We have been in a constant battle with algebra. We have
been in several situations where we are faced with these mathematical
statements with letters and numbers combined and associated. Some of us hated
being those situations. However, nothing beats the feeling of being able to
solve these mathematical statements and arrive with the right answer. That is
such one glorious moment!
This is one of the reasons why we chose algebra. I
believe that each one of us in that Math 1 class has his/her fair share of
memories with algebra. We want to be a part of something that will relive those
memories again. Though some of them are bad memories such as failing an exam in
Math 11 or Math 14, they are still memories that left us with lessons.
Moreover, algebra has been tied up to all the important
aspects of our society nowadays such as in education, in technology, in
economics, in politics, in health management, in research, in statistics, in
practically everything. It has laid out a strong foundation of knowledge from
where a lot of technological advances have been developed from. I cannot
imagine being in this superbly technologically advanced world without that
theorems and equations established by mathematicians from the concepts of algebra.
Being a part of Group 2, the Algebra group, I was able to
learn a lot in the short adventure that we had in learning the deeper concepts
of Algebra. For us to be able to share concepts of Algebra to the whole class,
we need to first learn it in a deeper level. I believe that as a group, we had
a good grasp of it.
We were tasked by Ma’am Cielo to have a debate related to
issues concerning algebra, a creative presentation that would highlight the
applications of algebra, and games that would challenge the capacity of our
fellow classmates in the field of algebra. As a group, we have decided to
follow the time table shown below:
|
Date
|
Activity
|
|
February 5, 2014
(Wednesday)
|
·
Amazing Race
|
|
February 7, 2014
(Friday)
|
·
Debate(Operational vs. Conceptual)
·
Video presentation (Muchacha ng
Masa)
·
Games (Pass the equation)
|
February
5, 2014
Since an amount
of time was taken from our assigned date because of the unfinished presentation
of inventions by each group, we decided to move the most important parts of our
presentation such as the debate and video presentation on February 7. Instead,
we had the amazing race. Ma’am Cielo briefed us about the possible strategy
that we could use for the assigned subtopics. She advised us to incorporate the
subtopics such as relations and functions, linear function and its graph, and
solutions to linear equations to our games.
There were five stations to which
each member of our group has been assigned to. We decided to balance out the
tension in choosing the games that we will use. There are those that are so
mind-boggling and there are those that will serve as a breath of fresh air. For
example, in my station, I asked them 4 questions and will be given 1 minute to
answer each. The twist of the game is to spell the correct answer through “butt
spelling”. They were so fun to look at in my station.
I believe that the groups had fun in
each of the station despite how difficult it is. They were able to exercise
their teamwork. Despite being covered up in sweat through running in different
stations, I witnessed smiles and laughter.
At the end of the game, this ranking
of the groups was achieved:
Computers – 1st
Number Systems –
2nd
Geometry – 3rd
Statistics – 4th
February
7, 2014
We decided to start the day with the
debate. The debate revolved on the notion “Which mathematical perspective
should be prioritized in secondary to college level education: the operational
approach or the conceptual approach? ”. We decided to use this notion because I
think that this will be a tough debate. I myself know that those two approaches
are very important in teaching algebra as they are essential in understanding
the whole idea of algebra. I felt that it will be a great challenge to us to
convince the audience that our side is better.
Before the debate was officially
started, the votes of the audience were obtained. 8 votes went to the
conceptual team. On the other hand, 7 votes went to the operational team. I
thought to myself, “This will be a very close fight. This is going to be
tough.”.
The arguments of the operational
team revolved on the fact that algebra is built based on operational thinking.
They stated that the operational approach is more efficient and more practical.
It is specific yet universal. It may be dependent yet straight-forward.
The opposition team, the conceptual
team, focused on 4 arguments. First, math is inherently conceptual. Second, the
conceptual approach builds a foundation of knowledge. Third, the conceptual
approach is general and can encompass broader fields. Lastly, the conceptual
approach removes dependency on ready-made solutions.
I noticed that the audience was
actually giving responsive reactions to most of our statements. They were
connecting with us. It is hard to establish such connection because some people
find debates boring. To be able to establish such connection, I think that is
the most important thing that we have achieved. Moreover, when we obtained the
votes at the end of the debate, the score was 13-1, in favor of the conceptual
group. This showed that one team was able to state strong points that have
encouraged the audience to switch their votes.
We decided to ease the tension by
having our short video presentation. Ma’am suggested that we apply consumerism
mathematics in this part of our presentation. We chose a plot wherein a student
(Zeul) does not have enough money for his enrolment so he asked for help from
Doris Bigornia (Nykka) who later seeked for help from her friend, Kuya Kim
(Zam). They figured out that they could loan money from the bank with an
interest per annum of 3.5% and have a soap-making business. The soap-making
business turned out to be a success. The student was able to pay his loan with
interest and was able to obtain money at the end for his enrolment. We
incorporated the concepts of interest, gross income, and budgeting in our
presentation which are also involved in the algebraic concepts.
The plot may not be complicated.
However, I think that what made our presentation unique is that it has humor
which can be seen in the lines used, the characters being played on, and the
delivery of each scene. The whole class was actually laughing their hearts out
throughout the presentation every time a new character was exposed. I, myself,
was laughing all throughout.
There was still some remaining time
left so we decided to play a game. It is derived from the game “Pass the
Message”. Instead, equations were passed on and the last person needs to solve
for the x in each equation. We started off with a difficult equation and
noticed that the class was not that hyped up. Then, we decided to give simple
equations that will challenge their swiftness in solving. It was when the
groups started to really battle it out. The results of the game can be seen
below:
Geometry - 3 pts.
Number Systems -2 pts.
Computers - 1pt.
Statistics - 0pt.
Encountering
mathematical statements with letters and numbers associated with each other may
have been a fear to some of us. However, with the right perspective in teaching
and learning them, we will be able to see that there is
beauty in these algebraic equations, formulas, and theorems. Fear will be
eliminated. We will all be able to love algebra and to love the totality of
mathematics, as well. J
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