Learning Math Through Show And Tell With A Document Camera
My students need a document camera so they can display their steps while they articulate the problem solving skills they used to solve a variety of mathematical problems.
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin. My students need a convenient way to show and explain how they applied what they learned in my class!
I teach at a high school in a small historical Wisconsin city situated along a river and among a beautiful landscape of bluffs.
My students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some of them come from farming families and live a very rural lifestyle, some of them live with their tribe on a reservation, and some of them live in the city and live an urban lifestyle. Though many of them grew up together and have lived in the same city their whole lives, they all learn in very different ways. My classroom is a very interactive place, and my students have become accustomed to being very verbal as they are exposed to, experiment with, and eventually master new mathematical concepts. There is little time within a class period where my students aren't discussing math with each other. They enjoy being able to have a voice and help their fellow students along in their learning journey.
My Project
I continue to look for ways for my students to be interactive within my classroom. I regularly use tools such as a smart board, graphing calculators, laptops, iPads, and cell phones. My students have displayed incredible aptitude in using these tools, and I believe they have helped them acquire a deeper understanding of the topics that are taught. A document camera would provide an efficient way for students to show to the rest of the class the problem solving skills they used to arrive at solutions to problems. It will help visual learners to see texts, photos, graphic organizers, models, manipulatives, calculators, and demonstrations in a larger and more concrete way. It also can limits paper waste as quiz or homework questions can be displayed rather than printed for each individual students.
As I've gained more experience in my teaching, I have found that there is an indirect relationship between the amount of time I spend talking and doing math problems and the depth of understanding my students acquire.
The topics they learn the best are the ones they get the most opportunities to do themselves, and even more so when they get the opportunity to verbalize and basically teach what they've learned. A document camera will be an awesome opportunity for my students to do just that!
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