The website given above contains links to each of the first seven math events, and the website for individual events is full of pedagogical strategies, activities, and supplemental materials. For example, I liked Event Four in particular; it's title is "World Landmarks," and it uses landmarks such as the Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Golden Gate Bridge to explore relationships between concepts such as distance, height, volume, and cost. In one activity, students are asked to compare the dimensions of the Sphinx with similarly-sized structures in their school or neighborhood. In another, they measure and analyze the graph of changing heartrate in an exercise that simulates the climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty. The Event site also details ways for teachers to create similar exercises using landmarks in their area, or to allow students to research new landmarks and make presentations to the class. For each of the given landmarks, the website also includes information and relevant history for the teacher to use as he or she chooses.
I found this website extremely interesting - I think students would both enjoy the activities and make a lot of mathematical connections!
Each curriculum resource (videotape, workbook, game, etc...) on the website has been carefully described by ECN so that teachers understand the philosophy behind the tool, its intended audience, and all of its components. The ENC website appears to be equally as thorough in all sections of the site.
Because of the large volume of information, this website will be most useful for teachers who are looking for something specific, whether it is funding resources for their classroom, suggestions for improving a specific skill in classroom management, or an activity to complement a particular lesson. With such a concrete goal in mind, this website is an incredible resource for teachers - they should be able to find almost anything for which they are looking, and likely stumble upon many other useful resources along the way!
This website is useful to teachers of mathematics in that it helps them thoroughly search through the options for new curriculum. This website would greatly aid a department that is looking to reform their teaching style and curriculum. In addition, it has numerous links to other reform projects and sites dealing with standards and assessment. Furthermore, one link tells of the places where each curriculum is currently being used. This provides a way to perhaps observe different curriculums in neighboring schools. The credibility of the website is solid; it is put together by professors at Ithaca College. I would use this website when choosing a curriculum.
The only drawback is that there are too many links. Some may like that; others may find it difficult to surf the complex, detailed site. There are so many places to go. While that is good, it can also be sort of a drawback if the site is not well-designed. For example, all the topics are simply listed down the left side of the screen. They go on for a few pages. Perhaps this could be remedied with a separated search engine for topics that this site covers. This is just one example of how the size of this website may be a turn off for those looking for very specific things. However, if people would be persistent and patient, they would probably find anything they wanted on this website.
The major drawback of the site is that it is underdeveloped. It has areas for teachers to share ideas on home schooling, educational gems, homework help, disciplinary techniques, technology uses, etc. Yet most of these links lead to empty pages that have gone unused. The idea behind the links is great; teachers simply aren’t sharing their ideas on it. That’s unfortunate. Again, this web site has a solid foundation and some good ideas. However, they are often times very traditional and some of the good ideas aren’t being used regularly by teachers.
This site focuses less on specific lesson plans, activities and tips and more on the broad principles and standards that are sweeping mathematics education. This can be a fresh change for a teacher, who can be tired of plugging away at lesson plans and teaching strategies. It is nice to take a step back and look at the basic goals of teaching math. This site would compliment a detailed site that supplied specific teaching lessons and strategies. On a scale from one to ten, I would rate this site a.nine. It only lacks specific teaching ideas; everything is quite helpful. Lastly, the credentials for this website speak for themselves. Professionals from around the country have put time into this organization and this website. That suggests that it is worth taking a look at.
This premise of this website seems to make some assumptions, namely that the textbook being used in the classroom is traditional and presents ideas on the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. The new integrated surriculum will already have many similar ideas built into them. But if the older texts are being used, then these lessons compliment that text well. The specificity is an obvious downside of this web site. The only thing it offers is creative, interactive, constructivist lessons. But at the same time, huge sites with hundreds of links can be confusing. With this site, you know what it offers and it is easy to navigate and find things.
In addition to these feature articles, teachers will find these journals helpful because they include feedback on these issues from teachers and administrators, information about seminars and professional development activities, as well as updates on curriculum and resources that are proven helpful in the classroom. This website is a great way for teachers to increase their understanding of the opportunities and challenges that accompany the implementation of standards-based curriculum.
Each lesson starts with a real-life situation to grasp the students' attention, and then provides multiple ways to incorporate relevant mathematical reasoning and understanding into the lesson. The topics include everything from algebra and geometry to discrete mathematics, and each lesson plan provides links to other websites that are potential resources for the lesson.
One of the other notable strengths of this website is that many of the lessons provide great ways for incorporating technology. Often, they provide templates for sketchpad activities, or include the site needed to conduct a web exploration of the topic. This is a great way for teachers who are less comfortable designing such lessons to increase both their own and their students' exposure to technology, as well as a way to make concrete connections of abstract topics.
The website is helpful for educators interested in achieving these goals because it provides the syllabus of suggested readings as well as helpful discussion material on each of these. It also includes key topics raised in class, along with student discussion and response to these. The final element which is most helpful is the students' reaction to the standards- based instruction in light of their actual experiences teaching.
Although this website is not as comprehensive as others that I have found, it does provide great information that is helpful in the training of educators who seek to responsibly and thoughtfully integrate the NCTM standards into their curriculum.
The Stock Market Game has many benefits for students. It teaches them about economics, finance, and the American economic system. It also fits well into the standards. This is a game that is geared more towards economics than math, but there is definitely mathematics involved. The program touts itself as being cross-curriculum, and so has possibilities of being connected with other classes.
COMAP’s materials are built around its educational philosophy that is centered around mathematical modeling. They support the reform movement in mathematics and design their materials in the light of the NCTM’s Standards. Material is available for elementary through undergraduate classes.
I found the material to be good, but hard to recover. Their quarterly magazines are available for download in .pdf format, but I found it difficult at times. However, when found, the material seems to be very useful.
Unlike other site listed here that are specifically for use in a classroom, the site is more of a supplement to education. It has a number of Java Applets of things such as fractals and hyperbolic triangles that could be used as examples. It also has a section on The Distance Learning Initiative.
The handouts are sample worksheets. They are great for ideas on how to teach simple functions. The site does not, however, go in depth on Ms. Moore’s talk.
The value here was the larger site, www.sra4kids.com. This is a site that focuses on education in just about all subjects, and is geared to elementary and middle school students. It features many resources that have been compiled and put together. Sra4kids also has a student section with some games and activities for kids.
http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/HansonMathw/