I was very excited to share some of my math ideas with the 'In Conversation With' feature of TVO Teach Ontario. You can read our interview here: In Conversation with Deanna Pecaski McLennan.
Friday, August 28, 2020
Friday, August 21, 2020
Inspiring Math Learning Outdoors using Moments and Photos
The world outdoors is filled with amazing math moments. Almost anything you find - whether it is natural or man made - contains an element of math.
From the symmetry we find in flowers or garden wheels...
...the interesting shapes we can spot in structures and found objects...
...the uniquely formed angles hiding in unexpected places...
...to the potential for discovering and playing with numbers.
The world around us uses math in the most interesting of ways.
Many educators are looking ahead to this school year, wondering how to engage children in authentic math moments while decreasing the risks associated with the current pandemic. Many experts recommend holding classes outside. This option is appealing, but some wonder how to take the math learning they traditionally offer in the classroom to the world beyond. How might one fulfill curriculum expectations and assess student learning while being outside?
I suggest looking to the world around you for math inspiration!
Whether you are a teacher who will be holding your classes outside, or planning to engage children in online learning, using the outdoors to inspire math talks can be an authentic and exciting way for children to delve more deeply into math concepts while seeing their application to real life.
Teachers can chose specific photos or places in the yard to introduce curriculum concepts needed to be covered (e.g., showing a photo of rain drops in a puddle to introduce the concept of radial symmetry) or ask children to see/think/wonder about a phenomena they notice and planning a mathematical inquiry centred around this (e.g., estimating and then problem solving for how to calculate the number of daisies that have grown in the garden).
There is math potential everywhere!
To help get you started, I have compiled a collection of 75 photos featuring natural and man made objects from the outdoors. You can access these here: Photos to Inspire Math Conversations
Feel free to use them to inspire math conversations in your physical classroom, or during an online math talk. Download them, print them, use them however you'd like to facilitate math learning with your students. Heading outside to explore math might seem daunting at first, but listening to the observations and questions that children have can be a wonderful start to a rich, mathematical inquiry.
I'd love to see the math learning you experience as we head back to school. Don't forget to tweet me @McLennan1977 and share the amazing #foundmath you discover in your explorations outdoors!
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Interview with CBC Afternoon Drive
It was a pleasure to chat with Chris dela Torre about my award winning paper 'The Beautiful Tree Project" on CBC's Afternoon Drive! To listen to our interview check out the link:
One LaSalle-area kindergarten teacher took her math class outside
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