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Semester Project – Group Presentations: Description and Grading Criteria

The last significant group assignment for your semester project is a group presentation (there will be one more individual assignment, a reflection on the process).  I’ll put the details here, followed by an outline of the grading criteria (the presentation is worth 20 points total).

Semester Project – Group Presentation

This is your chance to share your group’s work with the rest of the class.  Each group will give a 5-8 minute presentation, including the following items:

  • State your conjecture (this should be written down, either on a slide or on the board).  Give an explanation, and an example to demonstrate your conjecture.
  • If you were able to prove your conjecture, give a proof.  If not, describe briefly some of the ideas you had and strategies you tried while trying to prove it.
  • Give the class at least one puzzle to work on on their own – a challenge!
  • Give the audience a chance to ask questions (either during the presentation, or after).

Keep in mind the following:

  • You must include some kind of slides (you may also put work on the board):  PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi.com, LaTeX Beamer, or other.
  • You may decide as a group how to divide up the work, but each group member must present something to class.
  • Be aware that you will be asked at a later time to describe your own specific contributions as well as those of each group member.
  • Presentations will be given at the beginning of class on Tuesday, 12/5 and Thursday, 12/7.  Your group must sign up for a presentation time before leaving class on 11/14.

 

Grading Criteria (20 points total)

_____ points (4 possible).  Basics.  Stay within time limits (5-8 minutes). All group members participate.

_____ points (6 possible).  Conjecture.  Conjecture is written down.  Explanation and example are provided.

_____ points (7 possible).  Proof of conjecture or proof process description.

_____ points (3 possible).  Challenge the class.  At least one puzzle is given for the class to work on on their own.

 

____ points TOTAL (20 possible)

 

Week 12 Assignments

Written work, due Tuesday, November 28th, in class:
Section 11.0 p178: 3,4
WeBWorK – Assignment 6, due Tuesday, November 28th, at end of day.
OpenLab – none

Project – Initial Draft of paper due in class this Thursday, 11/16 (feedback will be sent by email to group members).
Final Draft of paper due in class on Tuesday, 12/5.
Group Presentations on Tuesday, 12/5 and Thursday, 12/7.

Video- Miralia Moreau

 

9.999.. Reasons that .999…=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsOXvQn3JuE&t=12s

In this video, Vi Hart demonstrates how .999… is equal to 1 which seem to be really weird but she actually proves it to be true because .999… Is still having the same pattern and by multiplying both sides by 10 and simply the result it will be equal to 1.

 

Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahXIMUkSXX0&t=199s

This video discussed how people can find Fibonacci numbers in plant petals pattern and others different kind of things which is really interesting.

How many kinds of infinity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23I5GS4JiDg

This video is describing the different kinds of infinity that exist. How they are different from each other, and how they can be used.

Part 2

The second video is the one I will be more focused because it is something I did in class but I did not know it was useful for natural things like Vi Hart reveals in the video. I was amazed by the way she explains everything. Although Fibonacci sequence number is something I did in class as I was watching the video it opens my eyes to more discoveries about the different ways that Fibonacci numbers can be used. The question I would ask is that can the fibonacci number be used to find the design of the universe if nobody did have any clue about how the universe looked like?.

Part 3

First of all, I was amazed, and I realize that it would be better if teachers can use not only math problems to make students understand but they need to use natural things that can students have seen almost in everyday life to make learning more effective. I hope when I was in high school my teachers were using methods from natural things to help me understand and also give me a visual demonstration in subjects I was learning. And as a future teacher, I will do all my best to help my students learning more effective and help them going deeper in order to develop the skills of learning.

Video- Josvenia Polanco

1. This video is about proving that there is an infinite amount of real numbers she states one simple reason which is that every decimal we think we can write, you can write many more and add more numbers to the decimal before.

2. Speed and acceleration. She compared driving in the rain to calculus and she says how you can use math to drive when it is raining without freaking out.

3. This is about about multiplying in a different way by using lines. By breaking up bigger numbers into smaller numbers to make multiplication easier.

4. Doodling in class can lead you to drawing stars and by drawing stars you can start a game of making different stars and can help you make a rule for drawing stars.

1. I was going to choose the multiplication one but I choose the doodling one, which is the fourth video. First off all this girl is such a NERD but I love it. She is so smart and although she speaks really quick she brings things that we take for granted daily and shows us how it applies to math. This video is a great video because we all doodle. I am always doodling squares and dots and trying to see what it makes. but honestly I never thought of it applying to math. I love drawing 3D squares because of Calc 3 but specifically making stars and making it to a game and making an equation for it. Imagine if we made games out of all our doodles, I wonder what would be our rules and how would our game look like. I think from now on when I doodle I am going to see if I can make a rule for my doodles or if they relate to math although I dont ever think it does.

2. Math is disliked by many kids but imagine if we could make it this fun? The kids would love it. Because they would feel in charge. They would have control of what they are learning although your really teaching them math. Sadly many times students learn for a curriculum or for regents and this is sad because they aren’t enjoying math, on the contrary students need to think they have control of their education and that they can enjoy what they are learning that math can actually be fun. I think as a teacher, one day I hope to be like this to be able to make math fun and bring games and activities in to the classroom that has never been brought like the one of the doodle. I also want to be able to explain things in many ways. I am really bad at learning things in one way, so imagine a student who truly struggles in mathematics. If I can teach them different ways of doing math like the multiplication example and if we as teacher can bring real life examples like rain and driving or even doodling into the classroom this can make a difference from a student hating to liking math.

 

Videos – Sonam Gyamtso

Part 1,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfJzrmS9UfY

I found the Video created by Vi Hart is fascinating, beacause it make me feel that factoring is way more interesting than what I knew before. She found the pattern of factoring by drawing the stars. Which is very unlike with the way how other teachers introduce pattren of factoring to their students. I loved the out come of the last few drawings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIVlegSt81k

This video that created by Vi Hart is about how to explore the mysteries of flexagation., by use strips of paper. I found it if very fascinating,  you strip and tape it nicely into a twisty – flody loop.  and you can flip the Hexaflexagons again and again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vydPOjRVcSg

This Video is called Pi Day is Round, I found this is very interesting beacuse I remember that on the day 3/14/15,My hight school math teacher told our class the today is Pi day, but no one queation that if we round the Pi it wil 3.1416, not 3.1415.

Part 2.(Video One)

I am very glad that I got the chance to watch this videos created by Vi Hart, after I watched these videos I was shocked by Lady who create the videos. They show you many very intersting things that related to math, but you will naver see this things in taxt book or learn them in class. In addition, This Videos also shows that math is related to verything in our daliy life. It also convinced me that Math is not just a course, it is a independent world that has it own system and language. However,I think that I did not understant about her Videos was: what was the reason she speak so quickly in her very videos?  I had to watch the video three or four time to get understant the concept of the video.

Part 3.

Many student give up math, because they think math class is one of most  boring class, and it is also very difficult to manage it. I have been ask many people about what is you favorite class and wich class they hate the most. The resolute I got was very interesting, because  many people see math as their favorite calss or the class they hete the most. So I come up a conclution that people who understant the math will love math but people who don’t unserstant the math will think it is a very boring class. So as a math teacher, it is important that you can show your student the side of math that is interesting. But it is not a essey thing do to, beacuse, math is not like other courses, you can tell a intersting story about it or do a fancy expaeriment.  I believe that Vi Hart showed us a very good way to teach your student math, just like the Video one.

 

Videos- Yasmine Soofi

Part 1

Video 1: Math Improve: Fruit by the Foot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am-a5x9DGjg

This video explains making to connected loops using candy strips or paper strips.

 

Video 2: Thanksgiving Turduckenen-duckenen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjrI91J6jOw

This video shows a turkey stuffed with two s stuffed with four hens stuffed with eight quail eggs. It is a mess cooking them, but it’s interesting how she was trying to say the words linearly or layer by layer and make it as music.

 

Video 3: The Calculus of Bad Driving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI62ANEGK6Q&t=48s

This video is talking about how the car stops depend on the slope of the line.

 

Part 2

I like video 1 which is about fruit by foot. It is interesting specially the part about making connected loops. I was excited about making it so I tried it using paper but instead of highlighting the edges using the same color I tried two different colors to convince myself. I learned that when we twist the stripe, one edge would be stuck to the other edge. That’s why we get the big loop which is the combination of the two edges. The small loop is just the middle part of the stripe. My question is what if we twist the stripe and cut it to four parts instead of three? I am going to try it later and see what happens.

 

Part 3

This video makes me wants to use material, as much as I can, to explain math to my future students because it makes math fun and much easier. I think the video is teaching and has sort of math. I also think it has some connection to the reading assignment Lockhart’s Lament. I just wish every teacher teach math in a way that makes it interesting so students wouldn’t complain about math.

 

 

Videos- Kelly Toth

Part 1:

Video 1- How many kinds of infinity are there?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23I5GS4JiDg

ViHart discusses the many types of infinity, such as Countable Infinity and Alpha Null. She also describes the “flavors” of each infinity and how they can relate to real world examples.

Video 2: A Song About a Circle Constant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtxmFlMLYRI

In this video she creates a catchy, or possibly annoying, tune about “Tau”.  While the song describes the numerical value of tau, 6.2831…, she also, rather ingeniously, took the individual numbers of Tau’s value and equated them to notes on a musical scale.

Video 3- Pi is (Still) Wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG7vhMMXagQ

ViHart continues in yet another video to rage against Pi. She believes that using Pi is inferior to using Tau. She has confidence that mathematics should be simple and elegant as possible. Pi, versus Tau, is less efficient and less graceful.

Parts 2 & 3:

Video- Optimal Potatoes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5RyVWI4Onk

This video is a hilarious and practical look at the mathematics, geometry, of Thanksgiving Dinner. Vihart brilliantly breaks down the mathematical relationship of mashed potatoes moats and the amount of gravy said mashed potatoes can hold. This clever application of mathematics to a seemingly random subject, Thanksgiving Dinner, is precisely the type of innovative teaching strategy that needs to be used to be able to draw a student into the beauty of math.

Vihart has packed this video with little tidbits of math. For instance, I did not know that any two-dimensional shape, when inflated, will turn into a circle.  Vihart’s strategy of explaining subjects such as this in nontraditional ways is the essence of teaching. By using both music and the internet she could create a learning technique that is both relevant and engaging. This sort of adaptability is one of the cores of a good teaching philosophy.

I do question if such techniques would be practical in a classroom environment. While the videos are wonderful I would like to know if, and how, she translates this style of teaching to an actual classroom setting. Obviously, she could not cook dinner in classroom, so how does she create comparable examples?

 

Videos-Evelin Perez-Flores

Part 1.

a) Doodling in Math: Sick Number Games- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhlv5Aeuo_k

The video discussed about the different types of number games you can create just by simply looking at the different qualities of a number.

b) Fractal Fractions- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5z-OEIfw3s

The video discussed how a simple a number can be simplified into a complex of fractions and still equal to the original value.

c) Hexaflexagons- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIVIegSt81k

The video was about how creating a hexagon out of paper can demonstrate a pattern as you play around with it.

Part 2.

I will focus on the second video. When I first saw the video, I was a little surprised and confused about everything that was going on. Mostly because it was going all too fast. When I saw it the second time, I actually took breaks to fully understand what was going on and I was mind-blown. I couldn’t imagine something so simple can become something so complex. All due to the power of algebra. I learned that anything is possible as long as you follow the rules of algebra and I mean ANYTHING. Two questions come to mind after watching this video. 1: why don’t teachers demonstrate these mind-blowing facts to students? 2: is there a special case when this wouldn’t work? Or will it always work?

Part 3

This video might’ve not had the typical classroom vibe when it comes to teaching mathematics but regardless, this video was teaching mathematics to the viewer. It definitely gets you to see a simple number in a more complex way. This video will get the viewer to start thinking of the endless possibilities a number can have. That’s something I hope to accomplish in my future classrooms, to have students see or approach a problem in their own unique way. One way I can accomplish that is by letting students play around with concepts or by opening their minds to completely new point of views in mathematics.  I wouldn’t want students to follow everything like robots. Similar to the idea in the reading assignment Lockhart’s Lament, that students should have the opportunity to be creative in mathematics.

Group Process Paper – Grading Criteria

Hi everyone,

The group process paper will be worth 35 points towards your Project grade.  I will be filling out the sheet below for each paper submitted.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Prof. Reitz

 

Semester Project – Group Process Paper
Grading Criteria

_____ points (3 possible).  Basics/formatting.  Length (1500 words required).  Group members names.  Semester/Date/Course.

_____ points (2 possible).  Puzzle description. Description given in own words, demonstrates understanding of puzzle mechanics.

_____ points (16 possible).  Proof process narrative.

_____ points (4 possible).  Shows progress across various stages of the project.  

_____ points (4 possible).  Includes all participating members of the group.  

_____ points (4 possible).  Includes objective facts (“what we did”) as well as experience (“how it felt, what it was like”).  

_____ points (4 possible).  Tells a story.

_____ points (5 possible).  Conjecture.

_____ points (3 possible).  State your group’s conjecture.

_____ points (2 possible).  Proof or disproof of conjecture. If no proof or disproof was obtained, these points can be earned by clear explanation of proof process in the preceding account.

_____ points (9 possible).  Images (3 points each).  Original or clearly attributed.  Includes caption.  Connection to puzzle/process is evident.  

 

____ points TOTAL (35 possible)

 

 

Videos- Stephanie Cuate

Part 1-                                                                                                                                                                                                              

a).   Visual Multiplication and 48/2(9+3): This video is showing a new way of multiplication by using lines and counting the intersections. It also explains how crucial notation is in math.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-e8fzqv3CE

 

b).   How to Draw a Perfect Circle: This video is about what makes a circle perfect, like for example she mentions about the radius needs to be the same. And how to perfectly

draw one.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QncgmzH6yQU

 

c).    Origami Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem: This video explains the Pythagorean theorem by using a piece of paper, folding into different triangles. It explains the concept of the Pythagorean Theorem and why we use it and add it, and why its equal.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6lL83wl31E

 

 

Part 2- I pick the first video to focus on.

 

When I first watch this video, I was amazed. I never learn or saw anything like this before. I had no clue that just by drawing lines and counting the intersection could help you get your answers. Watching this, made me surprised because I couldn’t believe this worked. I learned that teachers out there don’t want us, as a student, to know these shortcuts because we would use it more often than learn their way. I also learned that there are other methods out there to solve a multiplication problem. But a question I have is, what kind of multiplication does this work for? Does it work for two digits numbers? Can I work for more than two digits? Does it work for one digits?

 

Part 3-

As a future teacher, I want to teach my students different kind of ways to solve any kind of problems. I want to share information of what I understand more and show them my view of doing this. This video helps me understand that you could teach different kind of ways. In which this is teaching, like I learn how to use this method. This is relevant to the work I will be doing in my classroom because I’m going to be teaching how to multiply and distributive something and when to use it. But this is also math because in math, we not only use numbers, algorithms; but we also use diagrams, graphs, drawing to help us, etc.  A connection to the earlier reading assignment of Lockhart’s Lament is when Lockhart explains that in math you don’t have to follow specific directions to get your answer, it’s about creating new ones. And Lockhart is right, for example like the video, she didn’t use the basic multiplication to solve her answer,  she used lines and the intersection.

 

 

 

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