Help me give my students the ability to make connections between mathematics and the "real world" by giving them access to a Lab Quest 2, sensors, and a laptop to do labs in math class.
My classes are collaborative groups of students who work together to solve problems and explain their reasoning. I strive to make my classes student-oriented so that students hear less direct instruction from me and have more time to discuss and analyze their own work. I also teach a group of International Baccalaureate students who are exploring STEM concepts through inquiry as well as summarizing them in technical papers.
My students come from a variety of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.
Some have parents that have completed the highest levels of education while others have parents that do not hold a high school diploma. This mix of students are all motivated to succeed in school and work towards finding a balance between academics and extracurricular activities. Many of my students participate in sports both at school and in clubs in the area.
My Project
Ever year I get questions from my students about when they will use math outside of math class and I have always wanted to bring that connection into the work I do with my students. Not only would a connection to real world concepts help students better understand and retain the math content we learn but would ideally also make my students more excited about math and make connections between math, science, and technology in a STEM classroom. In order to do so, I would like to start designing small labs that we can do in my math classes.
The Lab Quest 2 is the base unit that can connect to different sensors to measure things like speed, temperature, and distance traveled, and the acceleration sensor and the microphone will allow my students to gather data on speed and sound to translate into graphs and equations.
The laptop will provide students a device to generate graphs, write reports, and see the collected data from their work with the Lab Quests 2 and its sensors. I believe with activities like this where I will require students to interact with technology and critically think to devise mathematical models for their collected data will allow students to gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts, challenge their critical thinking skills, and help them develop their technical writing skills through reports done on their labs. I am excited to have an opportunity to have my students move beyond sitting in desks and working through problems and your help towards this project will be greatly appreciated!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Hwang and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.