Video IV, Thinking Like a Mathematician

With the last three videos, we saw how children were taught how to work together to: observe, analyze, conclude, and present. We saw how they learned to listen and value the work of each other. Their engagement and openess toward each other's work, was the same picture presented in this video with the scenery where the four researchers were discussing long term problem.

"The Tower of Hanoe" activity was challenging. The students kept on analyzing their results to the point that they broke them down into pattern within a pattern, then they found the solution.



In part 2, Ms. Janett, the high school math teacher, set the students up with the practice of explaining the lessons to themselves. This was new to me as well as strange. I believe that students deserve explanations, then assign them to solve problems on their own. However, I was intrigued by her strategy.

I observed myself and my students, and note that when I assign them to explain the lesson to themselves, they are better able to focus on the topic, and get more enganged in it then when I explain it to them. I concluded a wild difference between the two situations. The main factor that affects the two situations is the "focus" factor. The main factor for teachers to succesfully relay the lesson, is focus. of any lesson is how to keep their students focused with them so they will understand what they are learning. And I concluded that Ms. Janett's strategy deserves a thumbs-up.

I teach students from fifth to eighth grade. I analyzed that whenever I assigned my students to work on their own in the computer lab, their involvement into that day lesson is always strong. All of them, without exception, were able to present and justify their work.