The Learning Kaleidoscope
Join our community of Math Learners!
The goal of this website it to share our learning journey and to provide a place to house our resources. A number of resources can be accessed via the menu located on the left section of each page (or via the drop-down menu at the top left of the page if you are visiting this site in mobile view).
There is also a feedback link for you to provide input into resources that you would like to see added, or any other feedback that can help to make it relevant to you!
The kaleidoscope....it can mesmerize one for hours...watching the ever-changing patterns of beautiful colours and shifting images...
Our math learning adventure over the years has been like that of a kaleidoscope:
it continues to be moving, ever changing, and made up of simple parts with highly complex results
the core characters are not changing, but being moved around to fit our needs and provide us with great experiences, yet rather complex.
even with some common elements - our schools, our students - no two are exactly alike, yet are beautiful because of their uniqueness.
within the chamber are some mirrors to cause reflection
when you look at it from the outside, it seems relatively simple. Yet, when you analyze the inside, it is amazingly complicated.
And just like a kaleidoscope, it is fun and meant to be shared!
As we continue on our journey of moving from a culture of 'doing' to a culture of 'thinking', please explore the resources here - give them a twist or two - to help you to create the results that you want in that ever-changing pattern of beauty!
The kaleidoscope appears to be a simple child's toy, but think of what it is: it is a tube with a chamber into which is placed some colored stones or bits of glass. Also in the chamber are some mirrors to cause reflection. As the light enters the chamber it reflects on the bits of glass or stones to create a pattern with the help of the mirrors. Then, as the tube is turned, even ever so slightly, the stones move and the pattern changes. The light is the same. The stones are the same, and the mirrors are the same. The only difference is the turning, the slight rearranging of the stones. Infinite patterns can come from the same materials if they are turned slightly. That becomes the job of an effective educator - to turn the cylinder just enough to help one see the same things in a different light, thus adding to one's knowledge and wonder (Scott Knecth - Teach to Learn) .