Reflections on Blogging

I really liked putting together the idea of a math blog.  I think it would be exceptionally helpful for homework help.  However, I’d much prefer they use their notes from class with multiple examples.  A better use for the students would probably be the links to sites for math practice on different topics.  I may continue to build my math blog, if time allows; it just takes so much time to type everything up.  I hesitate to make it available on the internet for student use, though.  Unless, of course, I could make it so that no comments could be left; I’d hate to open up a can of worms in today’s world.

 

Not having a secondary degree in math (I’m middle school certified), I was expecting to be a bit behind my classmates.  Being an elementary teacher first, then middle school math teacher second, I was a bit worried.  However, I do believe that I have a strong foundation of math knowledge.  So, I learned that I should be confident enough in my abilities and teaching abilities to discuss the topic with anyone.  It was also nice to look at math from so many different perspectives and get different “takes” on teaching strategies.  I really learned a lot from my classmates.

 

I learned about a lot of internet resources that are very kid friendly and educationally valuable.  One interesting discovery I made was from reading my classmates “mathographies.”  After having early success in math, at some point most people struggled to find their way, and it wasn’t until they truly understood the ideas of math that it began to make sense.  I also found it interesting that there is, in everyone’s past, one teacher that made a difference in their lives, not just mathematically, but personally.  From reading my classmates’ work and responses, I can see how much everyone absolutely loves math and wants to create that love of math in their students.

 

I love the idea of using journals with my students, but I just don’t know where I’d find the time to read them.  So, I really doubt that I will.  I might if there comes a time when I only teach math and not language arts (reading/English/spelling) as well. 

 

I would really like to incorporate student blogs into my curriculum.  I think it would be a great way for students to show a true understanding of concepts.  However, our firewall blocks all blogs at our school, and our technology is so poor that only about 50% of the computers work.  Therefore, having students access my blog from school wouldn’t work either.   

Blogging was fun…maybe I should create a Pirates blog this summer when I have more time?!  What do you think, Pirates fans out there?  Well, then again, maybe we’ve suffered enough…

 

Factoring Quadratics

Generic Format of a Quadratic Equation:     y = ax² + bx + c

 

Example: x² + 5x + 4

 

1.  Find the third term:   c = 4

 

2.  List factor pairs for c:           4 = (4 * 1) or (2*2) 

 

3.  Which set, (4 * 1) or (2*2), has the sum of b, 5?                  (4*1)

 

4.  Find the first term.  Factor it:            x² = (x * x)

It only has one factor, x.  Therefore, both binomials will start with x.

 

5.  In one binomial, add 4 (from the factor pair in Step 3).

 

6.  In the other binomial, add 1 (the other factor in Step 3).

 

7.  Therefore, we will have (x + 4)(x + 1)

 

8.  Check your work using FOIL (First Outer Inner Last/aka the Distributive Property):

           

(x + 4)(x + 1)

            (x * x) + (x * 1) + (4 * x) + (4 * 1)

            x² + x + 4x + 4

            x² + 5x + 4

 

 

Paraphrasing did help me internalize the concepts.   I was able to better break down the process of creating the correct binomials by listing each factor pair before creating the binomials.  I think creating this step-by-step process will allow for each student to have framework in place that will yield more success.

 

I think paraphrasing processes would be a great activity to reinforce computation, especially for computation of fractions.  This is a weak area for most students; therefore, this would be an opportunity for them to internalize the rules themselves rather than just “following the rules of the teacher.”