Seeds of Algebraic Thinking
Seeds of Algebraic Thinking
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What about this video could you describe as algebraic?
What about this video could you describe as algebraic?
Children can have knowledge resources based on pre-instructional activities, like play, physical experiences, and social interaction, that can shape their algebraic thinking development in school.
Children can have knowledge resources based on pre-instructional activities, like play, physical experiences, and social interaction, that can shape their algebraic thinking development in school.
Seeds of algebraic thinking can come from experiences that we're not used to thinking of as algebraic, like balancing on a beam or undoing something (like a human knot).
Seeds of algebraic thinking can come from experiences that we're not used to thinking of as algebraic, like balancing on a beam or undoing something (like a human knot).
In-Betweenness
In-Betweenness
This seed might come from experiences with tuning a musical instrument, where the ideal tone is somewhere between "flat" and "sharp," or read about in a story like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Students might call on this seed when thinking about problems where a solution lies between tested answers that are "too high" and "too low."
Chunking
Chunking
This seed might come from experiences where a group is treated as a single unit, like a "hand of cards" or a "soccer team." Students might call on this seed when thinking about polynomials, where multiple terms make up a single mathematical object, or when considering fractions, where multiple pieces make up a single whole.
Noticing when these little pieces of knowledge get called on in students' play and mathematical work can help teachers leverage student understanding and address misunderstandings.
Noticing when these little pieces of knowledge get called on in students' play and mathematical work can help teachers leverage student understanding and address misunderstandings.
Students in this video play a card game. While not the algebra you would see in a traditional classroom setting, there is plenty of algebraic thinking going on! What kinds of algebraic thinking can you spot in the video?
Students in this video play a card game. While not the algebra you would see in a traditional classroom setting, there is plenty of algebraic thinking going on! What kinds of algebraic thinking can you spot in the video?
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