Olympics and Math

Every four years in Canada we are given a wonderful opportunity to mix our Canadian tradition and heritage into the classroom.  Canada has a long and storied history of doing well in the winter version of the Olympics.  In 2010 our class utilized the Vancouver Olympics to study in-depth a variety of math strands.  The activities used also worked during the previous Olympics as well.

Our unit started with looking at Canada's history in past Olympics.  The data management strand offers some very easy connections to this part of the unit.  Students begin by collecting data from a variety of websites (ex. olympic.ca) and creating a variety of graphs.  Data is also used to create and test hypothesis using scatter graphs in grade 8 (ex. Does the money given for a gold medal equate to more hardware for a given country?).  These activities serve to give the student relevant real world data and also create an increase in national pride.

Once the Olympics begin, the students continue to collect data throughout.  In intermediate they analyze the variety of data (medal winners, historical trends, # of athletes, etc.) and determine which type of graph best suits their needs.  This of course leads to the discussion about the purpose of their data and how data can be leading or 'mis'leading.  Students then need to make inferences and convincing arguments base on their data collection.

There are many curriculum connections in the number sense also factors heavily in our discussion throughout the games.  The students can move beyond simple textbook and worksheet questions that may have little connection to their lives by using math they are immersed in throughout the study.  Students use percentages to calculate which countries are doing well (% of medal winners) versus countries that are disappointing.  It is always a lively discussion when we talk about disappointment and how 4th place may seem disappointing, but means you are still fourth in the world.

The students favourite unit involves the unit on percentages and tax.  We try to figure out what a vacation to watch the Olympics would generally cost by making a budget based on data.  Vancouver (yikes!) ended up being very expensive.  Using data from a variety of sources students need to find flights, lodging and of course tickets to watch their favourite events.

Having completed this unit over the past three Olympics, my main reflection is the increased use do technology.  Students are able to follow live Olympic updates, use programs such as Tinkerplots and spreadsheets for graphing, and I-pads or computers for research.  The two seem to go hand in hand in bringing out meaningful math and making the students interested and intrigued in concepts that can get tired when using out of date information.

It also goes without saying that this unit fits quite nicely in other subject areas well.  Teachers can easily incorporate language arts, health and science topics with the Olympics.  The unit also includes completing the events in phys. ed.  class complete with medal ceremonies.  Every time the students complete the unit their reflections always speak highly in regards to fun and interest in math during the Olympic activities.  Every four years I look forward to utilizing the Olympics and in 2010 our Olympians didn't disappoint.

"Not a Math Person"

While teaching math, one can commonly hear a student exclaim, "I'm not a math person".

I dislike this saying, because I think we all have some "math" inside of us. Maybe I'm an optimist and hopeful for all of my students, but I believe that everyone can do it, they just need to have the attitude and the opportunities to experiment and figure it out with support from someone who knows the answer to guide them along the way.

Another thing wrong with this saying, is the assumptions that go along with it. To most students who say this, they are thinking about the numbers, equations, and representations that they just don't understand. But math isn't just about numeric skills. There's other aspects that contribute to a student's mathematical mind, numbers are only a tiny part of math. For example, seeing patterns, strategy games, and word problems all contribute to a mathematical mind!

This saying also assumes that math is either a skill that comes easily, one that comes with hard work, or one that doesn't come at all! Most students tend to rule out the middle option though ("one that comes with hard work"). They'd rather believe that they don't have the skill than have to work hard for it. Of course, this is a generalization and does not account for all students who struggle with math. Part of this belief is brought about by socialization through a student's family, but also through education and how in elementary years it is mainly about numbers and developing those basic skills in order to get to the abstract concepts in the later elementary years, high school and university.

As teacher's we have to realize that some student's are going to have this opinion about their math skills and abilities. We have to be ready to observe and know how to pin point students that believe this about themselves and help them to overcome this opinion. Math is more than numbers, and everyone has the possibility to be a "math person" and we as math teacher's have the opportunity, maybe even the privilege, to show students the path towards success!

Happy math teaching!