Last Class.

17 August 2013

Today’s lesson was very enriching and interesting. I had lots of fun. It was worth it to come to class on a SATURDAY morning. We did 2 interesting activities.

1. Card Trick

I had seen this trick before and is always curious to know how to do it. When Ms. Peggy told us to find out the trick behind the card trick, I was very keen. After much trial and error and trying to ways on how the trick works, finally, my partner and I unveil the “secret” behind this trick.

Well, it was not something amazing and “magical” though but the satisfaction that I gained was great. All I can say is that the trick is all about MATH.

 

2. Paper Cutting

This is another interesting activity. I didn’t expect a simple cutting activity can also be a math problem solving exercise. This activity is a group one. We had to predict and guess on what the paper will look like after being folded for the 4^th and 5^th time and cut at its right angle corner. The results look intricate if the paper is folded more times. However, there is a “trick” to it.

All you need to learn is to VISUALISE AND FIND THE PATTERN.

If you can visualize and see the pattern, you can easily predict and guess the pattern that will surface after cutting the paper which had been folded many times without having to have the concrete materials.

Ms. Peggy also touched on differentiating instructions. Instructions can be differentiated by

-          Content

-          Process

-          Product

This is differentiation in instructions are to cater to children’s individual needs. It helps in enhancing each child’s fullest potential without pressurizing them. This is because the instructions and activities are planned according to their level of understanding.

All in all, the 6 sessions on Elementary Mathematics with Dr. Yeap and Ms. Peggy were very fruitful and meaningful. I gained many useful knowledge from them and it was very refreshing to be learning math again – in different yet interesting ways.