| Gas Price Tracker | Mathematics and Agriculture | Mathematics Virtual Learning Circle | Operation Montserrat |
The purpose of this project is to analyze gas prices from around the country and possibly around the world. For one week students choose a gas station and record the price of gas each day. Students use a given template to input the data into a spreadsheet and make a graph. The students e-mail the data table and graph to the project director who will compile the data. The results are posted on the Internet for all the participants to view. Students post thoughtful responses to questions concerning gas prices on a project blog.
Data collection is relevant at any level of math and the interpretation of the results can be powerful for students. The creation of their own graphs meets the objective of plotting points and gaining familiarity with a coordinate plane. Students often struggle with labeling graphs and choosing appropriate intervals. The use of data they have collected creates meaning and may alleviate the difficulty of deciding how to label the x-axis and y-axis and how to choose the intervals. Since the numbers from the data are decimals, this component of basic math skills is also addressed. Dividing a section of the coordinate plane into decimals may improve students’ comfort level and ability level with this skill.
An extension of this project is the construction of line graphs and graph interpretation. Working with line graphs is a topic that regularly resurfaces in Algebra. One objective that students struggle with is slope. This project lends itself to working with an array of graphs and in turn the slopes on many different graphs. The slopes from day-to-day gas prices can be calculated from each graph several times as data is collected each day for one week by each student. By interpreting his or her own data as well as data from students across the country, the project leads to a deeper understanding of the meaning of slope and the increase or decrease per unit.
This project gains some power from the use of the Internet. Data from different parts of the country and world could be collected. To interpret other students’ graphs and compare the results would be an authentic activity providing insight and connections with other people. Data collection can be done without Internet use, yet a broader collection can provide added insight and excitement for students. In addition this project could extend to a cross-curricular exercise combining with Geography and Social Studies objectives. To analyze gas prices and research the cost of living in different parts of the United States and the world connect with these content areas. Also by locating the gas stations on a city map that the students chose to collect data from, and later locating the other contributors, meets objectives concerning map skills.
The technology needed for this project is minimal and reality available at Saint Frances Academy (computers with Internet access, spreadsheets, e-mail accounts). The time that will be invested in this project could easily work into the graphing or slope unit of Algebra. With the possible extensions and cross-curricular options, this project is a viable option.
The purpose of this project is to connect students from food producing countries and food importing countries. Through the study of variables that effect food production, students will learn about improving production, reduce the costs of food and improve economies. Through online communication students connect with other students around the world looking at that are studying these same issues.
The project connects with a variety of skills and objectives within our Algebra curriculum. Studied in this project are a variety of variables that can improve food production in food producing countries. Many students struggle with the concept of a variable. How a letter can represent an unknown amount is a very difficult for some students to grasp. Through the thorough exploration of these variables, students may gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of a variable. The different variables can also connect to other objectives in the curriculum. For example, the measurement of growth in relation to time can connect to creating tables, graphing, slope exploration, slope calculation and interpretation of a variety of graphs.
The question of how the cost of food in communities and families can be reduced opens itself to an authentic task for students. This problem requires critical thinking skills and equation manipulation. As there are several variables to account for, this topic could meet the object of solving and interpreting systems of equations through various techniques. Rather than working with variables to solve a meaningless problem, the variables would represent real factors that affect the food productivity.
This project lends itself to cross-curricular involvement in Social Studies, Geography and Government. Taking a close and critical look at food producing countries and food importing countries can connect to map skills, learning about other cultures, weather patterns and economic differences. An extension of this project could be to look at the economy of the countries being studied to connect to other areas of the curriculum. The complexities of economies and the balance between countries that are capitalizing off of other countries could be studied.
This project provides a connection with people from other countries that changes fairly standard problems into more authentic tasks. Problems similar to those presented in this project could be performed using only information gathering tools, making it very similar to a problem in a textbook. However, by communicating with people that live other countries relationships can be formed to make this problem meaningful.
The largest resource for this project is time. To connect with other students, build relationships and problem-solve requires a large time investment. This project may be manageable if lessons are well-developed to make strong connections in the units that it will be used. The technology needed is available at SFA yet the required time in a computer lab would be difficult to schedule.
The website for this project is both interactive and educational. Open to any level of math, this project centers mostly around higher level mathematics. The idea is to collaborate with mathematics and technology to create websites that explain a variety of topics in mathematics. Through the use of mathematics software and written explanation students create websites that are submitted to this web site for others to view and learn from, and stimulate interest in mathematics.
This project could connect to a variety of objectives within the high school mathematics curriculum. I could see this project used as an end of the unit project for students with the collaboration of the Website Design instructor at SFA. Students could choose a particular topic to explain in detail with the purpose of teaching others about that topic. To contribute to this project students would need to explain in their own words what they have learned about that topic and how to complete the problems using these skills. This is a common problem at all different grade levels. The combination of mathematics terminology and verbalization of how to complete a problem in addition to converting the ideas into written form are objectives that this project could address. This project also provides a forum for students to communicate with each other about what is on the website.
A reoccurring issue with writing in mathematics, and in other content areas, is that the work is rarely published, read or used for anything other than a grade. By posting the work on the Internet, the students will have a sense of ownership and pride. This project offers the opportunity to communicate with other students that are working on posting web sites about other topics. This opens the door to peer evaluation and feedback on the work that is posted. There is the potential of students collaborating and brainstorming ideas while working on their websites. Once the websites are posted students can comment on each other’s work the websites and explanations could be improved.
The technology and software that students will use for website creation is available to the students at SFA. Other math software would need to be purchased. Since much of this project is based around website creation and design, collaboration between the math instructor and Web Design Instructor is essential. Time would need to be allotted for lesson planning and team-teaching.
This project brings science and mathematics to life through a two-hour electronic mission. The authentic crisis situation presented to the participants is the possibility of a volcanic eruption and the approach of a hurricane to the countryside of Montserrat. Groups of ‘specialists’ are formed using students from around the world. The students work together to collect information that will answer looming questions about the situation and assist the residents of Montserrat. Activities for before and after the mission are included in this project and it is connected with objectives across the curriculum. Also, a flight director at the Challenger Learning Center works with the students as they move through this project.
This project meets many objectives within the science curriculum and a few within the math curriculum. For three weeks prior to the mission, students study volcanoes and hurricanes. The students collect a variety of data surrounding real volcanoes and hurricanes. They study the data, make graphs and charts, draw conclusions. They also compare this information to the hurricane and volcano crisis at Montserrat. All the information that they gather and analyze is organized and used during the mission. This project meets more objectives within the science curriculum than in the math curriculum and lends itself to being a project that is viable in a science class for three weeks. If this project were performed in a science class, the math instructors could assist with the data analysis and graphs as the project is underway.
The use of the Internet brings the topics of volcanoes and hurricanes to life. Students have access to information about numerous natural disasters through the use of the Internet. They can study actual data about the volcanoes and hurricanes, while seeing the effect the natural disasters had on the people of the area. In regards to the math curriculum, studying data that the students have collected is a powerful tool. Studying the data and making graphs and charts about real situations that they have research connects mathematics to the real world. Students can collect similar data from different volcanoes and hurricanes, to compare, analyze and make predictions. Also, by connecting with a flight director during the mission, the students have the opportunity to converse with a person that has studied mathematics in higher education and uses it in his/her profession regularly. This is an amazing opportunity to spark interest in professions that use mathematics and science.
Some technology necessary for this project would need to be purchased. SFA has computers with Internet access, yet we do not have the small video cameras that are essential for communicating during the mission. As this project has lesson plans connected with standards, the time that would be invested would not be wasted as it could easily connected to many science curriculum objectives and some math curriculum objectives.