Talk:Quadratic Modeling with the TI-Nspire

-- Kaitlyn King 07:41, 30 April 2011 (EDT)

Hi Joseph,

You have a great start on your mini course and I love the topic you have decided to focus on! Many students have trouble with quadratics so I am excited to see your final project and how the whole unit is presented!

Can you learn something from this unit? Yes!! This unit does a great job introducing the quadratic, explaining prerequisites, and modeling the use of the TI-Nspire.

Learning outcomes: I see that the learning objectives are placed on the opening page of the course. However, they are also stated in the first unit, which is great to see as it helps the learner understand what he or she will be learning about in the first unit. You also did a great job centering these specific objectives around big ideas, it clearly communicates the goals of the lesson to the learner.

Content-goal consistency: The content and the learning experiences/goals all seem to be aligned nicely throughout this unit, so great job on this part of the lesson.

Instructional sequencing: You have done an excellent job sequencing this unit, the prerequisites that are needed, in order to complete and understand quadratics, have been placed at the beginning of the unit and clearly explained.

Engagement and interaction: The quadratic formula song is a fun tune and it seems like an effective strategy to use when initially gaining the attention of the learners. I also think the model from the TI-Nspire was a great strategy to use in this mini course. The learners will have a visual to learn from but they will also be able to refer back to the model as they work through the rest of the course. And finally, the prompts, headings, and reflective questions used, will all help to motivate the learner and encourage critical thinking.

Technical quality: The text is very informative and easy to read; however I would add a few pictures if possible to initially gain the attention of the learner. Moreover, the navigation links you have provided are great, as they make the transition between pages possible and easy to use.

Extended resources: While navigating through your portfolio page and analyzing your first unit, I was unable to find any extended resources. However, I am sure you will be adding them shortly.

Great job so far!!

-- Steph Conklin 15:29, 30 April 2011 (EDT)

Hi Joseph!

The website looks great, and it's definitely a topic where students and teachers can learn about quadratics.

Learning outcomes: I found your objectives to be clear and to cover the important concepts relating to quadratics. I wonder if you will have a chance to do an extension or problem involving a real-world physics problems. This may be nice to add in, if you have a chance and make a new objective for this cross curricular content. Content-goal consistency: The content seems to follow logically, and make sense to me. I think it will be accessible to students.

Instructional sequencing: I see that you start with a pre-req. skill, perfect squares. I think this is a great idea and will hopefully allow students to make strong connections to new ideas in the unit.

Engagement and interaction: I think that the math content can be followed easily by teachers, I would like to see maybe some video clips of actual problems being solved. The material is excellent but I worry that some students may lose the content if they do not see the math in action. Have you ever used mathtv.com, it's great!

Technical quality: Easy to read and follow, great use of graphics!

Extended resources: I did not find any extended resources, but I'm sure you will add them soon.

instructor comments on your draft units -- Jz833665 11:39, 2 May 2011 (EDT)

Your draft unit looks very solid and well designed through careful instructional analysis and sequencing. Nice work. A few suggestions:

• One of the objectives emphasizes "the value of quadratic equations in real world context". I'm wondering if you can incorporate a real-world challenge that needs to be addressing using quadratic equations, so that the learning process will be more problem-driven.
• I assume you've seen this, but you may refer to this existing mini-course in your front page and elsewhere as needed so the reader will know more about the tech tool Better Understanding of Mathematical Concepts through the Graphing Calculator
• In your design project portfolio page, you may elaborate more on what other educators may learn from your lessons, such how to use ... to teach... for deep understanding. What role do you play other than presenting the methods to students? (e.g. formative assessment and feedback? scaffolding of understanding...)