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Crossing the River with Dogs

Crossing the River with Dogs. P roblem B ased L earning. with Pete Anderson Glen Allen High School Henrico County. Completing Exercises vs Solving Problems. What is Problem Solving?.

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Crossing the River with Dogs

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  1. Crossing the River with Dogs Problem Based Learning with Pete Anderson Glen Allen High School Henrico County

  2. Completing Exercises vsSolving Problems

  3. What is Problem Solving? "A good problem is something you don't know how to solve. That's what makes it a good puzzle and a good opportunity. A good problem does not just sit there in isolation, but serves as a springboard to other interesting questions." - Paul Lockhart, A Mathematicians Lament I.

  4. Who’s Responsible for What? II.

  5. Unit Assessment

  6. Objectives of this Session • Solve Problems • List Problem Solving Skills • View Resources • View Sample Lesson Plans

  7. Let’s Solve a Problem Crossing the River ... • Level 1 – with a wolf, goat, cat, and cabbage • Level 2 – with Missionaries and Cannibals • Level 3 – with Dogs In groups of ___, you have __ minutes to solve the problem. III.

  8. Level 1: Wolf, Goat, Cat and Cabbage • Sailor Cat needs to bring a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across the river. The boat is tiny and can only carry one passenger at a time. If he leaves the wolf and the goat alone together, the wolf will eat the goat. If he leaves the goat and the cabbage alone together, the goat will eat the cabbage. How can he bring all three safely across the river? • Online version • Flipchart

  9. Level 2: Missionaries and Cannibals • Three missionaries and three cannibals must cross a river using a boat which can carry at most two people, under the constraint that, for both banks, if there are missionaries present on the bank, they cannot be outnumbered by cannibals (if they were, the cannibals would eat the missionaries.) The boat cannot cross the river by itself with no people on board. How can they all cross the river alive? • Online version • Flipchart

  10. Level 3: Crossing the River with Dogs • The situation: The five members of a family and their five dogs (each family member owned one of the dogs) were hiking when they encountered a river to cross. They rented a boat that could hold three living things: people or dogs. Unfortunately, the dogs were temperamental. Each was comfortable only with its owner and could not be near another person, not even momentarily, unless its owner was present. The dogs could be with other dogs, however, without their owners. The crossing would have been impossible except that Lisa’s dog had attended a first-rate obedience school and knew how to operate the boat. No other dogs were that well educated. • The task: Explain in detail how do the five family members and their dogs cross the river?

  11. How did you solve the problem? • What skills were required? • What previous knowledge was required? • Is there more than one solution? Is one solution better than another?

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  15. The Locker Problem

  16. Rubrics Drive Instruction IV.

  17. My 1st Quiz V.

  18. Problem Solving Skills • Draw a Diagram • Systematic Lists • Eliminate Possibilities • Matrix Logic • Look for a Pattern • Guess and Check • Sub-problems • Unit Analysis

  19. Problem Solving Skills • Solve an Easier Related Problem • Physical Representations • Work Backwards • Venn Diagrams • Algebra • Finite Differences • Other Ways to Organize Information • Other Ways to Change Focus • Other Forms of Spatial Organization

  20. A text by Ted Herr and Ken Johnson • Problem Solving Strategies: Crossing the River With Dogs and Other Mathematical Adventures(ISBN: 1559530685 / 1-55953-068-5 ) • Available at AbeBooks.com for as little as $1 (used). • GAHS Math text samples VI.

  21. Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum VII.

  22. Is this worth teaching?

  23. TIPC Chart

  24. Integrating Mathematics What are the rules? • Level 1: Coordinates of a Point • Level 2: Equation of a Line • Level 3: Equation of a Quadratic • Free web based “software”. • No download necessary. • Geogebra.org ( ) VIII.

  25. Context of each sample: Why are we learning this? • Level 1: Coordinates of a Point • Flat Map verse GPS coordinate system • Level 2: Equation of a Line • Business Models • Level 3: Equation of a Quadratic • Trajectory motion of a ... • [basketball, model rocket, arrow, etc.]

  26. Sample Lesson Plans • Option #1 – Traditional + Technology • Option #2 – Problem Based Learning • Option #3 – PBL + Lecture • Option #4 – Vodcast Enhanced IX.

  27. My County’s Pacing Guide

  28. My Pacing Guide 2010-2011

  29. Lesson 1-1: Point, Line, Plane • Standard: none • Objective: • The student will be able to make and describe fundamental sketches. The student will also be able to understand basic concepts such as intersect, horizontal, vertical, collinear and coplanar. • Essential Questions: • How does a system of rules help us create sketches from verbal descriptions and vice versa? • What is the vocabulary of Geometry in terms of nouns, verbs, and adjectives?

  30. PBL Lesson Plan 1-1 • Setting: small group (2-5) • Activity Directions: • One student (team leader) will have the picture to describe. All other group members will have one sheet of blank paper. • The team leader must describe the picture verbally while the rest of the group, while working together, attempts to draw the picture. The team leader may only use words. This team will have no more than two minutes to create the sketch. • Each team has a different picture and exchange pictures (rotate to another team) until each group has tried every picture. • Team sketches will be shared with the whole class (show and tell) • Each team will be assigned one picture and must describe it in a tweet. • Picture Sources: Not so well know paintings by famous artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, etc.. [the whole plan]

  31. Lesson 1-2: Segments and Rays • Standard: none • Objective: • The student will be able to define segment, ray, opposite rays, congruent, midpoint, bisect, length and postulate. The "Ruler Postulate" and "Segment Addition Postulate" will be introduced. • Essential Question: • What is the difference between equality and congruence?

  32. PBL Lesson Plan 1-2 • Setting: small group (2-5) • Activity Directions: • Each student in the group has a piece of paper, metric ruler, and pencil. • Each group is assigned a length (in millimeters). This length is to be kept secret from the other groups in the classroom. • Each member of the group is to draw a segment exactly the assigned length. • Groups exchange/rotate papers to another group. • Each group measures the length of the segment and records the length on the paper. Each member of the group shares their finds on each paper and comes to a consensus of the mystery length. • [optional] Exchange papers again to a new group. • Return papers to the original group. • Discussion Question: Name two objects that are [exactly] equal? • Leading Questions from the Teacher: • What is “margin of error”? • If two “pencils” appear to be equal in length, could we not “zoom in” on the ruler and find that they are ever so slightly different? [the whole plan]

  33. What are the Good Problems? video blog post

  34. The 4 Ds

  35. Always with a Rubric

  36. Crossing the River with Dogs Problem Based Learning with Pete Anderson Glen Allen High School Henrico County

  37. Thank You.

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