Fermi Problems
Fermi Problems
This activity was intended to be done in 6th grade with an A2 English level.
This activity would be the second to last one regarding a unit on fermi problems and abstract thinking. We would propose this activity once they have already been informed of what fermi problems are, and once they have already worked on them and solved some of them. By doing so, they would be able to consolidate their knowledge of fermi problems in a real environment (we have proposed the outside of our faculty, but in the classroom, they would have to solve fermi problems in their own context, for example, the outside of their own school.).
Students will be able to answer questions based on their estimations.
Students will be able to make mathematical reasoning.
Students will be able to explore 360 images.
Students will be able to create structured reflections -with the language support- in the target language.
Computer / tablet
Paper and pencil (optional to make some notes)
Din-A2 paper to create the posters
Colours and decoration materials that students will bring themselves and/or ask for, the school will supply the material they need and don't have, to an extent.
Before the activity: The students will already be working on Fermi Problems in the previous sessions and will be provided with proper instruction on how to think, solve, and answer the questions with the mathematical reasoning required.
During the activity: This activity is student-centred, so the only instructions provided by the teacher would be regarding the "Momento360" app. They will have to explain that they will need to move around the image and answer the questions from the Google Forms that they will have in the Hotspots. To make the activity more effective, they will be able to discuss in the language they choose, We believe that discussing such abstract vocabulary in English can be very complex without specific scaffolding for their personal reflections.
After the activity: A discussion will be encouraged in order to know the students' thoughts on the 360 activity and in order to know what they think about the proposal. Moreover, the teacher will assess the Google Forms, and create the specific scaffolding for each group according to their answers. The scaffold will be aimed at supporting their ability to translate their reflections to English. Finally, the final output would be able to create a poster about fermi problems, taking into account the main idea that maths is everywhere.
To assess their performance, teachers will take a look at the answers provided on Google Forms and share them in class with the students. After having given them scaffolding to translate their reflections to English. The teacher will assess, once again, their writing skills as well as their oral skills when sharing, in front of everyone, their reflections in the target language. Furthermore, the posters from the final output will be peer-assessed, students will give feedback to each other, following a rubric that will e shared before brainstorming the poster.
One option to expand their critical analysis and provide accurate feedback could be to select some answers and try to share their thoughts with them. In fact, another activity where they give feedback to their peers by reading their answers could be interesting as well. This way they would improve their reasoning with the proper scaffolding to provide good feedback.
The students would have already worked on fermi problems. In the 360 image, they would find the following instructions: As you all know, Fermi Problems are a type of mathematical problem that has no right or wrong answer, as long as you justify these answers mathematically. In this activity, you will have to move around the image and find Hotspots that will ask you to fill in the answers in Google Forms.