The Variable Machine

The activities in these video clips serve the purpose of showing that the values of the variables have an effect. In the activity, the students can change the variables associated with the given values in order to increase or decrease. The activity is also a hands on learning tool which causes the students to work with problem solving both individually as well as collaboratively. This also enables the students to grapple with mathematical problems, ideas, and solutions; giving them a foundational understanding of math as it connects as a whole.

Discourse #1
How effectively does the teacher use questioning to help students develop mathematical understanding?
The teacher does an excellent job of asking students questions that do not yield "yes" and "no" answers. She asks questions that guide the learners without giving answers. When the students are stuck, but on the right track to understanding, she prompts her students with guiding questions that helps them figure things out on their own. I love how the teacher answers the students' questions by asking them questions that help them find the answer they were trying to get.

Discourse #2
What techniques and strategies are used to orchestrate and promote student discourse, and how effective are these strategies?
The teacher gives brief and concise instruction for the students on what they will be doing and then lets the students get started working in groups. As the students are working she walks around the room which keeps the students on task and asks questions to groups as well as to the classroom as a whole. The teacher also listens to the students' solutions and explanations to ensure their understanding. I think that these methods are highly effective in student discourse. The teacher asked strategic questions that caused the students to expand their horizons and think creatively.

Student Learning #1
What strategies were used to assess student understanding?
The teacher used an informal approach to assessment because she didn't feel that it would be effective to have a formal assessment. The educator could walk around to each group and listen to different discussions to see if the students understood. As the students would work in their groups, different questions and ideas would arise which would give the teacher insight and understanding to where the student's knowledge was. The teacher would also have students share what they got for their solutions and how they arrived at their conclusions which would also act as a means of assessment.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the video and thought that the activity was very creative. I felt like the activity was productive and worthwhile. As I was watching the videos I kept thinking that I never learned math in this manner. We never reasoned with other people or with the whole class how we reached our conclusions. I think if I had learned this way, I would have enjoyed math a lot more. I was encouraged to help students go deeper in their understanding of math and broaden their thinking. I appreciated being able to think critically about the videos in correlation to the questions that were being asked so that I knew what I was looking for. This was a very helpful task.