Faculty of Education Education News Fall 2012 / Winter 2013 Page 11
Math on the Move is targeting its travels in 2013 to schools with a high percentage of Aboriginal students . In April of this year , MOTM will be visiting approximately 12 schools , bringing curriculum-focused , inquirybased mathematics activities to Grade 9-10 students . Funding was obtained this year from the Ministry of Education of Saskatchewan by way of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences ( PIMS ). The agreement between the government and PIMS is “ to join with First Nations , Inuit and Métis communities to enhance opportunities for students and teachers in the mathematical sciences .” You can follow MOTM ’ s 2013 travels on Facebook https :// www . facebook . com / MathOnTheMove
Plum Stones Prediction Game instructions
Instructor Anna Lucero plays the Plum Stones Prediction Game with EMTH students
As part of the Faculty ’ s goal to Indigenize education , Drs . Harley Weston and Kathleen Nolan presented some Aboriginal teaching methods to Anna Lucero ’ s EMTH 310 students , on March 4 , 2012 . They introduced the Plum Stones Prediction Game , a game for Grade 4 students ( see photos below ). They also presented an Aboriginal perspectives Grade 6 learning activity involving beading and percentages at a SIDRU seminar earlier that day
Beading and percentages learning activity
Plum Stones Prediction Game kit
EMTH students learn to play the Plum Stones Prediction game
EMTH 351 students developed a “ Math Pirate ” Math Trail around the U of R , which they participated in on April 9 , 2013 . This learning activity was intended to help preservice teachers recognize how math can be taught authentically , connected to the real world , and out of the classroom and away from textbooks . Students visited eight locations around the campus . One student , Kelsey , wrote in her blog : “ We decided to go along with a story-that our friend , Mitch , had been captured by the Math Pirate and it was our duty to follow his map and answer his questions . Once we tweeted him our answer , he sent us a letter which we then had to rearrange to answer a riddle .” Students used Facetime and Twitter , two iphones and a Mac book , to exchange correct answers to solve the riddle of the pirate ’ s location . In developing the Math Trail , each student took photos of a specific location and developed math questions related to the curriculum , and connected to the location . For example , photos of objects from the location were used for questions about lines and symmetry . The students uploaded their questions and photos onto a class Jing website where Dr . Rick Seaman could interact with them individually regarding their work . Students commented that they would do this activity with their students , and that they thought it would help students to recognize math in the world around them .