Riley Duff

“Pac Man Takes a Bite Out of Geometry”

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School

1)Summary
This article discusses the very real issue of students feeling that mathematics is
based on memorization of formulas that have vague even meaningless reasoning.
When students are not given the explanation of where a formula comes from or the
opportunity to explore this concept, they do not gain ownership over their mathematics
learning. As a result, students become “passive consumers of others’ mathematics.”
(371) In order to really understand where formulas for say, surface area and volume,
come from, students ​need​ to work with physical 3D objects that they can manipulate
and explore. The next part of the lesson dives into this idea with various activities that
take on this hands on mathematics concept. The first set of activities involve an orange
to study the surface area and volume of a sphere. Students measure the orange’s great
circle, peel the orange, and work together to develop formulas that make sense of their
exploration. For the next activity, students think about the surface area of a cone by
thinking about a cone’s net. From the net, students look at the circular base and the
pac-man shaped lateral surface area to reach a surface area formula. Ultimately, both
lessons reach the same goal, to initiate an ownership of mathematics and support
students exploration in mathematical sense making.

2)Reflection
This article has so many valid points! It is so unreasonable that we hope for and
expect our students to grasp and feel confident with formulas that are provided out of
thin air without breaking them down and making sense of them. To me, math was a lot
of meaningless memorization for most of my education. When I took my first math class
for future teachers I felt so many breakthroughs and I just wished that I would have felt
the way I feel about math right now, back when I was in highschool. It's interesting
because I have taken or am currently taking a total of 5 various math classes in college,
and only one is a non-teacher math class, statistics. Sitting through that class reminds
me why I had such a strong dislike for math in high school because it is all so
meaningless to me. I have no ownership of the formulas, only my calculator knows
what's going on. As a teacher, I will work hard to make sure my students understand
what they are being asked to remember, even the students who already have it
memorized.
 Riley Duff

“Rough Draft Talk in Mathematics Classrooms”

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School

1) Summary
This article was all about the importance of collaboration and the sharing of
incomplete ideas. Rough Draft Talk means conversations about ideas that are not all
the way thought out or complete or even correct. When students see that it is not just
okay but also helpful for their incomplete ideas to be shared with other students, they
are more willing to take risks as they feel that they are not being judged for their ideas.
Through rough draft talk, students see that it's okay to make mistakes and that making
mistakes is where learning happens. It's important that as teachers, we discuss the
importance of talking and collaborating in the learning process of mathematics.
Teachers also have to take a “nonevaluative stance” in order for students to feel
comfortable to take risks with sharing their ideas. Rough draft talk really fosters this idea
that students aren't alone in their struggle with math concepts and teachers need to
emphasize the importance of this kind of discussion in class learning. Rough draft ideas
need to “be publicly treated as helpful and productive.” Every student wants to be
helpful and feel that their ideas are heard and valued.

2)Reflection
I really enjoyed this article! I feel like it is a concept that I know is so valuable but
I have never heard of a label for it or read about it. I think as a teacher I would like to
change the verbiage that I use with my students from “what did you all get?” to “what
are your ideas?” I think that little tweaks to how we initiate conversation in the
classroom have a big impact. I really like the idea of working on white boards because I
feel like it reassures students that their ideas are a work in progress. It is so important
for students to feel like they aren’t the only ones struggling. Knowing that the whole
class is working through difficult problems together and that it is ok to share ideas that
are still in progress is the only way to initiate productive struggle. I don't think that as a
student in elementary school my teachers fostered rough draft talk. Teachers always
say “it's okay to get the wrong answer” and “no question is a stupid question” but I think
that rough draft talk has to start at a young age for students to truly feel comfortable
asking questions and taking risks with answers. As a teacher, I plan to integrate rough
draft talk into all conversations about all subjects.
 Riley Duff

“What Can We Learn from Correct Answers”

Teaching Children Mathematics

1)Summary
This article discusses assessment of student understanding and the importance
of students' thinking processes, not just if they reached the correct answer or not. This
type of assessment is defined by the article as formative assessment. Formative
assessment is broken down into a four part cycle: “(1)teaching a lesson, (2)
administering formative assessment questions, (3) analyzing evidence of student
thinking, and (4) responding by planning for next lessons based on evidence.” (348)
Using this cycle, second grade teacher Severini gave students a problem involving triple
and double digit subtraction to work on as an exit ticket after a lesson and activity on the
topic. The teacher assessed and categorized student thinking by strategy. Three
questions came up while looking at the student’s work and they were: “What is the
evidence of understanding that can be built on? What issues or concerns are evident in
the student work? [and] What are instructional next steps based on the evidence?”
(350) While most of the students reached the correct answer to the exit ticket problem,
the teacher used the analysis of each student’s problem solving steps to make changes
and improvements to the next lesson plan. As a class, the teacher and students then
had a discussion about some of the students' different strategies.

2)Reflection
This article stresses a very important concept that we have covered in both math
110 and 210, and that is that the answer is somewhat less important than the steps a
student takes to get there. I think this article was interesting because usually a student’s
thinking process is only analyzed when they do not answer a question correctly and the
goal is to find where the mistake was made. This article, on the other hand, argues that
it is just as valuable to analyze the correct steps to a correct answer. I think that
showing students that there are more than one way to solve math problems would boost
their confidence in solving math problems in their own way and sharing their thinking
with their peers.
 Riley Duff

“Catalyzing Change for Elementary School”

Teaching Children Mathematics
1) Summary
Week 9
This article begins by discussing the fact that “mathematics education at the high
school level is not working for many students” (283) and that progress is being made in
elementary and middle school pedagogy styles and students are benefitting, but the
improvement stops there. The writer argues that one of the reasons why this is
happening is that in high school, students are put on different “tracks” and which track
you are placed on depends on early success in math classes. This is relevant to
elementary educators because this is where the foundation is laid. There are four
essential ideas to this idea of catalyzing change and they are; (1)teach mathematics as
a way to analyze and enjoy the world, not just a skill for college or a career,(2) one
uniform pathway for all high school students should be established, as research is done
in pedagogy styles, (3)high school teachers should advance accordingly, and finally,(4)
all students should study the same “essential concepts” for the first couple years of high
school and continue their mathematics education all four years. Confident mathematical
thinkers need to be established at a young age, it is up to elementary teachers to not
place limits on students or make them feel like they are not “math people.” In order to
implement these ideas, the article claims that it is imperative that certain inequitable
structures, like tracking, are “dismantled.” (284) The article also brings up the issue with
“teacher tracking” where more experienced teachers instruct higher level courses and
less experienced teach lower level courses. It is important that educators have an
understanding of how students feel about mathematics and what they think it means to
be “good” at math, so they can reverse formation of negative beliefs.

2) Analysis
I found this article very interesting and relevant because my high school
experience is so fresh in my mind. It was kind of like article ​inception ​because it was an
analysis of an article in an article. It is so interesting that the improvements in pedagogy
styles and student achievement is stopping after middle school and I think it is because
so much time and energy is being put on how to lay solid mathematical foundations. So
when all the resources are being put into primary math education, secondary math
education gets put on the back burner. I never put much thought into the negative effect
that “tracking” students and teachers has and it will definitely change how I format my
classroom and teach different subjects like reading and I will refrain from grouping
students based on “level”.
 Riley Duff

“​It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Dilated Superhero!”

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School
1) Summary
The first part of the article describes in detail an activity about dilation by
measuring and comparing students heights and shadows. The author emphasizes the
importance of using real world examples when teaching mathematics. Students get into
groups and take turns standing between a flashlight on the ground and a large piece of
paper on the wall. While they are standing, another student traces the shadow of the
student which is dilated due to the position of the flashlight. While doing this, students
can see that the shadow is larger than the standing student in ​all d ​ irections, not just
taller or wider. The shadow is exactly the same as the standing student, just scaled up.
The groups record height measurements in inches of both the standing person and the
shadow in a chart. Next, they create a class graph of initial and dilated height values.
The x axis represents the student’s actual height and the y axis represents the
shadow’s height. The teacher then prompts them to come up with an equation to
represent this relationship between initial height and shadow height. With this equation,
it is clear where the students can find the constant of proportionality. The lesson
concludes with students working backwards from given measurements of captain
america and his dilation. They graph the measurements and find the constant of
proportionality then apply it to their heights.

2) Reflection
I agree with the author and think bringing real world applications of mathematics
into your classroom is really valuable. I like that the activity is open ended in some ways
and allows students to explore dilation freely without being told exactly what to do. I
think students would have fun with this and the whole class would be involved. The
lesson allows for students to predict and question outcomes and teach each other.
There are a few things I would change about the article though. The first is just to
benefit the reader. I would have liked there to be more pictures so I could really
visualize the lesson. Images of the class graph and student shadow tracings would
make it not only more interesting, but easier for a teacher to replicate in the classroom.
The second thing I would do differently is I would ask students what they think happens
to the width of a person when comparing the actual width with the dilated shadow width.
This would really make it clear that the whole surface area of the person gets larger, not
just the height.
 Riley Duff

“Quilt Block Symmetries”

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School
1) Summary
The article begins by describing the value of learning about shape
transformation, rotation and reflection in understanding shape similarity and
congruence. Common Core standards have pushed this idea. The activities given are
open ended and are used to spark curiosity and investigation. The activities are
introduced with an example showing a quilt with 180 degree rotation symmetry. Then
the concept of reflective symmetry is introduced. Students created their own quilt
designs and compared them with their classmates. They discussed reflective symmetry
and came to the conclusion that horizontal line of symmetry and vertical line of
symmetry classifications are synonymous because they just depend on orientation of
the quilt. When thinking about rotation symmetry, students concluded that 0 degree
rotation symmetry and 180 degree rotational symmetry are synonymous because they
both result in the original position of the quilt. The next day, students sorted a set of quilt
patterns into groups according to what type of symmetry they had. The third day
allowed students to analyze every symmetry classification they had and investigate if
there were any they had missed. On the last day the students organized all of their quilt
blocks to make a class quilt.

2) Reflection
I really enjoyed reading this article and have never seen an activity like it.
One thing that this article fosters is problem solving perseverance which is an idea we
covered in last week’s article. The lesson did not set up a strict structure for how
students should investigate or ask very specific questions. This allowed for students to
reach conclusions on their own at their own pace. I’m sure this activity was fun for
students because of this set up. Another thing I like about this lesson is that the
students are building important geometrical foundation knowledge without really
realizing it. The quilt activity doesn’t feel like math at all. This activity is a good one to
bring into your classroom to make math social. The whole class gets involved and
students have an opportunity to teach each other. Overall, I think this lesson is one I
should remember for when I have my own class.
 Riley Duff

“​Encouraging Perseverance in Elementary Mathematics: A Tale of Two Problems”

Teaching Children Mathematics

1) Summary
The article begins by listing misconceptions about mathematics and people
who are “good at math.” These misconceptions include one correct answer, one
correct strategy, the idea that there are “math people” and ordinary students,
mathematics is unsocial, and students who are good at math can solve any problem
quickly. This last point is elaborated on. Conceptions and attitudes about math are
formed by students early on in their education and continue throughout their life.
Students who believe the ideas that I listed are true do not develop problem solving
perseverance. Teachers can combat this by modeling productive struggle. A group
of K-2 teachers researched “the most effective approaches to the teaching of
mathematics in the first three years of school.” (205) The article covers two problems
that initiate productive struggle. The first had to do with creating three towers out of a
specified number of cubes. The towers had to be as equivalent in height as possible.
Students hypothesized and made conjectures while doing the activity. Concepts of
multiplicative thinking were not introduced to the children but they made steps in that
direction. The teacher allowed for students to question different theories and test
ideas without giving hints that would lead to closure. The discussion went on for days
in the classroom. The second problem was more complicated and eventually
became too difficult for the second grade class but they still worked on it together for
days and came to a conclusion. The activities were engaging and showed students
that finding an answer on your own rather than being told the answer is real learning.

2) Reflection
Productive struggle is a learned skill. It is not a skill that I learned early on in
my education and I think that is why I had a hard time in math growing up and why I
love learning about how to teach math more effectively. I think one key aspect to
teaching your students problem solving perseverance is making mathematical study
social and a group effort. Learning from peers is so effective when learning math. As
displayed in the second problem, sometimes the mathematics can become too
difficult for students but the discussion continued, everyone helped and they reached
a conclusion. I hope to inspire this kind of perseverance in my classroom, the
perseverance to acknowledge that mathematics may be too complex but together we
can break it down and figure it our. Another thing that is difficult for children is trying
to be fast. Some problems take longer than others and some people need more time
than others and I wish that would've been emphasized when I was in elementary
school because I can be somewhat slow.
 Riley Duff

"What Happens to Geometry on a Sphere?"

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School

1) Summary
This article was written to give a new perspective on the geometry that we all
know and love. The idea of spherical geometry was brought into a sixth grade
classroom and the concepts were introduced gradually and built off one another.
Eventually, students were asking mathematical questions of their own and
experimenting with different shapes. The first idea that was introduced to the class was,
what would a line look like on a sphere? This led to students questioning and re-thinking
their definition of a planar line. Great circle was a term provided to the class and
students soon came to a conclusion that every line on a sphere is really a great circle.
The terms are synonymous in spherical geometry. Latitude and longitude were
discussed and students came to understand that only the equator is a great circle.
Students also grasped that there are an infinite number of great circles on a sphere.
The next two shapes that were compared using the two types of geometry were rays
and parallel lines. Fairly quickly, students gathered that both were impossible to make
on a sphere. Perpendicular lines, however, were possible, they just intersected twice.
From this, students attempted to draw squares. Doing so forced them to question the
defining characteristics of a planar square. No squares could be formed on the sphere,
they either had 3 congruent sides, different angle measures, or were not closed. While
no squares could be drawn, the students found out that multiple types of triangles could
be. Overall, the activity sparked mathematical thinking, questioning and excitement in
the classroom.

2) Reflection
I really enjoyed this article because it showed me that less complicated versions
of the spherical geometry we did in class exist! I could wrap my head around these
concepts and could imagine using this lesson in a classroom. It all really comes down to
definitions of shapes. The activities described in the article made students question
what probably comes naturally to them. It was like putting them in an alternate
mathematical universe. Learning about spherical geometry reminded me of both taxicab
geometry and using alternate base systems, like counting in base five. Where spherical
geometry forces you to scrutinize your definitions of shapes, taxicab geometry alters
your perspective of measurement/ distance, and alternate bases make you rethink
counting and number values.
 Riley Duff

“Stop the Silence! How to Create a Strategically Social Classroom”

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School

1) Summary
This article is written in an effort to emphasize to educators the importance of
social interactions in any classroom during any time, but especially during math. The
article provides two examples of classrooms where students were given
mathematical questions, formed some opinions and then got into groups to discuss.
The first example was a pair-share then coming together as a class to discuss, and
the second was an activity in which students formed an opinion on which
measurement to use (mean, median, or mode) then went to a designated area of the
room to form a group with other students who shared their views. During both of
these discussions students exchanged ideas. Some grew more confident in their
answers and taught/ explained them to others. Other students learned from their
peers and made alterations to their answers. Each of these was a way for students
to discuss, share ideas, and ask questions without the pressure of being on the spot
in front of the whole class. The teachers strategically grouped students according to
similarities in some cases and differences in others. Overall, discussions were rich
and the students definitely gained from this classroom structure.

2) Reflection
“Stop the Silence” is a strong example of how small intentional choices regarding
teaching style have such a large impact on student learning. The classrooms
described in this article are unlike what I experienced in my mathematics education
prior to college. It’s sometimes hard to admit that, because I think I went to a
wonderful school and I think my teachers were great. Although, when I read articles
like this one, I think about how I want to structure my classroom and how different it
will be from my experience in elementary school. Children ​want ​to talk. Dealing with
chatty students is an uphill battle for many teachers, so why not allow them to talk
and structure their discussions around the curriculum that you are teaching. One
idea from this article that I really stand behind is that it’s one thing to understand a
topic, but being able to teach that topic to a peer is a deeper level of understanding.
When students pair up and correct each other’s work or try to convince students who
disagree with them to see their views and join their side of the room what they have
learned is being solidified. Another thing is, sometimes teachers have a hard time
explaining difficult topics- we’re not perfect. But if some students in the classroom
grasp the concept and can teach other students in an understandable way, the
whole class benefits. I did not have a social mathematics experience until college
and I hope I can change that for my students.
 Riley Duff

“Measuring Penny”
Teaching Children Mathematics
1) Summary
“Measuring Penny” is an article based on a children’s picture book about
comparison of dog sizes, specifically height. The article describes five activities that
build off one another reaching for children to understand height as a countable. First,
comparison of different lengths of lines is conducted. One curved slightly and one in the
shape of an M. The children first are asked which they think is longer without actually
measuring them, then use non-standardized measurement tools like beans and cubes.
The first of the five activities involves length comparison of different straight objects like
a straw, a pencil, a toothpick, etc. Next, they order these objects from largest to
smallest. The third activity is a scavenger hunt where children search for an object that
is similar in length to their measurement tool (like a toothpick or pencil). The next activity
was similar but the objects were larger and children worked in groups with different tools
to measure them. Finally, the measurement of non straight lines taped on the floor
highlighted all of these measurement techniques. Then, the class came together and
re-visited the children’s book. They used their newly learned measurement techniques
to compare the sizes of the different dogs in the book. Students realized that some tools
were better for measuring the dogs than others. Each activity built off of the previous
one to reinforce the measurement techniques and rules.

2) Reflection
This article was interesting to me because I love to find ways to teach multiple
subjects at the same time. This lesson also is a good example to show kids that math is
everywhere ​and they are sometimes acting like mathematicians when they don't even
know it (eg. Getting the bigger cookie, asking who is taller etc). I am wondering in what
ways this lesson could be adapted to work with higher grade levels as I do not plan to
teach kinder. I think these activities are a great way to get children involved in math if
they are reluctant to do so. Comparing object sizes doesn’t ​feel l​ ike math but it really is
foundational knowledge that children need to learn.