4 Math Teachers

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4 Math Teachers
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Teachers

• Wayne County Schools
• Melody Whitfield Norwayne Middle School
• Wilson County Schools
• Kimberlee Taylor Toisnot Middle School
• The square root of 4 is all that remains of our
  group.

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• All
• About
• Us

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In The Beginning

• There was a computer..
• And there it sat in a classroom.

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The Teachers.

• Looked at that computer and knew there was more
  to do with it than just those DREADED Grades!!!
• So when the memo came around about REVITALISE,
  those teachers jumped at the chance
  to participate.

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• First they were told they had to give up a week
  of summer.that was hard to do.
• Then they were told they had to give up teaching
  time and Saturdays..that was even harder to do.

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There was SOOOOOOO much to learn and so few brain
cells for these old math teachers.

.
.
Those math teachers werent always smiling.
Sometimes they were . well you know.
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Fringe Benefits

• It was all sweetened with breakfast, snacks,
  lunches, and an evening out. All the time we
  gave up didnt seem to matter.

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More Fringe Benefits

• They gave us a laptop computer to use for 2
  years. (It sure helped with our National
  Boards.)
• The instructors were Genius in their right!
• The breakout sessions were rewarding!
• The mentors were patient and helpful.
• And a few more brain
  cells were grown.(?)
• We slept away from home,
  no dishes to do, no laundry to
  wash. ? ? ?
  GREAT!!!

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What did we learn?????????

• We learned there are LOADS of software to be
  used in the classroom.
• We also learned, we probably will never
  understand GNUPLOT. That really makes our brains
  hurt.
• We loved the TI Interactive. This was a big help
  in the classroom.
• AVS and Moodle were a big hit with all the
  teachers. We loved learning how to use these.

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We learned more..

• Working together with all the other Middle and
  High School Teachers was an added bonus. We had
  the opportunity to collaborate and develop
  lessons to use in the classroom.
• We developed a network of other teachers that has
  continued to enrich our professional knowledge
  and application in the classroom.

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OUR COLLABORATIVE LESSON PLAN
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• Saws and Ladders
• using
• Geometers Sketchpad
• Solving geometric problems using models
• Applying geometric properties

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THE PLAN

• Students will use paper and pencil to draw
  congruent angles using a precut triangle.
• Students will draw a straight line across the
  bottom of their paper.

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Coloring the Angle

• Students will trace left edge of their triangle
  and mark the right vertex. When this is
  accomplished, the students will slide their
  triangle so the left vertex is on the mark drawn.
  Color the angle drawn and the angle used as a
  template red.
• Students continue this pattern across the page.

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The ladder

• The students should see a ladder across the
  bottom of the page.
• Students should return the precut triangle to the
  starting position and draw the right edge of the
  triangle. Color bottom right angle created and
  its corresponding angle on the precut triangle
  blue.
• Repeat this across the page.

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The Saw

• Students should now be able to see the saw teeth
  that have been drawn across the bottom of
  their
  paper.

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Filling the Valley

• Students should rotate the precut triangle so the
  uncolored angle is in the valley created by the
  triangles.
• Trace the base edge and repeat across the paper.

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Making new ladders and saws

• Students repeat the process on the line they have
  created by filling the valleys. As they continue
  filling their paper, students should see a
  pattern repeating of blue, white and red rotating
  around a vertex.

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What the students will learn

• Students should use their drawing to make
  conclusions about geometry.
• Specifically students should be able to describe
  or explain
• The sum of the angles of a triangle equal 180
  degrees.
• The sum of the angles of a quadrilateral equal
  360 degrees.
• Vertical, corresponding, and alternate angles are
  equal.
• Triangles will tessellate.

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What happened..

• Students are not always neat with their work. We
  learned the hard way that paper and pencil
  drawings will not achieve the same results as
  using Geometers Sketchpad.
• Students were able to make accurate drawings
  using GSP. This allowed the students to more
  clearly visualize the drawing. By using the GSP
  for themselves, students were able to manipulate
  measures and better comprehend the objectives for
  this lesson.

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What would we change????

• After teaching this lesson using paper and
  pencil, it was apparent that students were having
  difficulty with the concepts needed to
  successfully master the State mandated objectives
  for Geometry. It was necessary to change the
  lesson to a technology enriched lesson, thereby
  allowing the students to have an opportunity to
  experience success with Geometry concepts.

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More Changes

• It was necessary to teach GSP to our students
  prior to using it in our lesson. The students
  needed to able to manipulate the controls and
  commands effectively prior to attempting to
  complete this lesson on GSP.
• In retrospect, we experienced difficulty during
  computer time, because students had already
  attempted this lesson with paper and pencil and
  were bored. This is something that needs to be
  addressed prior to teaching this lesson with
  another class.

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The Students

• Students were extremely happy to be able to work
  with GSP. They were not working on math, they
  were playing on the computer, as was so aptly
  spoken by one student.
• The students used their knowledge of geometry
  concepts learned in this lesson to extend their
  investigation to other shapes, such as the
  square, rectangle, hexagon or octagon. Students
  were allowed to construct their own shape and
  attempt to tessellate it around a vertex. During
  this time, students were actively questioning and
  making inferences about Geometry properties.

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Learner/Leader

• We were able to present several software
  applications to our staff

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Software presentations

• Science teachers were very interested in the
  visualization software.
• Math teachers were more interested in Fathom, TI
  Interactive, Geometers Sketchpad and Microsoft
  Excel Spreadsheet.
• We shared our knowledge with teachers in our
  grade level, in our subject area and across
  curriculum.
• We trained teachers in using visual presenters
  and software to have a greater impact on learning.

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So as we go

• The time has come to say goodbye.
• With all our knowledge safe and sound, we venture
  out into the world. With plans of sharing all
  weve learned among those we see, we hope to do
  justice to some named
• Fathom of the Opera ??
• Geometer and his Sketchpad
• AVS dont know many with only initials he must
  be important
• TI and he is Interactive
• Perle is she mini or not
• Logger he is Pro-fessional
• Micro Soft and he Excels in what we arent sure
• And not to forget Moodle. He lives in a Box
• As we leave, we have warm wishes for all and hope
  to have the chance to do this all again sometime
  in the near or not so near future.