Upload
doanh
View
217
Download
4
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Running head: PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT1
Pre-Assessment for “Real World” Math Project
Tamara Martinson
OTL 502: Learning Theories and Models if Instruction
Colorado State University--Global Campus
Instructor: Nella B. Anderson
January 27, 2014
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 2
In order to pre-assess my students for the skills they will need to complete their “Real
World” math assignments in Week 7, I used a three-pronged approach. First, I created a brief
assessment of math skills; it consisted of five word problems that were targeted on areas that my
students currently find challenging. The assessment looked like this:
MATH PROJECT PRE-ASSESSMENT
Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________________
You want to build this
bookcase. It has a top, a
bottom, two sides and
two shelves, but no back.
Based on this
information, please
answer the
Following questions:
1.) How many square feet of
wood do you need?
2.) If the wood costs $17.50
per square foot, how much will you spend on wood?
3.) If the wood is on sale for 20% off in Espanola and you drive there to purchase it, how
much money will you save? (not including the price of gas)
4.) If it is 46.7 miles to Espanola and you drive another 25.2 miles to Santa Fe, how far
is your trip from Taos to Santa Fe and back?
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 3
5.) If your car gets 35 miles to the gallon, how much gas will you use for the entire trip
from Taos to Santa Fe and back?
I designed my assessment using “real world” math applications, such as the ones my
students will be asked to implement in the Week 7 assignment. I asked a series of questions
leading up to an Algebra problem that assessed for the skills specified in the standard unpacked
in our previous assignment: “CCSS.Math.Content.6EE.B.6 Use variables to represent numbers
and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a
variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in
a specified set.” (Common Core State Standards website, n.d.)
The second part of the process was to administer this pre-assessment. In administering
the pre-assessment, I first gave a brief introduction to the Week 7 assignment and explained the
purpose of the pre-assessment in determining which math skills we will focus our learning on in
the next few weeks. I explained that my students will be allowed to identify a situation in which
they use math in real life and to create three math problems: one that they will solve themselves,
one for their fellow students to solve and one that we will solve together as a class. I allowed the
students to complete the above pre-assessment, then I passed out a “K-W-L” chart and had
students write, in their own words, “What I know,” “What I want (need) to know” and “What I
learned.” I also allowed them to include any misconceptions they had prior to taking the pre-
assessment and how their thinking changed, if they chose to do so. We reviewed these charts as
a group, recording the results on the white board. During this part of the process, the students
began to identify learning objectives for the “Real World” math assignment. (See photo of white
board, Figure 1)
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 4
Figure 1. Photo of K-W-L Chart on white board
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 5
Next, as a group, we created a rubric for the “Real World” math assignment. We wrote
this on the white board as well. (See Figure 2).
Figure 2. White board photo of group-created Rubric
Throughout this process, the students formulated their own learning objectives for the “Real
World” math assignment. They identified goals like “I want to learn how to do percentages and
ratios” and “I need to learn how to use formulas to find area, volume, etc.” Together, the
students formulated the above rubric, determining what a “poor,” “good,” or “excellent” math
project would look like. (See table 1, on next page).
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 6
Table 1. Rubric for “Real World” Math Assignment
CRITERIA EXCELLENT (2) GOOD (1) POOR (0)
Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division
Create an addition, subtract, multipli-cation or division problem and solve it correctly
Create an addition, subtraction, multipli-cation or division problem and attempt to solve it (may have error(s)
No attempt to create or solve problem
Ratios and Percentages
Create a ratio or percentage problem and solve it correctly
Set up a ratio or percentage problem correctly and/or attempt to solve it
No attempt to create or solve problem
Geometry Create and/or solve a geometry problem correctly
Create and identify a geometry problem, including applying proper formula (ie.LxW)
No attempt to create or solve problem
Algebra Set up and/or solve an algebraic equation (independently or in group)
Attempt to set up and solve algebraic equation and be able to identify variable
No attempt to create or solve problem
After administering the pre-assessment and creating the group rubric, I analyzed the data
from the pre-assessment and graphed the results. (See Tables 2 and 3). The graph shows that the
only problem on the assessment that the majority of the students showed mastery on was the
addition word problem. This was, in fact, the only question that anyone answered correctly. As
a result, I concluded that the mathematical skills that I had assessed for were definitely
appropriate skills to teach my students over the next few weeks. While I had designed the pre-
assessment to challenge my students, particularly in the area of applying mathematics to “real
world” situations, I had ensured that the calculations themselves were fairly simple. Therefore, I
concluded that the analytical process by which one would construct these problems was precisely
the skillset that I needed to teach my students.
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 7
Table 2. Graph of Student Answers
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 40%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Incorrect AnswersCorrect Answers
Table 3. Graph of Questions Answered
Addition Questi
on
Multiplication Questi
on
Percen
tage Q
uestion
Geometr
y Questi
on
Algebra
Question
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
Number of Incorrect AnswersNumber of Correct Answers
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 8
I believe that this pre-assessment process will lead to a positive learning experience for
my students for a number of reasons. First of all, we were able to identify which skills my
students need to develop in order to successfully complete their “Real World” math project. The
assessment pointed to areas that my students require instruction in, so I can use these results to
guide my teaching. Based on the pre-assessment, we created a rubric that identifies specific
math skills on which to focus learning. Since the students helped develop the rubric together and
they identified their own learning objectives using the rubric and the K-W-L charts, they have a
vested interest in the assignment. Also, since students will be allowed to choose a real world
math application for their project, this should further motivate them toward success. This is just
the type of intrinsic motivation, grounded in “self-determination and competence” supported by
Edward Deci’s research on the psychology of motivation (Deci, Ryan & Costner, 1999). I’m
looking forward to the next few weeks and hoping that my students will continue to learn and
grow through their own explorations of math in the “real world.”
PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR “REAL WORLD” MATH PROJECT 9
References
Common Core State Standards ( n.d.). Common core state standards initiative. Retrieved from
wwwcorestandards.org
Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M. & Koestner, R. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments
examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin,
125(6). 627-668.