Large whiteboards allow a group of 3-4 students to work on a problem together, each contributing to the solution. There is a mountain of research demonstrating that students learn mathematics more effectively in collaborative settings. I am particularly inspired by the research of Dr. Peter Liljedahl, who found that students were significantly more engaged when standing in groups a large whiteboard surface, rather than sitting in individual groups (see "Building Thinking Classrooms," Corwin 2020). In addition, the act of standing to work, rather than sitting (a more passive stance), helps many students focus and actively engage with their work. This is important because in order to learn mathematics, you must DO math! Math is not a subject that one can learn passively.
These tools will also help my students learn to critique each others' work, then revise their work to strengthen their reasoning and mathematical communication. Students can present their work to the class, field questions from their classmates, then adjust their work accordingly. (See, e.g., Jansen, A. ,"Rough Draft Math: Revising to Learn," Stenhouse 2020; Smith M. and Stein, M.K., "Five Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions," National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011).
I teach Geometry, which is a visual discipline. Some students benefit greatly from color-coding their sketches to highlight the mathematical relationships. This why I've included two sets of colorful whiteboard markers in this project.
To reduce the cost of this project, I've selected dry-erase wallpaper, rather than wall-mounted whiteboards.
Geometry can be a difficult subject for many students. With these tools, I can help make Geometry accessible and engaging. Thank you for your support!
About my class
Large whiteboards allow a group of 3-4 students to work on a problem together, each contributing to the solution. There is a mountain of research demonstrating that students learn mathematics more effectively in collaborative settings. I am particularly inspired by the research of Dr. Peter Liljedahl, who found that students were significantly more engaged when standing in groups a large whiteboard surface, rather than sitting in individual groups (see "Building Thinking Classrooms," Corwin 2020). In addition, the act of standing to work, rather than sitting (a more passive stance), helps many students focus and actively engage with their work. This is important because in order to learn mathematics, you must DO math! Math is not a subject that one can learn passively.
These tools will also help my students learn to critique each others' work, then revise their work to strengthen their reasoning and mathematical communication. Students can present their work to the class, field questions from their classmates, then adjust their work accordingly. (See, e.g., Jansen, A. ,"Rough Draft Math: Revising to Learn," Stenhouse 2020; Smith M. and Stein, M.K., "Five Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions," National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011).
I teach Geometry, which is a visual discipline. Some students benefit greatly from color-coding their sketches to highlight the mathematical relationships. This why I've included two sets of colorful whiteboard markers in this project.
To reduce the cost of this project, I've selected dry-erase wallpaper, rather than wall-mounted whiteboards.
Geometry can be a difficult subject for many students. With these tools, I can help make Geometry accessible and engaging. Thank you for your support!
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