Like the vast majority of my classmates, I was not looking forward to starting EDBE 8P29 at Brock University. I had previously believed that the last math class I would ever have to take in school was Grade 12 Data Management & Probability, and I was less than ecstatic to discover that this was not the case. Math had never been my strong...

As hilarious as this clip from CBC's Mr. D is, trust me when I say you DON'T want to end up like this guy. Mr. D embodies the worst kind of teacher - one who does not take assessment seriously. Mr. D's version of assessment is chaotic at worst, and norm-referenced at best - and unfortunately, it is far from the best.  Throughout the...

One of the highlights of this topic was the in-class mini lesson provided by two of my peers this week. May and Kaytlyn created a very helpful interactive lesson about Data Management using an app called Nearpod. I loved this app, because it allows teachers to use tech in the classroom, in a way that creates a collaborative learning environment for students. Not...

How many tools can you think of that help us measure? Chances are that you immediately thought of a ruler or scale. If you thought of a watch, measuring cup, or a thermometer, give yourself a pat on the back. But don't stop there! Measurement isn't restricted to classifying size, weight, time or temperature. Protractors measure angles, speedometers measure speed, barometers measure air...

I absolutely lost it in class this week when this video was played during our lesson: I believe James Blunt's Your Beautiful was released when I was 15 years old. At the time, I believed it was the sole most romantic song ever. Never did I guess that I would rediscover my love for the sappy ballad nearly 10 years later, in math class,...

I hate to admit it, but prior to this class, I very seldom thought of patterning and algebra as related. Patterning, to me, was about repeating images and numbers. It was a visual arrangement; a part of mathematics that was tangible and easier to understand than algebra. Algebra was mystery. It was about solving unknowns, and it was usually a challenge. Algebra looked...

I'm beginning to develop a new-found appreciation for math-based storybooks. Initially, The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Fraction Book left a bad taste in my mouth, pun very much intended. I found the book to be rather vapid, thanks to its general lack of a plot. This week, however, we read another mathematically-themed book, If You Hoped Like a Frog by David M. Schwartz. This picture...

Integers was the topic of study in this week's math class. Although dealing with negative numbers can sometimes be stressful to some students, we discovered several ways to make adding and subtraction with positive and negative numbers fun.  Our first activity revolved around a game called Integer Football. Although I am not a fan of sports in the least, I did find this...

Fractions don't seem to be the most popular topic with students, and I can certainly relate. It's not that I find fractions to be extremely challenging, but rather that I do not find them to be particularly engaging.  For whatever reason, fractions often felt abstract to me, and I did not enjoy comparing them. As many young students will affirm, it is sometimes...

There were two themes to our learning this week in math class. The more obvious theme was Whole Number Operations. We (re)learned how to add, subtract, cross multiply and complete long division. While these operations probably should have been easy to complete, I'd be lying if I said I didn't quickly Google how to properly do long division. It's been a very long...

Here's hoping you read the title of my blog, "Mathematical!" in the voice of Finn, from the cartoon Adventure Time. One of my favourite things about the quirky kids show was its use of math related terms as synonyms for "awesome" or "cool". Too often kids are led to believe that math is stuffy and boring, and something of a chore. I personally...