iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Peter Farrell spent more than a decade teaching math and computer science. Somewhere along the way, he began using Python to create programming challenges to pair with his lessons. But what started as a way to reinforce math concepts gradually developed into something else — a gateway to a more practical approach to math education.

Peter saw how coding projects allowed students to shift from passively learning concepts to actively working, reasoning, and playing with them. In other words, code helped them to go from learning about math to actually doing math. As he says “Why should the science, art, and home-ec students have all the fun? It’s about time we heard students saying Look what I made in math class!”

CT and math reasoning
Most coding environments allow teachers to see the student’s code thereby providing a “behind the scenes” look into the thinking that took place to solve the problem. As Marilyn Burns (2005) suggests in Looking at How Students Reason, this visible thinking is important not only when the student’s answer is wrong, but also when it is correct!  When I ask students to explain their code, I feel I am getting insight into their thinking – they explain their approach to me and I can then make sense of their reasoning. This helps me to identify and address misconceptions and misunderstandings.

Geometry example: Next time you have students coding shapes to demonstrate their understanding of geometric properties, ask them to explain their code – you’ll most certainly hear key math terms and ideas expressed as well as be able to identify and prescribe next steps, adjusting your lesson accordingly.  After all, as Burns suggests “continual evaluation of instructional choices is at the heart of improving our teaching practice” (2005).