Math CAN Make Sense!

TEP Value #3: Pedagogical Sensitivity

This artifact represents a class wide activity in which each student in the class was partnered up to represent a country to partake in our Math Measurement Olympics! The students coloured their team flag and put their team name on it. They each received a package of all the events in which they were to complete. Each even had a task to be completed that involved measuring the distance of an object, between objects, or just sheer distance after estimating the result. The Olympics were held over a week after we had completed all prior knowledge necessary to participate in the events. The results after each day were posted on our bulletin board at the back of the class throughout the week. We would announce the medalist for the event and all students respectfully and willingly cheered and congratulated them.

From my methods courses and experiences, students have a love of being able to try things for themselves, and have things that are relevant to them. We had our Olympics just as the Sochi Olympics were just wrapping up, so many of the students knew exactly how this was supposed to work. An important feature of this process was that students had to rely on their own knowledge, or use their partner which helped increase their level of engagement.

The students in this class were completely engaged and clearly enjoyed the experience. They were laughing and all wanted to participate in each and every event. They were respectful and kind to the rest of their classmates, assisting when their partner needed help with measuring or converting to appropriate units. The tasks were not focused on athletic ability at all, which many of the students enjoyed as the events involved flogging cotton balls with forks, throwing spoons as javelins, tossing paper plates, and even flicking q-tips for distance. The students were able to do things they normally are not allowed to do at home or school, move around the classroom at their own rate during the events for that day and peer tutor one another to progress towards successful measuring strategies and interact with one another all while using their knowledge and being engaged. 

This artifact provided a good representation of my Pedagogical Sensitivity as it showed how well I took an opportunity to teach my students in an engaging activity that was relevant to their lives but also allowed them an opportunity to engage in a new experience they had not yet completed before. It also allowed students of all academic abilities to work through different tasks to utilize the skills they had learned with the support of a peer to assist if needed. I found this to be a useful tool for students as it helped to establish further understanding of measurement in a context that was relevant for them.