Week 4: Get Rich!

Hello teacher friends!

This week, we focused on the growing need to implement mathematically rich tasks for our students. Rich, how, you ask? Rich in content, rich in objective, rich in accessibility, rich in its multiple representations, rich in assessment, and rich in the learning outcome itself. On top of every thing else we need to remember as pre-service teachers, this may seem a little overwhelming. So, how can this be accomplished?

In the guidance document "Mathematics at Key Stage 4: developing a scheme of work", the Secondary National Strategy describes a rich task as:

• accessible and extendable,
• one which allows learners to make decisions,
• involving learners in testing, proving, explaining, reflecting and interpreting,
• promoting discussion and communications,
• encouraging originality and invention,
• encouraging 'what if' and 'what if not' questions,
• enjoyable and contains the opportunity for surprise.  

"Tried and True Teaching Tools." Mathematics Mindsets, p.90. Retrieved from: http://www.triedandtrueteachingtools.com/2016/08/rich-mathematical-tasks.html

In class, we worked through a set of problems to assess whether they were credible for a rich task or not. Some were lower-order questions, focusing on the same mathematical topic, and some were more challenging - ones that required higher-order thinking. We considered things like openness vs. closed-ness (open questions promote deeper thinking - look for the Why?), feasible questions vs. infeasible (feasible questions ensure the question is possible in the sense that it is realistic and can be applied to every day life), and equality vs. inequality (was the question fair in its approach; considering all levels and learning modes of the student?). Most questions seemed to rank on the lower-order question spectrum, and not surprisingly so, seeing how a lot of textbooks do not address these type of questions. Teachers must then develop and create their own.

In smaller groups, we discussed what else might make a rich task effective. Casey, Kursten, and I collectively agreed that it is important to assess students' prior knowledge and their base of fundamental skills before rich tasks are even introduced. Since creating our own rich tasks requires plenty of planning, knowing our students' abilities and baseline will guide us in the development. We can therefore improve student achievement by turning our attention to resources and strategies that pique students' motivation, emotion, attention, and interest.

Photo taken by me. 09/28/17

Speaking of, some resources we explored in class that I'd like to make note of are: 

-https://nrich.maths.org/   (a main hub of teacher resources and notes related to mathematically rich tasks)

-https://nrich.maths.org/2526  (the Square It game! This game challenges students to form a square using a grid and dots while competing against an oppenent. The possibility thinking reinforces the notion of an open-ended task.)

-http://wodb.ca/    (the "Which Object Doesn't Belong?" game offers many entry points for students. What one student may observe as different, another may not. Rich discussion surrounding these perceptions will thus ensue. More than 1 correct answer = open-ended = rich task!) 

 Later this week I'll be attending a mathematics workshop, hosted by OECTA, called "Mathemagicals." I am curious to see if other methods regarding rich tasks will be discussed. Sooner than that, however, is my math webinar with Mohamed. We will be touching on the topic of integrating financial literacy in the curriculum.

Stay tuned for the details!

Until next time,

Have a beau-tea-ful day every one!

Miss Capano