VMT CSCL Workshop June 2004. Collaborative Problems and Pedagogy.

VMT CSCL WorkshopJune 2004

VMT CSCL WorkshopJune 2004

Collaborative Problems and

Pedagogy

VMT Workshop June 2004 3

overview

Pedagogical purpose VMT Year I experiments Collaborative math problem solving in

classroom settings


purpose - math collaborative learning

current math pedagogy theory:• students construct math understandings, not

memorize facts & algorithms

• students discuss math understanding

• build on everyday contexts: story settings

collaborative learning• shared representation & construction

• learn by sharing/discussing/teaching


purpose - why collaborative learning and problem solving?

learn and practice the essential life skill of working with others

exposure to more ideas for solving problems students who are good in social situations can

gain confidence in their mathematical abilities students understand an idea more deeply if

they have to articulate it for someone else students learn to solve more complex

problems than they could on their own


purpose - why do these experiments?

observe collaboration in problem solving using existing settings in order to understand the issues that might be addressed through the design of the software and the math problems


VMT Year I experiments

our own practice chats• VMT folks explore Blackboard and AIM

Sharswood Middle School• 8th grade classroom in Philadelphia

Gerry’s Drexel Classes• undergrads and graduate students

PoW-Wows• middle and high school students taking Algebra and

Geometry (mostly), advertised through our Problems of the Week


Sharswood Middle School

one observation visit, one “teaching” visit residue: videotape, audiotape observations:

• Observe detailed math practices of students

• Collaboration as “parallel working”

• Mutual help so all learn together


Gerry’s classes ISYS 310 - Human Computer Interaction II

• undergraduates (seniors), design and evaluate prototypes for supporting student groups to collaboratively learn mathematics

INFO610 - Analysis of Interactive Systems• masters and doctoral students, analyze the support of

student teams collaboratively doing mathematics problem solving


Gerry’s classes (continued)

Circle Inscribed in a Triangle• Blackboard, groups of 2-5

• residue: logs

• observations

• primary goal was to get used to working collaboratively and to try out the virtual classroom in Blackboard

• not enough time to make much progress on the math problem itself

• many people did not remember basic formulas from high school geometry and had to spend time searching the web for information about triangles



Tangent Square and Circle• Blackboard, 10 groups of 2-5

• residue: logs

• observations• providing math facts did not help

• range of problem-solving abilities

• range of collaboration & math approaches



Taxicab Geometry• face-to-face, same groups

• residue: videotapes, interviews, focus groups, surveys

• observations• wide range of math skills: constructive/procedural

• different collaboration styles, roles

• video clips to analyze tomorrow morning



Getting Your Ducks in a Row• Blackboard, same groups

• residue: logs

• observations• no math facts required

• representations, crank out possibilities

• different kind of math problem


PoW-Wows

based on the Math Forum’s existing Algebra and Geometry Problems of the Week

20 dates, Sunday and Thursday nights used AOL’s Instant Messenger number of participants ranged from 1 to

7, so groups of 1 to 5


Problems of the Week non-routine challenge problems posted bi-weekly in

Math Fundamentals, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry

coordinated somewhat with school curriculum refined during “Math Monday” used by teachers in schools and individuals goals of problem solving and communication Dr. Math support sometimes provided sample submissions and comments are eventually

posted


PoWs (continued)

students can submit answers and request mentoring from volunteers and (limited or subsidized) staff

scoring is done via a rubric which emphasizes problem solving and communication

an answer (no explanation) is provided, and revision is encouraged


PoW-Wows

Algebra and Geometry PoWs were used for PoW-Wows

students registered ahead of time initially students first saw the problem at

the PoW-Wow, later they got it beforehand


PoW-Wows (continued)

facilitators used a minimal script to maintain consistency

facilitator offered no math help, just technical support

students could IM the facilitator a picture, which was put on the web


PoW-Wows (continued)

residue: logs—lots of logs!—and followup forms

observations:• the amount of math varied greatly

• decent sharing and helping, but not always a lot of “collaborating”

• learning did take place


how collaboration can lookin a classroom setting

grouping is sometimes random, sometimes not groups are often changed every 4-6 weeks, or

each quarter roles usually assigned with some explanation

of responsibilities (facilitator, recorder, reporter, etc.)

all individuals are responsible for learning the material and reporting back

teacher circulates to “poke and prod” as necessary when groups seem stuck


how collaboration is different inthe PoW-Wows

grouping is totally random at this point and is limited by low participation

registration process is unreliable (lots of no-shows)

students don’t know each other, for the most part

no intervention from facilitator


questions we have aboutpossible future experiments

would we attempt to create groups with varying ability levels if we had longer term data from repeat participants?

“dummy” participants modeling better cooperative communication (questioning, explaining, confirming)?

starting with groups that have learned and used face-to-face collaborative learning, then moving them to the virtual environment?


collaborative problem solving ina classroom setting

http://www.mathgoodies.com/articles/coop_learning.shtm• secondary teacher Gisele Glosser explains

what CL looks like in her classroom and what how it works

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/whats_new/math/tips298.shtm• from PBS, tips for promoting positive

interdependence within groups


collaborative problem solving ina classroom setting

http://www.keypress.com/DG/resources/TeachingWithDG.html• about teaching with the Discovering Geometry

textbook, which encourages group work and collaboration

http://www.wou.edu/las/natsci_math/math/class/cooplist.html• 60 (research-supported) reasons why CL is a

good idea, originally posted to a CL list

VMT CSCL Workshop June 2004. Collaborative Problems and Pedagogy.

Documents

Transcript of VMT CSCL Workshop June 2004. Collaborative Problems and Pedagogy.