Online Resources for Transformations 1

Module 7 Application Assignment

Online Resources for Transformations

Samantha DiMatteo

Marygrove College
Online Resources for Transformations 2

Student understanding can be enhanced when teachers provide sources

that are informative, interactive, and engaging. I chose to focus on finding

websites that highlighted the essential components of transformations.

http://www.mathplayground.com/TransformationWorkshop/Workshop.html

Math Playground is a site that focuses on how a pre-image will be

affected once it undergoes a sequence of transformations. Students can

choose a shape and then drag blocks that each represent different

transformations into a sequence of their choice. Students can choose any

combination of reflections, translations across the x-axis, translations across

the y-axis, and rotations and then observe their shape as it undergoes the

sequence of transformations. This site offers students the opportunities to

explore different combinations of transformations and can heighten their

understanding of how a shape moves when a series of transformations are

performed on it.

http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/transformations.html

The second site I chose that can enhance student understanding with

transformations is titled Math is Fun. This provides thorough definitions for

various vocabulary terms that support the idea of transformations. By clicking

on each term students are provided with in depth interactive examples that can
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expand their understanding of each topic. Terms include transformation,

translation, reflection, rotation, congruent, similar, and resizing. The

interactive components of the site are particularly useful for helping students

to visualize how each transformation affects a given figure.

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry-home/transformations

Khan academy is a great resource that can help reiterate the key facts

that have been presented in any lesson. This websites section on

transformations is particularly informative as it uses video tutorials and

interactive examples to highlight translations, rotations, reflections, dilations,

sequences and symmetry of transformations. Additionally, it provides the

properties and definitions that correspond to each type of transformation.

Each of the previously listed components of the site can have to enhance

student understanding. This is a very usefully tool to assist teachers with

differentiated instruction because it allows students to work through videos

and interactive examples at their own pace. Students can review each video

tutorial as many times and they want, and teachers can use the site to monitor

each students progress. Khan academy is an excellent resource to provide

students with reinforcement with many mathematical topics including

transformations.
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https://illuminations.nctm.org/Activity.aspx?id=6475

Its important that students practice manipulating different shapes and

this site provides students with an opportunity to do just that. Students can

observe the behavior of various shapes when a transformation is performed on

it. Additionally, students can choose a shape, manipulate its size, and then

transform it. It is important that students get involved with the learning

process. Preston and Thompson (2004) validate this idea when they discuss

measuring: Measuring with tool, instead of seeing pictures of the tools is

important in concept development (p. 437). The ideas of transforming a shape

will resonate more when students have to manipulate a figure themselves rather

than observing the teacher do it.

https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/56200e6234c7321a0677af84

The Desmos site that is noted above offers students tiered

transformation activities that get progressively more challenging making it a

useful source to differentiate instruction. Breyfogle and Lynch (2010) explain,

Students progress through levels on the basis of their experiences rather than

age, and it is imperative that teachers provide experiences and tasks so that

students can develop along this continuum (p. 234). Because this site can save

each students work teachers can assess which students have mastered the

material and which students need extra practice. This feature is also nice
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because it gives teachers the opportunity to provide review student work and

then provide feedback that supports each individual in the class. What is unique

to this site is students are asked to describe and execute translations in words

and using coordinate notation. Preston and Thompson (2004) state that

constructed-response questions, gives the students the opportunity to express

mathematical ideas and demonstrate the depth of their understanding of a

problem (p. 515). The fact that this website asks students to explain their

ideas will help solidify their understanding od transformations and also help the

teacher to gain valuable insight into their students comprehension of the

material. McIntosh & Draper (2001) state, Writing in mathematics gives

learners an opportunity to communicate their ideas and to clarify, refine, and

consolidate their thinking (p. 554).

Van De Walle, Karp, and Bay-Williams (2013) note, The van Hiele model

is a five-level hierarchy of ways of understanding special ideas (p. 403). Each

of the preceding online activities would help to develop geometric thinking at

various levels of the van Heile model and support the topics highlighted by both

the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and Common Core

State Standards (CCSS). These activities touch on levels 0, 1, and 2 of the van

Heile model as they each use a combination of visual, analysis, and abstraction

components. Van De Walle, Karp, and Bay-Williams (2013) explain, The

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emphasis at level 0 is on shapes that students can observe, feel build, take

apart, or work with in some manner (p. 403). It is at the level that the

majority of the activities take place, as students practice moving shapes to new

locations in the coordinate plan while following a specific set of rules. Level 1 is

also prevalent as students focus on symmetric properties and visualize

reflections across the x- and y-axis. Van De Walle, Karp, and Bay-Williams

(2013) state, At level 2 the focus shifts from simple examining properties of

shapes to explorations that include logical reasoning (p. 416). Level 2 can be

seen when students make predictions about the final location of a shape before

applying a sequence of transformations to that figure in the coordinate plane.

It is imperative that we aim to progress through each level of the van Hiele

model to ensure that our students have a genuine understanding of the material.

As educators it is important that we have a vast array of resources that

we can utilize to elicit student understanding. Our lesson plans should be

carefully designed to support the needs of our audience. Tomlinson (2010)

notes, Teachers have to make specific and continually evolving plans to connect

each learner with key content (p. 14). It is important that any topic in our

curriculum is presented in ways that can engage our students and heighten their

level of understanding and interactive websites are an excellent way to support

many mathematical concepts.

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Resources

Breyfogle, M. L., & Lynch, C. M. (2010). Van Hiele revisited. Teaching

Mathematics in the Middle School, 16(4), 232-238.

McIntosh, M., & Draper, R. (2001, October). Using Learning Logs

in Mathematics: Writing to Learn. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,

94(7), 554-557. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from

http://www.nctm.org/Publications/mathematics-

teacher/2001/Vol94/Issue7/Using-Learning-Logs-in-Mathematics_--Writing-

to-Learn/

Preston, R., & Thompson, T. (2004). Integrating measurement across the

curriculum. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 9(8), 436-441.

Tomlinson, C. A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2010). Leading and managing a

differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Van de Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2013). Elementary

and middle school mathematics methods: Teaching developmentally (8 th ed.).

Pearson: Boston.