Community of Adult Math Instructors (CAMI)
teachers learning math together
In our first evening meeting, Eric shared a web site that turns pairs of numbers in diagrams. But how does it work?
(This meeting was based on an underground mathematics lesson, Fawn Nguyen’s post and Michael Lawler’s videos. Thank you all!)
I started the meeting by showing the group the Picture This! web site that turns pairs of numbers into a diagram visualization. I asked for a volunteer to give me two numbers, each less than 10. The first suggestion was 3 & 7. I entered the number into Picture This and this diagram was returned.
We explored a problem related to volume and surface area with multiple solutions. But wasn’t one of them more right than the others?
–Updated April 2, 2021 to remove the Wet Phone task published originally in Middle Grades Geometry and Measurement (Steele, 2006). Our apologies to the author Michael Steele for posting your intellectual property.–
Cynthia started today’s meeting by saying that she would be sharing a problem from a recent workshop she attended on multiple solution tasks (MSTs). These problems are designed so that there are multiple correct solutions. In our math circle, we have grown accustomed to seeing multiple strategies for solving a problem, but usually there is one correct solution. Even after we saw different solutions later on, there was something nagging at me. Are they both equally correct? Really? Continue reading “The Wet Iphone Task”
We welcomed two first time CAMI members to a meeting where we once again looked deeply at something that is so familiar, we take it for granted. Greg Fein’s exploration helped us to unpack tic-tac-toe and find the math. It turns out is an ancient game with roots all over the world, with perhaps something innately human at the heart of it.
Greg started by putting a familiar drawing on the board and asked us what came to mind:
We responded with “tic-tac-toe, hashtag, 9 squares, right angles. parallel lines…”
Greg then focused us on our first impression and asked us to remember the rules of tic-tac-toe:
Continue reading “There’s More to Tic Tac Toe than You Know…”
In this meeting we looked at the divisibility rules for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 and tried writing our own rules for larger numbers.
In this meeting hosted at 3rd Avenue VFW by teachers at MDC Brooklyn, we continued recent explorations into multiplication and factors. In this meeting, we looked at divisibility rules. After a pair/share and introductions, I asked the group to look at multiples of 9 and share what patterns they noticed. We shared in small groups then talked about a few things people noticed.
Have you ever noticed the money left over on a Metrocard when you have “insufficient funds” to ride the train? Is it possible to break even? It seems to be part of an MTA conspiracy.
In this meeting on our third anniversary, I tried out a 3-Act Math Task I’ve been planning for a while. It’s got to do with the 5% bonus the MTA gives us on non-unlimited MetroCards and the odd remainders I often find when I run out of funds on the card.
Several engaging activities for exploring factors. Which would you use for HSE math classes and how would you use them?
I puzzled over what to bring to today’s meeting for days. I have a couple unfinished problems that I’ve been thinking to bring to a CAMI meeting, but in the end I chose to go with a few activities on factors, mostly from Fostering Algebraic Thinking, by Mark Driscoll. A group of us read the book last summer and loved the problems. There were so many good ones that we weren’t able to solve them all while reading the book. I went into this meeting hoping that the surprise of the central problem wouldn’t be ruined. Continue reading “Multiple Factors”
This task, from Mathematical Mindsets, by Jo Boaler, asked us to explore how area and volume are affected when shapes are scaled up in size. For example, if you double the dimensions of a square, how is the area affected? What if you triple the dimensions?
We used this meeting to explore a problem from Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler. I had worked on it a few weeks ago as part of an online book group with LINCS. I decided not to give out all the questions in the task at once, but you can look at the problem URL above to see the whole thing. Continue reading “Growing Rectangles”
Inspired by Mathematical Mindsets, by Jo Boaler, we explored questions related to “trains” made out of Cuisenaire rods.
A few of us are reading Mathematical Mindsets, by Jo Boaler, as part of a book group on LINCS that will start this coming Monday, April 17th. The book is similar to Boaler’s other writing in that it cites evidence of recent work in brain science to show that everyone can learn, that the brain is plastic and grows like a muscle when used, and there is no such thing as math people and non-math people. Boaler also argues for an approach to developing growth mindsets that is rooted in mathematics. The book includes examples of low-entry, high ceiling problems that can be used to develop mathematical mindsets. Continue reading “Making Trains from Cuisenaire Rods”
We explored multiplication through a number talk and alternative algorithms for calculating products.
Before the meeting, Davida showed Rachel and me a multiplication method a student had showed her earlier in the day. The student said that she only knew how to do multiplication using the method on the right and wanted to learn the method on the left. What a coincidence! This is exactly what I was planning to explore today.
Can math save us from dark depression?
Among the thoughts racing through our minds on election night was the realization that we had decided to have a CAMI meeting on the next day. What were we thinking? Solange and I spoke before the meeting. We briefly considered scrapping our plans to explore gerrymandering math and do something to get our minds off the election, but eventually decided that we should take the opportunity to talk with other teachers about this moment. Continue reading “Gerrymandering Math”
