Bullying In School

Abstract

            This is an exploration on the topic of bullying.  It focuses mostly on the research I conducted on the topic.  My main interests are on what action to take in dealing with bullying behaviour and how to prevent it from happening. I look at bullying through the eyes of bullies, victims and bystanders as well as from the teacher’s perspective.  I explore a list of what to do when an incident occurs and go through each step. I think back to my personal experiences with bullying and use them to help me better understand the perspective of everyone involved.  I draw on prior experiences in the military as being important, as confidence is required when addressing a bullying situation.  I look at different ways to use a bully box. I look at how to reduce power differentials in the classroom through building student self-esteem and using humanitarian philosophy. I think about how prior experience and new knowledge help me to improve. I reflect on how my studies on this topic have made me grow as a teacher, on how it has empowered me.  

Bureaucracy in Math as well as More Games

I read the article Lets Do Math: Wanna Play? by Lach found on the National Council of Math Teachers website. Lach talked about how she implemented her research in teaching math. I am going to step outside the idea of thinking math for a second and think bureaucratically.

            I learned something new in this article about a good way to implement games in my curriculum. Communicating my intentions clearly with administration and with the parents BEFORE doing the lessons with my students makes sense. This may seem obvious to you, but it was not to me. I like learning without first suffering consequences for my mistakes. Phew, another hurdle overcome. Now back to math.

            One of the games mentioned was Rush Hour and I have a similar game on my iPod called Parking Lot so I thought I’d revisit this game and think math strategy. In the first level, things were very easy. My strategy was to think backwards. I need to move the green van down so I can get the red car out of the lot. So to get the green van down, I must move the black car back. Three moves makes a win.

Word Riddles in Math

            While searching for an extra game for my grade six students, I came across a book called Fantastic Book of Math Puzzles by Margaret C. Edmiston. This coupled with the idea of using math to build a vocabulary (in games), I thought perhaps the world problems presented in this book could be used to help students figure out the complicated language of math in an interesting way.

“The fully grown dragon, Alaranthus, has a weight equal to one-fifth of his own weight plus the weight of another dragon Montal, who weighs 800 pounds less than Alaranthus. How much does Alaranthus weigh?”

Empowering students with the ability to translate words into formulas can be complicated. This book uses language that is helpful, such as equal to (=), plus, (+) and less than (-). Students could be given a vocabulary translation sheet to work with. It would have only a few “translations” so that students could quickly memorize it. At the beginning of each class, each student would complete a quick puzzle such as the one above.

  

Snap Math Fair

     After finishing my lesson, I decided to search on the internet for other ideas on the topic of math games, just for fun as well as to find some new games to purchase… just for fun. I came across something called aSnap Math Fair which looks like a science fair at a glance. Students have displays complete with poster boards full of pictures, artifacts, and of course tables to put all their stuff on. People come to visit their stations and learn about their math puzzles. The students at each station are experts at their puzzle and they help the visitors, essentially acting as facilitators.

            This idea is an amazing tool for teachers! Not only do students reap the benefits of playing a math puzzle (such as thinking in new ways, expanding their brain power, and improving logic skills), they also get to gain confidence in their mathematical abilities by becoming the experts. Then they share this fun discovery with others making math as contagious as a smile… well people will be smiling. ; )

Math games promote skills for solving or creating proofs

Mathematics is all around us. If we embrace it, math makes our lives easier. This concept comes from a book called Our Days Are Numbered by Jason I. Brown. (This book also gives examples of how math is a part of our daily lives.) As a teacher, if we can see the math that is found in everyday life, then we can translate these experiences to our students. We can demonstrate the benefits of using math in authentic ways and share the joys of discovering new mathematical ideas. Math is largely the study of patterns found in the world and so a foundation in figuring out patterns using logic is of great value when learning math curriculum in school. One way to develop these logic skills is through the use of games.

Games are mathematical because they have rules. Out of rules come patterns and through these patterns we discover strategies to improve in these games. The strategies we develop exercise our ability to think logically. So, if games help us to practice logic and if students like games, why not use games in school?

Juniper Green: A math game for elementary to high school

 I decided to further explore the game Juniper Green, which was introduced to me while studying at the University of Manitoba. I was expecting many websites full of information, but was disappointed to only find a few with the same information repeated. There was one site by Ian Stewart on Juniper Green, which was informative, insightful and strategically helpful.

            He begins with an introduction on how to play the game, and then moves to some basic strategies. He shows how planning your moves ahead can win you the game. The key is the number one. If a person chooses one, then their opponent will choose a prime number and the game is over as there are no more numbers to choose from as divisors. So, how do I make my opponent choose one? He shows a few scenarios of how to do this.

An Inconvenient Truth and Your Classroom

If you are thinking of using the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" starring Al Gore, here is a handout for the video. I acquired this handout from one of my fellow teachers.


For more information on the video, please visit the Climate Crisis website.

Grade 11 Math, Critical Assessment, and Real World Application

Topic: Systems of Linear Equations                         

Lesson Topic: Graphing, Substitution and Elimination Comparison Chart    

Grade: 11                                                                   

Duration: 40 minutes x 2 classes

Summary of the Flow of Content:

In grade 9, students developed the ability to generalize a pattern generated from a problem-solving context using linear equations and verify by substitution. They should also have learnt to graph linear relations, analyze the graph, and interpolate or extrapolate to solve problems. They should have also been introduced to elimination or linear addition as another alternative method.

This lesson that might be taught at Senior 3 will take these outcomes and have the students examine what’s the best way to approach any set problem involving linear equations.  They will determine if one method is better than another or if it is dependent upon the context of the problem or if it matters at all.  It will develop the frame of mind of the student that each problem may have multiple solutions and methods in which to attain those solutions.  It is a way for the students to develop analysis and critical assessment of the methods they have learnt previously and apply them accordingly.  This decision making exercise will relate to real world challenges and applications.

Stop Motion Video in the Classroom

Getting to the heART of Math

Michelle Levesque and Benson Shapiro

Context:

Who? This is for high school students. Its purpose is to draw their interest to the use of technology, specifically stop motion video using cell phones. Benson Shapiro and I have structured this lesson for a math and art class. However this lesson can be adapted for any kind of lesson. 

Goals:

1. Expose students to different ways of use stop motion video in a class via instruction and assignments.

2. To demonstrate how one can cross subject boundaries, incorporating art and math together.
3. To get students to make connections between math and the real world.

Small Group Work

Which definition will we talk about today?

 A. A small group of students being placed together with the opportunity to talk while they do their work.

 B. A group of 3-6 students working together towards a common goal with maximum participation from each student and the purpose of enhancing the learning of all group members.

Small group work can be very successful when students are set up for that success. 

Important things to prepare include: 

1. Group Size: This must be appropriate to the lesson.

large group                                          small group

more resources                                    fewer resources

high skill level                                     low skill level

lots of time                                           limited time