, tent, clothes, etc.) have uniform colour. Even though I took a grey-toned sky blue colour, expecting that it will match with the sky, it didn't match well because a large area of the sky was more grey than blue. However, objects like the wagon and the tent seemed to fit with the colour palette very well due to their uniformity in colour. I enjoyed seeing everyone's snapshots after class, and it was a great method to make ourselves observe our environment closely with detail.

Entrance Slip (September 25th)

Reading Response:

    Kallis introduces a quote by Martin Borden, which explains the difference in your views as a consumer in contrast to the producer in this world. Additionally, Kallis points out the significance of needing to show the world how much there is to recognize what we are missing as humans today. These ideas tie closely together, and it brought me to realize that what Borden speaks of is similar to when I bake at home. 

       I used to purchase dessert from different stores, but once I started baking dessert myself, I noticed how delicious it is, without having to rely on stores. It came to the point where I would start baking for others, bring some to my work, and share my food with many people. They would always love the food and give me an appreciation (they're all very sweet!), and sometimes ask for the recipe I used. I'm always happy that I get to share something with others, and they also value the food I share, which is a feeling of worthiness that I wouldn't have noticed if I was solely the consumer. 

Video Reflection:

    When watching the video, I was slightly surprised by how the material of the rope didn't matter, but rather the geometrical properties of the helical structure of the rope. I originally assumed there was some kind of relation to the material of the rope (ex. texture, strength, thickness, etc.) that made certain ropes stronger than the other. However, the tight twists and correct rope-making techniques would be the important aspects to producing a sturdy, stable rope from any material. 

On a very side note, the hair style that used the rope-making technique is good to know for future hair-styling options:)