The Joy of Shared Exploration - By Mirren Derby
As a trainee teacher you have such a variety of lessons, some make you
jump with joy and some that make you cry. No lesson is perfect and no lesson is a waste but the lesson I am going to talk about today has been one of my favourites so far.
This lesson was the first on finding equivalent fractions for a year 8 class. Not the most exciting topic and one that can be challenging to teach as some students could speed of ahead leaving others confused and bewildered by all the different steps. I began by projecting a picture of a fraction wall and asking the students to see what they noticed or what mathematical questions they could ask. This was after being inspired by a Mathematics Teacher Training Scholarship event back in September where Christine Watson looked at maths in context. The students noticed that different fractions could add up to a whole and began to spot equivalent fractions.
To let you into a secret, I had run out of time whilst planning and slapped this picture
into my powerpoint at the last minute, hoping it would keep the students occupied whilst I took the register. I do love a picture starter but this one was less intentional than usual. Fortunately for me, the students’ curiosity and openness led right into our topic without me prompting them. I want to develop independent students who have the tools needed to begin journeys of exploration into mathematics. My job is to be a helpful guide that can support and facilitate along the way.
The great beginning behind us, we went on to complete some starter questions and write the title and date. After modelling some examples of equivalent fractions using chocolate bars, we wrote out the key vocabulary of the lesson and did some more examples. At this point some students were flagging and questioned why I was asking them to write so much. I had to think how could I adapt my lesson and keep engagement high so I cut short our practice time and moved on to what would be the star of the show.
This is where collaborating with others and adapting different resources can strengthen our teaching. Whilst planning the lesson I had looked for an activity that would help consolidate the ideas we had learnt in a more enjoyable way and stumbled across a ‘True or False Maze’ all about equivalent fractions. Each pair of students was given a grid of equivalent fraction statements and asked to find a safe way through the maze, only through the rooms of true statements. What ensued was a chaotic and thrilling race as the teams worked hard to check each and every fraction pair until three groups stood up declaring that they had finished! One group had cheated so were promptly sat back down.
Then came the tense checking process to see if the routes were correct but aha! Two groups had not quite finished so I set them back to work, racing to the end. As I stood at the front, I reflected on how wonderful it was to see each student getting stuck in to solving some maths and really working as a team. I was surprised at how much the students enjoyed the activity and I think one factor that really helped was that we knew each other well, and so, the shared experience of the game was even more enjoyable. We finished the lesson with some final questions together before packing away for break.
I have had other lessons that have been wonderful but I chose this lesson because when a class is fully, wholeheartedly engaged, it is such a beautiful and exciting moment. These moments are rare and fleeting but they are incredibly joyful. It’s a moment of connection between class and teacher and I think shows how much better it can be to learn together.
By Mirren Derby
Images provided by author
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