These last two weeks my mathematical focus switched from exploring measurement to data and probability - which is very exciting and timely for my professional context! I have studied both the content and technological aspects of data and probability, diving into the Common Core State Standards as well as playing around with some pretty neat online tools.
When I look at the data and probability content standards, I notice that this is the math that I actually use in my everyday life and not just because I work with numbers and data sets. Data and probability show up in many aspects of my everyday life, from knowing the probable outcome of sporting games, coin flips, or drawing a card from a deck. The Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM) for grades 9-12 encompass what many adults should know in order to have logical conversations and make logical decisions. One standard that I think I see often in my professional role is “formulating questions that can be addressed with data and collecting, organizing, and displaying relevant data to answer them” (NCTM, 2000, p. 324). Knowing I use this content often, I explored some technologies I use in conjunction with this content, particularly focusing on expanding my Knowledge of Content and Teaching (Hill & Ball, 2009) by sourcing new technologies that could be used to teach data and probability content to either K-12 students or adult learners. There is an expansive list of resources that could and should be used to strengthen data and probability learning. Because this content is so pertinent to daily life, there are many technologies in various modalities that can support student learning. A website that I explored this week was random.org. This website does a great job of sourcing commonly used data and probability technologies and provides them in a concise list. I think this is a great tool for all learners to have handy and there is large potential for its use in the classroom. Teachers can utilize this resource to support their Knowledge of Content and Students (Hill & Ball, 2009), knowing what content students need to master, how they will best master the content, and finding a support from random.org that can support their mastery. I have also been exploring the incorporation of Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice in data and probability lessons. Mathematics is a difficult subject to incorporate social justice into and, in my experience, it is omitted entirely. I find that teachers focus their social justice efforts in subjects such as ELA or social studies, but data and probability is a wonderful place to teach mathematics for social justice. Issues of social justice can be difficult to incorporate into certain content, like geometry, but an easy way for teachers to start incorporating TMFSJ is by emphasizing that all students can achieve in mathematics regardless of color, size, shape, age, or ability. Creating a classroom culture where all students are encouraged to excel can open doors for other TMFSJ content. References: Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). (n.d.). Mathematics standards. Mathematics Standards | Common Core State Standards Initiative. http://www.corestandards.org/Math/ National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Hill, H., & Ball, D. L. (2009). The curious - and crucial - case of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 68–71.
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