Monday, May 19, 2014

Connecting Math to Student Interests

Do you ever have students asking you "Why do we have to do this?  We are never going to use any of this once we leave school!"  Well, I forever have students saying that to me and so I am always looking for more examples of math connections for students, based on their interests and to keep them engaged, and to encourage them to keep taking math!

Not long ago, I came across this site which provides a multitude of math connections to consider.  In Math Central, under the tab Math Beyond School Grades 10-12, http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/browse/10-12 you will find (in alphabetical order) connections for math based on tonnes of different interests.  So, if you have a good class profile, you can see that one of your students is interested in earthquakes for example, to find the epicentre in an earthquake.  http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/earthquakes/earthquakes.html

Earthquake Epicentre


Cool, right? And, there is a link to an interactive website where YOU can try to find the epicentre of an earthquake. http://www.sciencecourseware.org/VirtualEarthquake/VQuakeExecute.html


What's a Seismogram?



The more we can show students examples of how math IS actually used in the real world and appeal to many different interests the more successful our students will be.
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1 comment:

  1. Alyssa PalazzoloMay 26, 2014 at 12:14 PM

    Hi Lynn,
    I think that it is so important to stimulate an interest in students by making the content and lessons real and relevant to their lives. Practical applications are so important! The websites you have given look like great resources and I cannot wait to use them! Using practical activities like the ones you have shown here is a great way to explain to students "WHY" they need to learn the various concepts. It shows them how they are relevant to their lives, and hopefully they will be able to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts they are a learning.

    You have also touched upon something else that is important--knowing your students! Something like this will take time, but the results are worth it. Finding their interests is something that will be beneficial in all subject areas!

    Great post and resources!

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