Mathematical Teaching and

Learning through Technology

Technology for What?
 Technology for What?
The use of technology reflects deeply held
beliefs about the nature of mathematics and
how it is best taught and learned.
 Outline for the Day
AM: Mathematical Principles
Dynamic Explorations
PM: Explorations through Casio ClassWiz
How good is your memory?
• You are given a sheet of paper.
• You are NOT allowed to show this paper to
anyone.
• You are given 4 minutes to try to remember
all the symbols on your paper.
• You are NOT allowed to write anything.
• After 4 minutes, you will be given a quiz.
4 minutes…
Quiz time...Get ready!
Write the symbol for the following.
1. Ships
2. Captain
3. Driver
4. Traffic light
5. Swimmer
 Answers
1. Ships
 Answers
2. Captain
 Answers
3. Driver
 Answers
4. Traffic lights
 Answers
5. Swimmer
SET A
SET B
Symbol or concept?

7
Symbol or concept?
 Symbol or concept?

“dog”
Symbol or concept?

7
 Symbol or concept?
5+2

My child’s age

7
Square root of
49
An odd number
A prime number

Factor or 63
3 less than 10
 Two types of teaching
• Symbol-focused instruction (a.k.a.
cookbook-style teaching)
• Teaching for relational understanding

Skemp, R. (1976). The psychology of learning mathematics.

McMaster, H. (2011). Lecture for in-service teachers,
Sydney, Australia
 Two types of Strategies
• Cookbook strategy – knowing the rules by
following a “recipe” (kayang sumunod).
• Relational understanding – identifying an
appropriate strategy, and carrying it out
(may diskarte).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XMeocLflc
 Do we teach students…
• To think?
 Do we teach students…
• To think?
• Or to just follow?
 Do we teach students…
• To think?
• Or to just follow?

Creative Reasoning
vs.
Imitative Reasoning
 A Cookbook Teaching Style
The next slides involving cookbook and relational teaching are based on a
talk by Heather McMaster in Sydney, Australia.
 Tell them a procedure
To multiply fractions:
1. If the fraction is a whole number or a mixed
number, convert it to an improper fraction.
2. Multiply the numerators. Multiply the denominators.

To divide fractions:
1. Take the reciprocal of the divisor.
2. Multiply the dividend and the reciprocal of the
divisor.
 Show by example
1
2×3
5
1. This is a multiplication problem.
2. Convert each fraction to an improper fraction.
2 1 16
2= ; 3 =
1 5 5
3. Multiply
2 16 32
× =
1 5 5
 Give algorithm-specific
exercises
2 4 3 7 5 6 2
1. 3
× 9
11. 5 × 12 21. 2 8 × 7 31. 8 × 5
1 2 1 2 4 2 1 2
2. 4 × 5 12. 2 4 × 4 5 22. 3 × 9 32. 4 3 × 9
2 6 6 2 2 6 1 7
3. 7 × 11 13. 3 11 × 5 23. 7 × 9 11 33. 8 × 3
3 5 3 5 5 2 4
4. 8 × 4 14. 8 × 4 24. 5 × 4 34. 3 × 9
2 1 2 1 2 1 1 2
5. 5 × 3 6 15. 5 × 3 6 25. 5 × 3 6 35. 4 × 5
2 2 5 2 2 6
6. 15 × 3 16. 15 × 2 26. 15 × 3 36. 7 × 11
2 5 2 5 3 5
7. 5 × 5 17. 4 × 5 27. 7 × 3 37. 8 × 4
1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1
8. 4 3 × 9 18. 3 3 × 9 28. 3 × 9 9 38. 5 × 3 6
1 7 1 7 1 7 2
9. 8 × 3 19. 8 × 3 29. 8 × 3 39. 15 × 3
2 7 9 3 2 7 2 9
10. 6 5 × 10 20. 4 10 × 2 30. 5 × 3 10 40. 8 3 × 5
 Show them a
Memory Assistance Scheme

• Multiplication: Multiply numerators; multiply

denominators.
• Division: Invert and multiply.
 Advantages of
Cookbook Teaching
• Teaching takes less time.
• Students will learn some useful techniques.
• Students get immediate rewards e.g. correct
answers.
• Students like it – they don’t have to think too
much! (They just have to remember.)
There’s no need to think
 What’s the problem with
having a cookbook type of
teaching?
 What’s the problem with
having instrumental type of
understanding (and no relational
understanding)?
 Many rules to memorize
Topic: Multiplication of integers
New topic - new rule!
To multiply two integers:
• If they have like signs, multiply, and the answer is
POSITIVE.
e.g. 8 x 7 = +56 (–31) x (–3) = +93
• If they have unlike signs, multiply, and the answer is
NEGATIVE.
e.g. 2 x (–17) = –34 (–3) x 25 = –75
 Many procedures to memorize
Topic: Multiplication of real numbers
New topic - new procedure!
To multiply two real numbers: e.g. 4.3 x (– 0.2)
1. Take out the decimal points of both numbers. 43
x2
2. Multiply the numbers. 86
3. Count the number of decimal places in both the
original numbers. Two
4. Put this number of decimal places in the answer.
0.86
5. Unlike signs, so negative. –0.86
Can they memorize all those
rules and procedures?
 Rules and procedures are
easy to mix up.

2 3 5
e.g. + =
5 2 7
(add the numerators; add the
denominators; similar to the strategy
for multiplication)
What if a question doesn’t fit
a known rule or procedure?

? 2
e.g. Solve: 2 × = .
? 9
Learners make up their own
rules.
What rule did they use?
What rule did they use?

Cross off the zeros

What rule did they use?
What rule did they use?

Add the numerators.

Add the denominators.
What rule did they use?
What rule did they use?

Cancel the a s
What rule did they use?
What rule did they use?

Cross-multiply
What rule did they use?
What rule did they use?

Flip and multiply.

What rule did they use?
 What rule did they use?

Two negatives make a

positive.
What rule did they use?
What rule did they use?

FOIL
Why FOIL?
It all starts with…

Creator: Steve Ouellette via GeoGebratube

 Then…

Creator: Steve Ouellette via GeoGebratube

And finally…

Creator: Garettn via GeoGebratube

GeoGebra
Originated as the Master‘s
Thesis of Markus
Hohenwarter in the
University of Salzburg in
2002.

It has since been further developed by a group of

20 developers and 100 translators all over the world.
GeoGebra
As an open source project, GeoGebra is committed
to reaching out specifically to users in developing
countries who otherwise may not be able to afford to
pay the software.
Hohenwarter & Lavicza (2011, p. 11)
GeoGebra
“[i]n a real sense, all mathematical ideas are dynamic in
the mind of a mathematically competent person”
Bu, Spector, & Haciomeroglu (2011, p. 23)
GeoGebra
A collection of GeoGebra applets
GeoGebra

Exploration Tasks
GeoGebra

Exploration Tasks
 Draw any quadrilateral.
 Use paper-folding to find the midpoint of
each side.
 Connect the midpoints.
 What quadrilateral is formed? Compare
your results with your seatmates.
GeoGebra

Midline Theorem (Grade 8)

 In a triangle, the midline joining the
midpoints of two sides is parallel to the
third side and half as long.
GeoGebra

Exploration Tasks
 Draw any quadrilateral.
 Use paper-folding to find the midpoint of
each side.
 Connect the midpoints.
 What quadrilateral is formed? Compare
your results with your seatmates.
GeoGebra

Further Explorations
 In the parallelogram formed from the
previous activity, find the intersections of
the four angle bisectors.
 Repeat: Find the intersections of the four
angle bisectors of the quadrilateral formed
above.
GeoGebra

Posamentier, A. & Lehmann, I. (2009). Mathematical amazements and

surprises. New York: Prometheus Books.
GeoGebra

Using GeoGebratube
GeoGebra

A Classroom Situation
 Your student Sam gets a perfect score on
a math long test.
 You return the paper and say, “You’re so
smart; you got a perfect score!”
 Sam feels so proud, especially since he
did not even have to study as much as his
classmates did.
 Sam feels good, and you feel good.
 Can you relate?
GeoGebra

The Wrong Kind of Praise

 A group of psychologists, led by Carol
Dweck, performed a series of experiments.
 Two groups of 5th-grade children solved
puzzles (easy enough that they can do it)
 First group: “Wow, that’s a really good
score. You must be very smart at this.”
 Second group: “Wow, that’s a really good
score. You must have tried really hard.”
 This one sentence surprisingly led to very
different results.
GeoGebra

What happened?
 Both groups were offered to try a more
difficult test that can help them learn more.
 Majority of the first group declined.
 90% of the second group wanted to try.
GeoGebra

The next part of the

experiment…
 Both groups were given a difficult task.
 Students from the first group struggled and
became frustrated.
 Students who were praised for their effort
focused hard and even thrived under the
situation.
GeoGebra
The experiments are part of a
larger research on mindsets.

Dweck identified two kinds of

mindsets:

Fixed Growth
mindset mindset
GeoGebra

Students with a fixed mindset

 think that intelligence is a fixed trait and a
natural gift.
 they are as smart as they’ll ever get
 view effort as an indication of a flaw
 base their self-image on their capacity to
attract attention
 try to avoid challenges so that they can
look “smart”
GeoGebra

Students with a growth mindset

 think that their abilities can be developed
through effort and perseverance.
 understand that although not everyone is
equally gifted, hard work can enable them
to do things they could not do before.
 focus on learning and development
 see failure as opportunities to learn
GeoGebra

Now that you know about

mindsets…

What can you tell

Sam?
You can still praise
him…
GeoGebra

But praise him for…

his efforts
his strategies

his clear solutions

what he
learned
If one considers mathematics to be a fixed
body of knowledge, then technology would
primarily be that of an efficiency tool.
However, if mathematics is viewed as new
understandings of relations, purposes, and
processes, then technology becomes a
conceptual tool.
Olive and Makar (2010)
Why calculators?
 Why calculators?
The use of calculators aims to facilitate
more exploratory approaches to the
learning of concepts and allow students to
focus on discovering patterns and making
generalizations. It should also facilitate the
use of more authentic data, which
may be difficult to work with without
calculators.
Singapore Ministry of Education (2007)
 Why calculators?
Aside from these reasons, Yeap Ban Har
(2008) also identified visualization-type
tasks where performing calculations is not
the primary learning goal.
 Exploring Roots
• Find one real solution of x4 – x – 4 = 0
• Table Mode (Mode 9)
 Exploring Roots
• Find one real solution of x4 – x – 4 = 0
• Table Mode (Mode 9)

• Alternative solution: Equation/Func Mode

(Mode A)
 Exploring Roots
A rectangular box with a
volume of 2 2 ft3 has a
square base. The
diagonal of the box is 1 ft
longer than each side of
the base. What boxes
satisfy the given
conditions? Suggestion:
Use Range -3 to 3, Step
= 0.5
Stewart, J. (2012). Precalculus, 6th-ed. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
 Visualization-Type Task
Find the area of the triangle.

Stewart, J. (2012). Precalculus, 6th-ed. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

 Using your calculator
• Equation/Func Mode (Mode A)
 Authentic Data
Cohort survival rate (SY 2010-11)
Region ARMM CAR NCR I II III IVA IVB V

Elem 40.69 75.03 85.62 83.60 78.76 82.11 84.00 74.68 76.62

HS 68.50 78.39 81.67 83.58 81.49 81.62 83.82 74.4 76.94

Region VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII
Elem 73.59 80.33 73.61 60.93 67.92 66.23 65.03 72.87

HS 79.90 79.49 73.13 73.08 84.08 75.30 76.77 74.60

Source: Department of Education, cited in the 2012 Philippine

Yearbook.
 Find the following
• Mean
• Standard Deviation
• Maximum
• Minimum
• Range
• Population Variance
• Population Standard Deviation
 Using the calculator

Enter Data (follow each entry with =)

Mean of Grouped Data (Intro)
 Using the calculator

Enter Data (follow each entry with =)

Using the calculator
 Using the calculator

On C1, type:
Result
 Get the sum

With cursor on B7, type:

 Get the sum

With cursor on B7, type:

On C7, also get the sum of C1 to C6.

 Get the sum

With cursor on B7, type:

On C7, also get the sum of C1 to C6.

On C8 find C7/B7.
 Alternative Method:
1-Variable Statistics
From Calc (default) mode, type:

(This is to turn FREQUENCY on).

 Alternative Method:
1-Variable Statistics

To find the mean:

 Authentic Data
Registered number of marriages (24-70 age level)

Source: National Statistics Office Vital Statistics

Reports, cited in the 2012 Philippine Yearbook
Authentic Data
 Authentic Data
Find an exponential model for the data using (a)
GeoGebra, and (b) Casio ClassWiz.
 Using Math as a Springboard for
Discussing Real-World Issues

Photo source: Davao Museum

 Using Math as a Springboard for
Discussing Real-World Issues

https://www.facebook.com/OldDavaoCity/photos/pb.374820512538655.-
2207520000.1435631509./447696138584425/?type=3&theater
Teaching Mathematics for
Social Justice
 Probability Investigations
• Generate a random sequence of 0s and
1s (Mode 8; table mode)
 Probability Investigations
• Result: Random Numbers
Activity: Real vs Fake
 Activity: Real vs Fake
• One group: generates random numbers
using the calculator
• Another group: “invents” random numbers
manually
• After showing your results, I will try to
predict the real and fake random numbers
 Theoretical vs Experimental
Probability
• Previous example: Tossing one coin
• Tossing two coins (use two columns)
• Selecting a card and determining its suit
(use RanInt#(1,4))
 Investigation
• Table Mode (Mode 8)
• On A1, type 0
• On A2
 Investigation

• Choose a Linear Function (e.g., y = 2x – 1).

 Investigation

• Choose a Linear Function (e.g., y = 2x – 1).

• Suppose that the values in column A are the
x-values.
 Investigation

• Choose a Linear Function (e.g., y = 2x – 1).

• Suppose that the values in column A are the
x-values.
• Use Fill Formula in cells B1:B10 to show the
corresponding y-values.
 Investigation

• Choose a Linear Function (e.g., y = 2x – 1).

• Suppose that the values in column A are the
x-values.
• Use Fill Formula in cells B1:B10 to show the
corresponding y-values.
• What do you notice? Compare results.
 Investigation

• Let us see differences between the y-

values.
• On C2,
 Investigation

• What do you notice about the answers in

Column C?
 Investigation

• What do you notice about the answers in

Column C?
• Will the same thing happen for quadratic
functions? Investigate by changing the
formulas in B1:B10.
 Investigation
• What about cubic functions?
• What about y = 2x?
Here, the Fill Formula is:
Pattern for Linear Functions
x y
0

y = ax + b 1
2
3
4
5
6
Pattern for Linear Functions
x y
0 b
a
y = ax + b 1 a+b
a
2 2a + b
a
3 3a + b
a
4 4a + b
a
5 5a + b
a
6 6a + b
Pattern for Quadratic Functions
x y = ax2 + bx + c
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Pattern for Quadratic Functions
x y = ax2 + bx + c
0 c
a+b
1 a+b+c 2a
3a + b
2 4a + 2b + c 2a
5a + b
3 9a + 3b + c
7a + b
4 16a + 4b + c
9a + b
5 25a + 5b + c
11a + b
6 36a + 6b + c
 Problem
• Find a formula each of the following
patterns. Then find the number of dots in
the 87th figure.

http://www.jontreby.com/home2/ahsmaths/topics/algebra-2/a2-8-2
 Problem
• Find a formula for the triangular
numbers. Then find the number of dots in
the 87th figure.
 Problem
• Find a formula for the hexagonal
numbers. Then find the number of dots in
the 32nd figure.

http://www.biblewheel.com//GR/GR_Figurate.php
 Problem
• Find a formula for the star numbers. Then
find the number of dots in the 32nd figure.

http://www.biblewheel.com//GR/GR_Figurate.php
 Problem (use Spreadsheet)
• List four different numbers that have a
mean of 50.
• What if we also require that exactly three
of the four numbers are less than 50?
• What if we require one of the numbers to
be greater than 100?
• What if none of the four numbers are less
than 50?
 A Challenge
The 2-digit numbers 13 and 62 are such that
their product 13x62 and the product of the
numbers formed by reversing the digits of 13
and 62 (31x26) are the same. The digits
used are all different. Find five other such
pairs of numbers. Describe how the digits
are related to each other.
(Yeap Ban Har, 2008)
Why calculators?
 Sayang lang… if we use
technology just to get the
answer more quickly.
 Sayang lang… if we use
technology just to display the
book in front…
 Sayang lang… if we use
technology just to get the
answer more quickly.
 Sayang lang… if we use
technology just to get the
answer more quickly.
 Why calculators?
The use of calculators aims to facilitate
more exploratory approaches to the
learning of concepts and allow students to
focus on discovering patterns and making
generalizations. It should also facilitate the
use of more authentic data, which
may be difficult to work with without
calculators.
Singapore Ministry of Education (2007)
 Why calculators?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XMeocLflc
 Why calculators?
• Cookbook strategy – knowing the rules by
following a “recipe” (kayang sumunod).
• Relational understanding – identifying an
appropriate strategy, and carrying it out
(may diskarte).
• APSA is committed to deliver excellent
and focused assessment technologies and
competence-development programs for
the academe and the industry to ensure
the highest standards of scholastic, work
performance and stakeholders
satisfaction.