In the Classroom

Check out the playlist on YouTube or see the videos below!

Students Collaborating when Writing or Solving Interest-Based Problems

In this video, three students are working together to answer questions about an exponential with a starting value equation. The mathematical, real-world situation that the equation describes relates to bacteria growth in a STEM education setting. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their career interests. In this clip, the students must first create the equation that the scenario describes, then answer questions such as defining the independent and dependent variables. Throughout the clip, the students demonstrate significant team-work and communication skills in order to answer the posed questions, and towards the end of the clip, one students gives a nice explanation of independent and dependent variables to the group.

In this video, two students are working together to complete a template, in which the students are prompted to help write a word problem and then write an equation to represent the situation they helped describe. This particular template situation involves sports, specifically a tournament setting. The equation type is exponential with a starting value. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their career and pop-culture interests. This clip demonstrates a situation in which the students are initially confused on how the equation relates to the different components of the word problem, but after discussing together and utilizing the template tool, the students are able to understand the situation and write the equation.

In this video, two students are working together to answer questions about a directly proportional linear equation. The mathematical, real-world situation that the equation describes relates to algae growth in a natural science setting. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their career interests. In this clip, the students must first create the equation that the scenario describes, then answer questions such as defining the independent and dependent variables. In this clip, one student is confused about how to answer the questions and write the equation, but the other student is able to describe and explain the word problem in a way that the other group member is able to understand.

In this video, two students are working together to create and write a word problem to describe a directly proportional linear relationship. The particular situation involves sports. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their pop-culture interests. This clip demonstrates how the students collaborate in order to create this real-world word problem and the associated equation. Of particular note, the students draw on the tools provided, specifically the template, to write the problem as well as using their own experiences (i.e., their favorite football player).

Supporting Students Problem-Posing through Trouble Spots

In this video, two students are working together to create and write a word problem to describe an exponential with a starting value relationship. The particular situation involves finance and shopping. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their pop-culture interests. In this clip, the students are confused on how to create their word problem so that the situation matches each part of the equation. The facilitator joins in and explains what each part of the equation represents, and the student is then able to successfully create their word problem.

In this video, one student is working to create and write a word problem to describe a directly proportional linear relationship. The particular situation involves finance and shopping. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their pop-culture interests. In this clip, the facilitator walks the student through setting up the situation, writing the equation, and answering the posed questions about the independent and dependent variable so that the student is able to associate their real-life experiences with a mathematical situation.

In this video, one student is working to create and write a word problem to describe an exponential relationship. The particular situation involves healthcare and natural science. These students are completing an assignment where they are solving problems that were personalized to their career interests. In this clip, the facilitator provides an example of a real-world situation that represents this type of equation. The student is then able to take that example, use their own real-world experiences, and create their own word problem.

Whole-Class Discussions around Each Unit’s Assignment

This is a video of the class instructor reviewing what the students have recently worked through in their individualized modules. Here, the class's usual instructor effectively facilitates class discussion, specifically around linear functions with negative slopes and negative y-intercepts, with students actively participating.

This is a video of the class instructor reviewing what the students have recently worked through in their individualized modules. Here, the class's usual instructor effectively facilitates class discussion, with students actively participating. The class work through an example problem that was created by a student from this study (though not from this class), and the class discusses direct/indirect variation as well as dependent and independent variables.

This is a video of the class instructor reviewing what the students have recently worked through in their individualized modules. Here, the class's usual instructor effectively facilitates class discussion, specifically around exponential equations and where this kind of relationship can be observed in the real-world, with students actively participating.