CMC3 Presentation

Today I am presenting my talk on incorporating elements of game design and mastery learning into math courses at CMC3. I am especially proud to be assisted by my son Dylan today, you will focus on why it makes sense to incorporate the features of video games into our classrooms. I will summarize the talk on my blog next week.

Personalized MyMathLab Homework for Exam Review

This week my online elementary algebra class came in to take their pencil & paper midterm. The exam is very traditional, covering linear equations, graphing lines & their equations, and systems of 2 equations. The scores were, quite frankly, outstanding. Of the 34 students who took the exam, 25 passed including 18 A's.

To help my student's prepare, I used MyMathLab's personalized homework feature. First I created a 25 question quiz. Then I created a 75 question homework assignment, including 3 problems for each objective covered on the quiz. Finally I linked the two assignments.

Students take the quiz once, and that loads the personalized homework assignment. For each question answered correctly on the quiz, students received credit for the 3 associated problems. The only questions that remained on the homework assignment are problems that they missed on the quiz. So, students only review problems they struggled with. After finishing the homework, they can then go back and retake the quiz to prove mastery.

If you have not used this feature, I have a video that explains the process.
http://youtu.be/J4hdpHYdVWM

New Videos on YouTube for Intermediate Algebra

Last night, in a blaze of glory, I uploaded several videos related to solving quadratic equations to my YouTube account. Topics include completing the square, extracting square roots, quadratic formula, u-substitutions, and the Pythagorean theorem. I not only walk through examples in the videos, I give advice on determining the most efficient way to solve a given equation.

You can see them all on my YouTube channel: George Woodbury's YouTube Channel
- George

Intro Stats - Counting Activity

This semester, whenever possible, I have been trying to incorporate the flipped classroom in all of my courses. A couple of weeks back I used an activity that I was quite pleased with. It covered counting principles in introductory statistics, namely the multiplication principle, permutations, and combinations. Without having covered any of the material in class, I assigned my students to watch a short video I created on the subject. I placed the video on YouTube. Here it is.



There was also a short assignment that students had to complete before returning to class the next day. Here are the 5 questions.
1) An ice cream store has 31 flavors of ice cream and 3 types of cones. In how many different ways could you order a single-scoop ice cream cone? (1 flavor, 1 type of cone)
2) Which is the correct answer to the following problem: 10P2 or 10C2? A softball league has 10 teams in it. In how many different ways could the teams finish first and second?
3) Which is the correct answer to the following problem: 19P3 or 19C3? Bruce Springsteen has released 19 CDs. In how many different ways could a fan select 3 of his CDs to bring on a road trip? Compute the following.
4) 11P3
5) 8C5
6) What is the major difference between a permutation problem and a combination problem?

Students were told that there would be a quiz the next day, and they could use only their assignment as a resource. The quiz was a group quiz (my classes are made up of groups of 4 students), and there was a "battle" between pairs of groups that sis next to each other. The winners of each battle earned the right to drop 1 homework score for the semester. Here is a copy of the quiz, which I displayed on a screen using PowerPoint.

1.       What color ink did I use to write on the PowerPoint slides?

2.       A class has 40 students. The instructor randomly selects 3 students.
The first wins a $20 gift certificate, the second wins a new calculator, and the third wins a new eraser.
In how many different ways can the instructor choose the 3 students?

3.       Faculty passwords in Banner are made up of 4 digits (0 – 9).
How many different passwords are possible?

4.       The math department has 16 faculty.
In how many different ways can the Dean select 3 instructors to attend a conference?

5.       Compute: 12C5.

6.       Compute: 9P4.

7.       License plates in Rhode Island have 2 letters followed by 3 digits.
Neither letter can be I or O.
No digit can be used more than once.
How many different license plates are possible?

8.       What are the 3 conditions that tell us a problem calls for the use of combinations?

9.       Make up a problem whose solution is 6 x 4 = 24.

10.   Fifteen patients sign up to participate in a trial for a new medication.
In how many different ways can the doctor select 6 of the patients to receive a placebo?

Bonus Question: What was the address of the web site mentioned at the end of the video for students who needed extra help? 

The groups got 1 minute for each of the first 4 problems, and 2 minutes for each of the last 6 problems. The first question was to break the tension, and we had a good laugh when I told them later that the correct answer was "Skittles Red". The bonus question only counted in case of a tie after the first 10 questions.

I was really happy with the results. There was a lot of great discussion within the groups, and I feel that they truly understood what hey were doing. (They went on to do really well on the counting problems on the probability exam.)

- George

If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment on this blog or reach me through the contact page on my website: georgewoodbury.com

Making My Class Into A Game - Part 1

This is the third semester that I have been incorporating elements of game design into my algebra classes. I was inspired by my son (who is about to begin his college career as a game design major) to try to find a way to make my class fun for students, while at the same time increasing student learning.

The hardest part was coming up with a grading system that was not just a traditional grading system hidden under a cloak of gaming terminology. I didn't see any difference between saying you needed 90% of all the points this semester to earn an A and saying you need to earn 90% of the available XP to earn an A.

I came up with a gaming point system that incorporates elements of mastery learning, and I am quite happy with it. I have 6 tests and 1 final exam review in my course, as well as a final exam.
Points earned from tests depends on whether a student has satisfactory homework/quiz scores or not. (I define satisfactory as 90% or better on each homework assignment and 70% or better on each quiz.) I give a homework assignment for each section I cover, and 2 quizzes for each chapter.

Students with satisfactory scores earn 3 points in their test score is 80% or higher and 2 points if their test score is in the 70's. If a student with satisfactory scores fails the test, they are eligible to retake the exam the following week for 1 point.

Students with unsatisfactory scores (even if that means they missed by 1% on 1 assignment) earn 1 point for passing the test (70-100%) and 0 points if they fail the test. These students are not eligible for retests.

Since there are 6 tests, students can earn up to 18 points during the semester. I double one test (the hardest one) if students have satisfactory scores, providing a potential of 3 more points. Finally, there are 4 points available for a final exam review, making a total of 25 points available before the final. The final exam is worth 100 points, meaning that the highest possible total is 125 points for the semester.

Students need 76 points for a C, 88 points for a B, and 100 points for an A. The reason I chose 76 points for passing the class is for the student who feels he or she does not need to do the homework as long as they pass the tests. (Good luck with that, by the way!) 6 points from the 6 exams plus 70 points from the final makes 76 points.

That's it for part 1. I'll continue to explain the set up in my next post.

-George

If you have questions/comments, you can either leave a comment here or you can reach me through the contact page on my web site: http://georgewoodbury.com .

Great TED Talk On Game Design In The Classroom

If you want to get motivated about turning your class into a game, be sure to check out this great TED talk by Jessie Schell.
TED Talk on Games & Education

Sampling Activity (with StatCrunch)

During the first week of my Statistics course we covered sampling techniques. Some of my students were getting tied up in knots over systematic sampling, specifically applying the formula to find the ith individual to include in the sample. I created an activity that helped my students to understand that the goal is to actually come up with the sample, as well as to help them with StatCrunch.

On the first day of class I had my students fill out a survey I created in StatCrunch, and I ended up with 76 responses. (If you'd like to see the survey or the data, just let me know.) I then printed out a sheet of the numbered responses for gender and age. My students were supposed to select a systematic sample of 10 students to estimate the percentage of female students and the mean age. They computed k (76/10 rounded down to 7), selected a random number p between 1 and k, and obtained their sample by including every 7th student beginning at their value of p.

They then repeated this task using random sampling. They had StatCrunch generate 10 unique values between 1 and 76, and used these numbers to determine which individuals were to be included in the sample. They again used these results to estimate the percentage of females and the mean age.

Finally, I had them load a data set from our StatCrunch group which contained 76 responses for smoking status, iPhone ownership, and this semester's costs for books and supplies. I then gave directions for how to use StatCrunch to sample from these columns, and they selected a sample of 20 students. They used these to estimate the appropriate percentages and mean expenses.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the results. My students seemed to have a better understanding systematic sampling. They saw that working with StatCrunch was pretty easy, and I even got them to create pie charts and compute the mean.

If you'd like a copy of the activity, as well as access to the survey/data, you can reach me through the contact page on my website.

- George
Math Instructor at College of Sequoias (Visalia, CA), Pearson Author

Habits of Effective Math Students

Just ran across this web page that shares advice for students who wish to be successful in math. In reinforces many of the things I tell my students. Check it out: http://www.mathsinsider.com/7-habits-of-highly-effective-teen-maths-students/

- George

A New Beginning

I have decided to move my blog to Blogger. In addition to upcoming posts about learning mathematics, using technology in the classroom, etc., I will be copying over old posts from my original blog. Stay tuned ...