Lasting Math

Today we reviewed the 4 key parts of a lesson plan:
1.  What do the students already know?
2.  What do I want them to know?
3.  How do I want to get them there?
4.  Did they get there?  How do I know?
If we cover these bases well and keep coming back to them at the end of each day as assessment of our instruction, our students will surely benefit.

The wolframalpha website is terrifying and wonderful in the same moment.  If students have access to this "computational knowledge engine" in class or elsewhere, they may never actually have to learn the how of math.  This inspires me to further my explorations of relevance.  If I use this ready access to computational information as an impetus to make the students want to learn how to do it, to help them find how and why this math is used everyday, perhaps even talk about how and why it was dreamed of in the first place, I might get interdisciplinary in a very engaging way.

This relates somewhat to the reading for today as well (Exploring our Math by Leatham and Hill).  Helping students to "broaden their views of the nature of math" helps them see its value in real life activities and jobs.  This alone could draw their wonder toward deepening their own understanding.  I also appreciated how the authors talked about students expanding their own beliefs when they hear "other students express beliefs about math that differ from theirs."  I love those moments in particular where we actively take in information from someone else, evaluate its significance for us, and decide to change what we think.  Very Powerful.