by natbanting 
Much of what appears in mathematics textbooks is what I like to call, downstream thinking. Downstream thinking usually involves two features that set the stage for learners. First, it provides a context (however doctored or engineered–often referred to as “pseudo-context”). Second, the problem provides a pre-packaged algebraic model that is assumed to have arisen from …
by natbanting
[Post Updated June, 2018] This semester I gave my Grade 12s a term project to practice function transformations. I began by sourcing the #MTBoS to see who had ventured down this road before. Luckily, several had and they had great advice regarding how to structure the task. I use Desmos regularly in class, so it …
by natbanting
If you haven’t experienced the conversation stemming from Which One Doesn’t Belong? activities, you are missing out. As far as I can decipher (#MTBoS feel free to correct me), this all began with Christopher Danielson’s Shape Book centered around this structure. From there, a crew of tweeps (headed up by Mary Bourassa) established WODB.ca (YES! Canadian) …
by natbanting
I always introduce linear functions with the idea of a growing pattern. Students are asked to describe growth in patterns of coloured squares, predict the values of future stages, and design their own patterns that grow linearly. Fawn’s VisualPatterns is a perfect tool for this. While stumbling around Visual Patterns with my Grade 9s, we …
by natbanting
Every year, my students study the general characteristics of polynomial functions. We investigate the various shapes of various functions and slowly shift parameters to watch changes in the graphs. Eventually, we deduce the roles of the constant term, leading coefficient, and degree. It should be noted that Desmos makes this process much easier than years …
by natbanting
Many teachers tell me that it is their creativity that limits their ability to be adaptive in the classroom. Somehow the “reform” movement (or should I say re-movement) has pigeon-holed itself into a connotation where high-energy teachers give vague tasks to groups of interested students. Out of all this, curricular outcomes explode in no particular …
by natbanting
I have spent the better part of 2 weeks going over various mathematical relationships in my Grade 10 class. They have been represented as tables of values, arrow diagrams, and sets of ordered pairs. Relationships, both qualitative and quantitative, have been defined, analyzed, and graphed. My focus on graphical literacy has been previously detailed on …