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Enriching Mathematics Instruction Opening up our Questions

Enriching Mathematics Instruction Opening up our Questions. TLQP 2013-14 Thomas F. Sweeney, Ph.D The Sage Colleges. Today ’ s Goals:. Classify open and closed problems and tasks; Understand how open ended problems promote student learning; Generate open-ended tasks from closed ones;

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Enriching Mathematics Instruction Opening up our Questions

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  1. Enriching Mathematics InstructionOpening up our Questions TLQP 2013-14 Thomas F. Sweeney, Ph.D The Sage Colleges

  2. Today’s Goals: • Classify open and closed problems and tasks; • Understand how open ended problems promote student learning; • Generate open-ended tasks from closed ones; • Learn the importance of good questioning.

  3. CCSSM New level of rigor Deeper understanding A broadening in our teaching styles APPR is attempting to measure this

  4. Why are the questions we ask our students so important? • Promotes higher level thinking • Facilitates productive discussion in the classroom • Students are better able to make sense of ideas, demonstrate understanding, and reflect on their thinking.

  5. Successful implementation of CCSSM Transition to: students working in small groups to solve open-ended mathematics problems The problem tasks should provide: (i) opportunities for students to generate several options and solutions; (ii) opportunities for students to discuss together; (iii) opportunities for students to make decisions and justify their decisions. Recall: Border Problem

  6. Traditionally “closed” questions : • involve recalling a fact or performing a skill; • a single answer; • content specific - often routine; • a prescribed solution technique.

  7. Features of Open-ended Problems: • No fixed method • No fixed answer/many possible answers • Solved in different ways and on different levels (accessible to mixed abilities). • Offer pupils room for own decision making and natural mathematical way of thinking. • Develop reasoning & communication skills

  8. Open-ended task/ problem They can include tasks that ask students to explain, justify, and make predictions beyond the information they are given.

  9. Good Questions Are Self-Differentiating Many questions worth asking can be answered on various levels according to a student's conceptual understanding. Thus, they are self-differentiating. Students with stronger skills or a deeper understanding can probe the question in depth or uncover all the possible answers, while other students might respond on a more basic level. The teacher also can prepare one or more follow-up questions to extend the challenge.

  10. Examples Closed question: "What are the factors of 36?“ Open question:  "Find a number under 100 that has lots of factors."

  11. Closed question: Find the mean of 8, 10, 12, 12, and 18. corresponding Open-ended question : The mean of a set of 5 scores is 12. 'What might be the scores?

  12. Closed: What is the area of a rectangle 8 meters long and 3 meters wide? Open: A rectangle has a perimeter of 30 m. What might be the area? Explain.

  13. Closed- Ended Find the value of n if 3 x n = 12 Open-Ended Solve the riddle using the clues and numbers in the table. 1. It is not 3 x 4. 2. It is not > 56. 3. It does not equal 4 tens. 4. It does not equal 2 x 7. 5. It is not the missing number in 3 x n = 12. The number is ______.

  14. closed I want to paint the wall but not the door. What area of wall do I need to paint? open The area of the shaded part of this diagram is 8m2• What might be the dimensions of the large and small rectangles (Give at least 3 answers)

  15. Closed question: • What is 8 x 6? • Open question: • Suppose you forgot what 8 x 6 is, but you remembered that 5 x 6 is 30. How could you use this fact to figure out what 8 x 6 is?

  16. Why open-ended tasks? Open-ended questions help students relate math to the real world.  Students are often required to make decisions and be creative in finding ways to answer the questions they are given.  When teachers can assess all these things they can be sure that the students really understand the mathematics they are being taught.

  17. Why open-ended tasks? Students might be asked to bring together and synthesize a range of mathematical concepts and skills in solving one problem. The question might trigger a student-driven investigation or exploration. The teacher learns about the students' conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills.

  18. Advantages 1). Students participate more actively in lessons and express their Ideas more frequently. 2). Students have more opportunities to make comprehensive use of their mathematical knowledge and skills. 3). Every student can respond to the problem in some significant ways of his / her own. 4) Teachers can better assess students understanding and misconceptions.

  19. What Makes a Task Rich? • Significant mathematics • Mathematical Practices • Multiple layers of complexity • Multiple entry points • Multiple solutions and/or strategies • Leads to discussion or other questions • Students are the workers and the decision makers • Warrants reflection - Paired with discourse

  20. Making questions open ended • Method 1: Working backwards • Indentify a mathematical topic or concept. • Think of a closed question and write down the answer. • Make up a new question that includes (or addresses) the answer.

  21. Method 1: Working backwards Example: • Multiplication • 40 x 9 = 360 • Two whole numbers multiply to make 360. What might the two numbers be?

  22. Method 1: Working backwards Round this decimal to one decimal place: 5.7347 can become …. A number has been rounded off to 5.8. What might the number be?

  23. Method 1: Working backwards Find the difference between 6 and 1 can become ….

  24. Method 1: Working backwards The difference between two numbers is 5. What might the two numbers be?

  25. Measurement Example • Outcome – Recognize and demonstrate that objects of the same area can have different perimeters. • Typical Question (closed task, no choice): Build each of the following shapes with your color tiles. Find the perimeter of each shape. Which shape has the greatest perimeter?

  26. Measurement Example (continued) New Task (open, choice in number of tiles): Using 8, 16, or 20 color tiles create different shapes and determine the perimeter of each. Record your findings on grid paper. • What do you think is the smallest perimeter you can make? • What do you think is the greatest perimeter you can make? • Prepare a poster presentation to show your results. • Sides of squares must match up exactly. Allowed Not Allowed

  27. Your turn. Open up the following. Compute .

  28. Making questions open ended • Method 2: Adapting a standard question • Indentify a mathematical topic or concept. • Think of a standard question • Adapt it to make an open ended question.

  29. Method 2: Adapting a standard question What is the time shown on this clock? Can become… My friend was sitting in class and she looked up at the clock. What time might it have shown? Show this time on a clock

  30. Method 2: Adapting a standard question 731 – 256 = Can become… Arrange the digits so that the difference is between 100 and 200.

  31. Method 2: Adapting a standard question Ten birds were in a tree. Six flew away. How many were left? Can become…

  32. Method 2: Adapting a standard question Ten birds were in a tree. Some flew away. How many flew away and how many were left in the tree?

  33. Method 2: Adapting a standard question

  34. Your turn. Open up the following. What are the next three numbers in the following sequence? 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, ___, ____, ____

  35. Method 3: Ask Students to Create a Situation or an Example That Satisfies Certain Conditions Questions of this type require students to recognize the defining characteristics of the underlying concept. Students must take what they know about a concept and apply it to create an example.

  36. Sample Elementary-Level Questions Make a 4-digit even number using the digits below. Explain why your number is even. 3     6     7     1     5 _____ _____ _____ _____ Give an example of an event that has a probability of 0. Explain how you know the probability is 0.

  37. Draw a rectangle and label the sides so that the perimeter is between 19 and 20 units. Explain how you know the perimeter is greater than 19 and less than 20. Draw a triangle that has the line of symmetry below.

  38. Sample Middle School-Level Questions Identify three numbers whose greatest common factor is 5 and whose least common multiple is 180. Describe how you found the numbers. Create a set of data that would satisfy the following conditions: The set includes 7 data points. The range is 10 units. The mean is greater than the median. Show that your data set satisfies the conditions.

  39. Fill in values for a and b to make the equation below true. Explain why your equation is true. Draw a quadrilateral ABCD that has one and only one line of symmetry. Explain why your quadrilateral satisfies the given condition.

  40. Ask Students to Explain Who Is Correct and Why Method 4: These types of items present two or more views of some mathematical concept or principle and the student has to decide which of the positions is correct and why.

  41. Sample Elementary-Level Question Of the coins made by the U.S. Mint in one year, 73% were pennies and 6% were quarters. Suppose you could have all of the coins of one type. Alex says you would get more money if you had all the pennies. Austin says you would get more money if you had all the quarters. Jenna says it depends on how many of the two coins were made. Who is right and why?

  42. Sample Middle School-Level Questions Casey claims he has divided the rectangle below into four equal areas. Terrell disagrees. Who is correct and why?

  43. Creating Open Ended Questionsfrom Closed Ended Questions Try it! But first . . .

  44. When you create open-ended items, make sure they are really different from traditional items. For example, the following items is really no different than simply asking students to solve the equation: Johnny solved 2x+ 4 = 8 and got 2. Susie solved the equation and got 6. Who is correct and why? Rani said the solution to the inequality (x - 2)(x - 4)< 0 is 2<x<4. Susie solved the inequality and got x<2 or x>4. Who is correct and why? The created item should require students to explain their reasoning, not simply to reproduce an algorithm.

  45. Now Open up the questions on the handout ; or Create several open questions of your own. Probably best to work by grade level

  46. Some important considerations • The mathematical focus • The clarity of the task / question • That it is open ended

  47. Thoughts from Teachers

  48. Singapore Teacher Comments Teacher X: “A lesson such as an open-ended problem solving was indeed a fruitful one for my pupils and me. There was another avenue to motivate pupils to learn mathematics. ….When the pupils got started to work in pairs, I could see that they were thinking very hard as to how the work could be done. I heard comments like’ How can a person be so heavy?’ and ‘It is not possible to have so many passengers on a bus?’. I was glad that they tried to explain and justify to their peers…” (primary four)

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