MATHEMATICS PRIMARY 5
Learning Projects for Geometry: Chapter III
Etoys: Using Etoys, we can have the students make a book describing and giving examples of what a line, a ray, a line segment, acute angles, obtuse angles, right anges, reflex angle, bisecting angles, adjacent angles, complementary angles are. Through this, students can have a reference guide for all the different lines and angles and also have practice configuring these items using the line tool in the supply box.
Record: When learning about geometric figures and solids, we can ask the students to walk around the classroom or school identifying circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles around them. Students can then take pictures of these items and shapes using Record. These pictures can then be placed into a book in Etoys or in a Write document, labeling whatever information the teacher deems is necessary or appropriate. For example, Students may take pictures of the bottom of a water bottle (which would be a circle) and then write the equations for finding the circumference or area, and identifyig what a radius is next to it. Through this, students can learn the elements of shapes in a more real-life based, interactive way.
Measure: Using Measure, students can learn the properties of the various shapes. For example, when it comes to finding the area of a hexagon, the teacher can draw a picture of a square on the blackboard, and then have the students bring their XOs to measure the square and discover the area. Or, the teachers can ask the students to construct a hexagon with side lengths 4 cm, which the students can refer to Measure to do. For teaching the Pythagorean Theorem, the teacher can draw a triangle with side lengths of 3 cm and 4 cm, have the kids Measure the side lengths and use the a2 + b2 = c2 foruma discover that the hypotenuse is 5.
Memorize: By creating games in Memorize we can have the students match up equations with what they represent. For example, some of the card combinations can be "Area of a Triangle" which can be matched with "1/2 base x height". Another example could be "6 equal faces, 8 vertices, and 12 edges" which could be aired with "cube". Another could be "Surface Area of a cube "6 x Sides (squared)". If students can familiarize themselves with this game, this would meann that they have sufficiently memorized the important equations of geometry.
Calculate: Being that not many of the students have experience working with calculators, Calculate can be a tool used to teach them how to find the answers to equations. For instance, if they are given the task of finding the the surface area or the volume, they can use Calculate to do the basic math. In this way, if they get the answer wrong on their homework, it will be because they dont understand the formula, not because they made a mistake with their basic math.
Turtle Art: Turtle Art is an ideal program for used with teaching Geometry. By telling the Turtle to make various anges or to make lines of certain lengths, TurtleArt is prime for teaching children the elements of a shape. Also because giving Turtle Instructions to move requires such specific number, it is really easy for the children to create shapes and to figure out their area or perimeters. For example, a teach can instruct the students tomake a rectange with side lengths of 4 and 6. Then, once the students have made the rectangle, they can easily discover the Perimenter (2 x width)+(2 x length), which would be (2 x 4)+(2 x 6)=20. They can also be easily instructed to easily find the Area, which would be (length x width), which would be (4 x 6) = 24. Further, even for the construction of circles, students can learn about radius, circumferences, and perimenters. Which, can then be used to learn the area of a circle and all the different elements of a circle
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Teacher Training
This week marks the beginning of one of the most challening projects that I have faced so far in my internship with OLPC in Rwanda. With the massive teacher training that is supposed to take place, I'd like to provide my suggestions for how the teacher training should be structured so that we can yield the most beneficial results in the teacher that attend. Being that one of our biggest issues with teach training is the lack of interest from the teachers to integrate the XO into their daily lesson plans, it is important to focus on communicating the diverse capabilities of the XO to the teacher and allowing them to discover and note how significant of a tool the XO can be in the classroom.
That said, on the first day, teacher training would need to consist of an introduction to the XO and the mission statement of OLPC. The teacher need to understand the significance and mission behind the organization and the ultimate goal of transforming primary education worldwide. Once the teacher realize the necessity of the program and learn a bit more about OLPC's history in Rwanda, I think they will be more eager to learn about the XO and more open to incorporating it into their lessons. Then, we provide and introduction to the Sugar operating system, showing the the ultimate capabilities of programs like TurtleArt and Scratch by previewing the samples. It would also be helpful to use some time to get into trouble shooting with the XO (for example, what to do when the mouse freezes) and also general maintenance guidance. In terms of how the laptops could be distributed in the classroom, we could use this time to show teachers that each laptop has its own unique serial number, giving them suggestions on how they could disseminate and keep track of the laptops on their own. With that, our first day will probably be exhausted and we would have aready whet the appetite of the teachers.
On the second day, we could start to get into some of the fundamental and basic tools of the XO. We could introduce Browse, WikiBrowse, Write, Record, and Etoys, so that the teacher can see how the XO an be applied to even the most simple of assignments. If we can show all these programs during the first half of the second day, we will have made very good time. I understand that there is no way to give an in depth approach, but just an initial introduction will be optimal. For the second half of the second day, it would be great if we could have teacher begin to brainstorm how to include the XO into their personal lesson plans. We could split the teachers up into the three subject groups: Math, Social Science, and Scince and have them come up with some brainstorms on how the XO could be used for their individual topics. While we would hope that they could begin to come up with their own learning projects, it would be fantastic if they coud just open up their minds on how the XO could be incuded.
On the third day, we can begin to give a introdcution to programs like TurtleArt and Scratch. While I know that these programs would be impossibe to teach in a short amount of time, a broad overview would be great so that the teachers can continue to explore on their own in the future. During this day, when there are breaks, we can show the teachers how to use some of the pre-installed games like Memorize, Maze and Implode, so they can get a feel of some of the logic games that are included. On this day, we can ask the teacher to go home and look through some of their textbooks and find a way that the XO could be incorporated into some of the subject matter that they need to be teaching. We can ask the teachers to find one topic and to incorporte it into one of the programs.
I think the fourth day would be a good time to show the teachers some of the pre-existing learning projects that we have. In this way, they can have an introduction to how the XO could be included in the various topics that they are already teaching. It would be great if on this day, we asked the teachers to bring in their textbooks and the lessons plans they have created, so that they can send some more time brainstorming how the programs they have been taught in the XO could be used for their specific topics. I think the fourth day should be devoted to having the teachers discover ways that the XO can be taught in parallel to their lessons. In this way, we can ensure longevity to our teacher training and to make sure that the teachers are using the laptops in the classroom.
On the fifth day, we can divide the teachers into the three aforementioned subject groups and have them conduct classroom simulations where the rest of the teachers will act as the audience/teachers. In this way, the teachers can have more experience teaching with the XO and can attain more confidence presenting it in the classroom setting. In addition, fellow teachers can learn from each other on how to incorporate lessons into their XO teachings. In order to make it more fun and interesting for the teachers, we can have it be a competition where the best teacher presentation will be voted upon by the fellow teachers and will be given a prize. Following this, I think it is integral to have at least an hour of feedback coming from the teachers so we know what we should continue to do and what is unnecessary.
That said, on the first day, teacher training would need to consist of an introduction to the XO and the mission statement of OLPC. The teacher need to understand the significance and mission behind the organization and the ultimate goal of transforming primary education worldwide. Once the teacher realize the necessity of the program and learn a bit more about OLPC's history in Rwanda, I think they will be more eager to learn about the XO and more open to incorporating it into their lessons. Then, we provide and introduction to the Sugar operating system, showing the the ultimate capabilities of programs like TurtleArt and Scratch by previewing the samples. It would also be helpful to use some time to get into trouble shooting with the XO (for example, what to do when the mouse freezes) and also general maintenance guidance. In terms of how the laptops could be distributed in the classroom, we could use this time to show teachers that each laptop has its own unique serial number, giving them suggestions on how they could disseminate and keep track of the laptops on their own. With that, our first day will probably be exhausted and we would have aready whet the appetite of the teachers.
On the second day, we could start to get into some of the fundamental and basic tools of the XO. We could introduce Browse, WikiBrowse, Write, Record, and Etoys, so that the teacher can see how the XO an be applied to even the most simple of assignments. If we can show all these programs during the first half of the second day, we will have made very good time. I understand that there is no way to give an in depth approach, but just an initial introduction will be optimal. For the second half of the second day, it would be great if we could have teacher begin to brainstorm how to include the XO into their personal lesson plans. We could split the teachers up into the three subject groups: Math, Social Science, and Scince and have them come up with some brainstorms on how the XO could be used for their individual topics. While we would hope that they could begin to come up with their own learning projects, it would be fantastic if they coud just open up their minds on how the XO could be incuded.
On the third day, we can begin to give a introdcution to programs like TurtleArt and Scratch. While I know that these programs would be impossibe to teach in a short amount of time, a broad overview would be great so that the teachers can continue to explore on their own in the future. During this day, when there are breaks, we can show the teachers how to use some of the pre-installed games like Memorize, Maze and Implode, so they can get a feel of some of the logic games that are included. On this day, we can ask the teacher to go home and look through some of their textbooks and find a way that the XO could be incorporated into some of the subject matter that they need to be teaching. We can ask the teachers to find one topic and to incorporte it into one of the programs.
I think the fourth day would be a good time to show the teachers some of the pre-existing learning projects that we have. In this way, they can have an introduction to how the XO could be included in the various topics that they are already teaching. It would be great if on this day, we asked the teachers to bring in their textbooks and the lessons plans they have created, so that they can send some more time brainstorming how the programs they have been taught in the XO could be used for their specific topics. I think the fourth day should be devoted to having the teachers discover ways that the XO can be taught in parallel to their lessons. In this way, we can ensure longevity to our teacher training and to make sure that the teachers are using the laptops in the classroom.
On the fifth day, we can divide the teachers into the three aforementioned subject groups and have them conduct classroom simulations where the rest of the teachers will act as the audience/teachers. In this way, the teachers can have more experience teaching with the XO and can attain more confidence presenting it in the classroom setting. In addition, fellow teachers can learn from each other on how to incorporate lessons into their XO teachings. In order to make it more fun and interesting for the teachers, we can have it be a competition where the best teacher presentation will be voted upon by the fellow teachers and will be given a prize. Following this, I think it is integral to have at least an hour of feedback coming from the teachers so we know what we should continue to do and what is unnecessary.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Week IV
This week at Escaf, I was fortunate enough to be able to have a conversation with one of the teachers regarding the role of the XO laptop in his classroom. Despite the language barrier, the teacher began telling me that he loved having the option of having the XO, and that he thought it was a great addition to the learning cirricuculum. This seems to be a pretty standard answer where the teachers don't really delve into the negative aspects of it and instead lavish positive attention on having it even though they dont really know how to use it in the classroom. Knowing this, I asked him if he found it easy to include the XO into his cirriculum. He responded by saying that he, himself, found it easy to include laptop and had been using Record and Write with his students. Still, he went on to explain, he knew that a lot of his colleagues had issues incorporating it into the cirriculum. When pushed as to why this was the case, he said that a lot of the programs were a little too complicated for the students. I found this answer quite surprising, considering that i usually find the students learn the programs faster than the teachers. Not wanting to be rude, I stopped pushing and left thinking that he has just given me any answer offhand.
Since I wasnt satisfied with the answer, I was happy to have the opportunity to work with another teacher at Kagugu, where we just started to have clubs. Since Adrien was there, the language barrier was less of an issue and I was able to learn that the teacher had been strugging with the issue of having to come up with two lessons plans. One, for his normal classes, and the other specifically for the XO. This goes back to how the XO can become more of a burden than an extra tool in the classroom. the teacher also noted the situtation with the generational gap, where the older teachers seem to have more of a problem with the laptop than the younger teachers.
In my opinion, the problems that we are facing must be focused on making the teachers more comfortable so that the students can learn more. We really need to make it clear cut and specific on how the XO can help teachers. It would be optimal if we could sit down with the teachers and help them structure their lesson plans so that we can help them design just one cirriculum that combines both their normal lesso plans and the XO. For instance, at Rwamagana this week, there were a couple new teachers who had never attended a teacher training session. When I found out that one of them taught Kinyarwanda and the other one taught Mathematics, I quickly showed both of them Memorize and demonstated how they could alter it to their individual lesson plans. Both were very pleased and impressed. If we continue to provide this sort of help, we can really help the teachers become more comfortable with the XO. As one of the teachers said after the Rwamagana session, there will be "no fear" when dealing with the XO and the students will be able to benefit from the increased exposure.
Since I wasnt satisfied with the answer, I was happy to have the opportunity to work with another teacher at Kagugu, where we just started to have clubs. Since Adrien was there, the language barrier was less of an issue and I was able to learn that the teacher had been strugging with the issue of having to come up with two lessons plans. One, for his normal classes, and the other specifically for the XO. This goes back to how the XO can become more of a burden than an extra tool in the classroom. the teacher also noted the situtation with the generational gap, where the older teachers seem to have more of a problem with the laptop than the younger teachers.
In my opinion, the problems that we are facing must be focused on making the teachers more comfortable so that the students can learn more. We really need to make it clear cut and specific on how the XO can help teachers. It would be optimal if we could sit down with the teachers and help them structure their lesson plans so that we can help them design just one cirriculum that combines both their normal lesso plans and the XO. For instance, at Rwamagana this week, there were a couple new teachers who had never attended a teacher training session. When I found out that one of them taught Kinyarwanda and the other one taught Mathematics, I quickly showed both of them Memorize and demonstated how they could alter it to their individual lesson plans. Both were very pleased and impressed. If we continue to provide this sort of help, we can really help the teachers become more comfortable with the XO. As one of the teachers said after the Rwamagana session, there will be "no fear" when dealing with the XO and the students will be able to benefit from the increased exposure.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Week III
This past week, our discussion has focused mainly on teaccher training and how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our sessions. While my week did not include a lot of teacher training (I spent most of my time at the clubs in Kagugu, Nonko, and Escaf), my past experiences working with the teachers have shown me that OLPC in Rwanda has to make major strides in promoting the use of the XO laptops in the classrooms. From talking to Melissa, it is clear that despite our best efforts, many teachers have found it incrediby difficult to incorporate the XO into their lesson plans. Even in schools where we have been present and active in our teacher training for a very long time, teachers are finding th.e XO laptop a daunting and intimidating task. The intimidation seems to stem from not being able to use the XO as well as the students and from not seeing how the XO can be used to intersect with their existing lesson plans. Instead, they view the XO as another resonsibility to adopt, another thing that requires even more work. As the teachers are so underpaid and overworked, the XO then becomes more of a burden than a productive tool for improving the educational system.
In my opinion, the most important thing we need to gocus on in order to combat teacher apathy is to focus on methods of motivating teachers and providing more of an incentive for them to teach with the XO. The generational gap when it comes to new technology is always a concern, but if we can show the teachers that it is okay to not be as good as the students, perhaps that will allow them to be more willing to bring the XO into their lesson plans so at least the children can have more time and experience with the laptops. As it stands, our method of teaching the teachers how to use the XO program by program seems to make it difficult for them to include the XO in their lesson plans. Even when we provide them with numerous examples learning projects, there seems to be aa disconnect and they still don't recognize the capabilities of the XO in the classrooms. This is a problem that seems to exist most predominantly amongst older teachers while the younger generation of educators seem to find it easy to come up with learning projects. I remember speaking to a young teacher as Escaf, where he told me all about the various ways in which he has included the XO in his lesson plans. If we can find some way to have the younger teachers aid the older teachers, we can build a more sustainable program. I am confident that, as a group, we can discuss and come up with comprehensive methods of providing incentives for the teachers so that they are more willing to actually learn the XO.
In my opinion, the most important thing we need to gocus on in order to combat teacher apathy is to focus on methods of motivating teachers and providing more of an incentive for them to teach with the XO. The generational gap when it comes to new technology is always a concern, but if we can show the teachers that it is okay to not be as good as the students, perhaps that will allow them to be more willing to bring the XO into their lesson plans so at least the children can have more time and experience with the laptops. As it stands, our method of teaching the teachers how to use the XO program by program seems to make it difficult for them to include the XO in their lesson plans. Even when we provide them with numerous examples learning projects, there seems to be aa disconnect and they still don't recognize the capabilities of the XO in the classrooms. This is a problem that seems to exist most predominantly amongst older teachers while the younger generation of educators seem to find it easy to come up with learning projects. I remember speaking to a young teacher as Escaf, where he told me all about the various ways in which he has included the XO in his lesson plans. If we can find some way to have the younger teachers aid the older teachers, we can build a more sustainable program. I am confident that, as a group, we can discuss and come up with comprehensive methods of providing incentives for the teachers so that they are more willing to actually learn the XO.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Week II
This past week with OLPC, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to and work in a variety of schools. While everyday is filled with memorable moments that show more and more about the role that OLPC plays in Rwanda, there is one particular moment that especially stood out to me this week.
While in Nonko (we were supposed to be helping the teachers with their picture dictionaries in EToys) I was expecting to face the same teaching challenges that I had the week before with the different group of teachers. This is normally a task that many of the teachers have not yet become familiar with and they often struggle with the task of recording photos and putting in texts. However, this particular time, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that one of the teachers was already so well-versed with the task that she felt bored. Instead of sitting idly, she urged me to teach her another program, one that she could use easily in her classroom. Immediately, I began to show her how to use Memorize and how to create her own games, something that would be infinitely useful in her classroom. Of course, she was very pleased and quickly began creating her own games, complete with her own sounds and pictures from around the school.
This moment to me, perfectly demonstrates the varied background that each of the teachers bring to their OLPC training. As her enthusiasm demonstrates, the XO laptop can really become a major figure in the classroom learning environment. My experiences have shown me that there is a major gap between the teachers who are interested in learning the laptops and the ones who do no really care for the what XO laptop can bring to their classrooms. This was one of the rare moments where a teacher seemed to earnestly want to learn the laptop, while most seem to believe it be little more than a burden. Still, there is no doubt in my mind that as OLPC continues on with its XO laptop teacher training, more and more teachers will be inspired to learn more about the XO laptop, and soon the XO can become a key figure in transforming the educational system in countries like Rwanda.
While in Nonko (we were supposed to be helping the teachers with their picture dictionaries in EToys) I was expecting to face the same teaching challenges that I had the week before with the different group of teachers. This is normally a task that many of the teachers have not yet become familiar with and they often struggle with the task of recording photos and putting in texts. However, this particular time, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that one of the teachers was already so well-versed with the task that she felt bored. Instead of sitting idly, she urged me to teach her another program, one that she could use easily in her classroom. Immediately, I began to show her how to use Memorize and how to create her own games, something that would be infinitely useful in her classroom. Of course, she was very pleased and quickly began creating her own games, complete with her own sounds and pictures from around the school.
This moment to me, perfectly demonstrates the varied background that each of the teachers bring to their OLPC training. As her enthusiasm demonstrates, the XO laptop can really become a major figure in the classroom learning environment. My experiences have shown me that there is a major gap between the teachers who are interested in learning the laptops and the ones who do no really care for the what XO laptop can bring to their classrooms. This was one of the rare moments where a teacher seemed to earnestly want to learn the laptop, while most seem to believe it be little more than a burden. Still, there is no doubt in my mind that as OLPC continues on with its XO laptop teacher training, more and more teachers will be inspired to learn more about the XO laptop, and soon the XO can become a key figure in transforming the educational system in countries like Rwanda.
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