Inquiry Project Reflection

 Link to Inquiry Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pRgHxsNuip1Rq7KcqyUfAR4mpL4-cLYd_-yt6XW278I/edit

I had an excellent time doing this project and learned so much through my research. I especially enjoyed reading through Peter Liljedahl’s resources. My SA is also reading his book right now so being able to talk with him about the material has been a really special experience, especially since it meant that a lot of these practices were already being involved in the classroom (i.e. visible random grouping, vertical non-permanent surfaces for math, visible learning activities, etc) and gave me a better idea of how to incorporate the techniques in a less-“scary” way. 

I think that my presentation was well-done and provided a wide overview with lots of space to go into more depth depending on what I choose to explore more in Inquiry 2 and 3. The group math test was also a great way to visualize a lot of the benefits of group learning and “thinking classroom” behaviour, such as seeing disengagement when students actively step away from the whiteboard, or watching students use the whiteboard to make many more “scribbles” than what you might normally see getting handed in on a test.  The Thinking Classroom is definitely giving me lots of ideas to incorporate and explore further.

Exit Slip: December 2

I had an amazing time doing combinatorics in my practicum school this week, and saw how much the students loved it. Statistics is my favourite kind of math because I believe it is so practical, and watching the students get engaged in the results was so fun for me! I asked Susan if we could do combinatorics in class on Thursday and she said she could come up with a few ideas - and they ended up being great!

I had so much fun with the bell ringing and the patterns. I think it's such an interesting way to explain music and sounds. The combinatoric poem was also a lot of fun and would have been a great way to connect Math and English class. Having these activities connect cross-curricularly is a great way to get students to stop asking the worst question ever: "When will we ever use this in real life?" (Of course, always said with a groan.)

A picture of our combinatoric art quilt! Done by assigning 10 people each their own colour paper, and then the 10 people switch places to form the paper quilt.

I tried to upload the video of the bell ringing but the file is too big for Blogger!