Algebra and probability concepts in mathematics
ALGEBRA AND PROBABILITY CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS 2
Taking everything you have learned in this course and consolidating it into a meaningful portfolio you can
use as a resource in your classroom is the focus of this assignment. Your portfolio must include the
following (I have attached the chapters that we used and all of my assignments):
- Your mathography from Week 1
- How has your mathography changed because of this course?
- A 1-page explanation of what you have learned in terms of algebra, probability, and data analysis
- Examples from your readings over the past four weeks
- How are you going to change the way you teach?
- A 1-page explanation of how you are going to change the way you teach algebra, probability, and data
analysis based on what you have learned - Include strategies and ideas you gained from your readings over the past four weeks
- A list of activities, strategies, and online resources you will use in your teaching practice to meet the
diverse learning needs of students in your classroom. Please include justification for use of these
resources. - Include a brief description of each and include activities for each concept (algebra, probability, and data
analysis).
*If appropriate, include examples of student work illustrating the use of activities, strategies, and online
resources.
Question 1-Mathography
The study over the past few weeks has been fantastic. I have been able to pick various
concepts regarding successful actions that can help students perform better in mathematics. Most
of the students have a negative attitude towards the subject especially on the topics of algebra,
ALGEBRA AND PROBABILITY CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS 3
probability and data analysis (McKellar, 2009). This can be attributed to the ways of teaching,
and it is possible to change their attitudes by implementing some reforms.
Some fundamental reforms need to be adopted. The class has opened up my mind to
adopt the idea of using practical examples in the teaching process. Taking algebra for instance,
which is one of the major concepts applicable in real-life. The use of examples stimulates the
mind of the students and empowers them to associate the algebra concept with activities that they
can relate to (Van de Walle et al., 2013). This will lead to a better understanding since in the
class textbook reliance will be at a minimum.
Probability, on the other hand, can apply the use of theoretical and experimental analysis
to aid understanding. The example of baseball probability presented in the possibility of
perfection article. The article promoted the idea of using games where students can actively
participate to explore the concepts of probability. In the article, the aim was to calculate the
probability of perfect game occurring by analyzing data from previous games (Masse, 2001).
Leadership can play an important role in promoting a better understanding of
mathematics. Teachers should consider working as a team to help students understand various
ideas. Students may have a good understanding in one area and weakness in the other area.
Through collaboration, teachers can be able to share this information to promote mathematics
performance (Van de Walle et al., 2013).
The other idea that I learned is about generalization. Students have different abilities and
thus generalizing them leads to poor performance. Creating time to interact with students one on
one will help the tutor understand every student’s weakness and strength (Van de Walle et al.,
ALGEBRA AND PROBABILITY CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS 4
2013). This is important in the implementation of different strategies to aid each student to
understand the topic of algebra.
Question 2-Future changes in the way of teaching
Change is critical in improving the students’ performance in mathematics. Previously, I
have been relying on the course book content too much. The class session has been important in
enabling me to see the benefits of using real-life examples in teaching. I have learned that the
shift from textbook teaching to activities that the students can relate with is vital. The activities
create a positive attitude in the mind of the student and they can remember the concepts.
Furthermore, collaboration is important in ensuring that the teaching is effective. I will
influence my colleagues into adopting the leadership concept of teaching. We will work as a
team to help the students utilize their good skills in not only algebra but also other areas of
mathematics. The idea of working as a team can easily be embraced even by the students
themselves. They will be able to work with their classmates to improve on mathematics
performance.
Motivation will also play a critical role in teaching algebra. I will only inform the
students of the various exciting areas where probability, data analysis, and algebra are applicable.
Followed by providing some information for instance on how these concepts impact science and
technology. The aim of all this is to trigger interests among the students thus a change of attitude
(McKellar, 2009). Later on, I will challenge the students to explore further readings on the topic.
Lastly, I will embrace the idea of creating time for the students. Generalizing them is
wrong since the students have different capabilities. Some may need additional lessons and
homework that can help them improve their performance. The school schedule is a bit tight, but
ALGEBRA AND PROBABILITY CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS 5
it will not hurt to create a few minutes to help my students, as their success will bring me
satisfaction and joy. Teaching is a noble task and taking the opportunity to help the learners is
essential. The implementation of the lessons learned from this class will be quite helpful in my
next step of delivering probability, algebra, data analysis concepts and other areas of
mathematics.
Question 3-List of activities, online sources, and strategies for learning
Learning involves the use of various strategies, integration of various activities and
online sources of analysis to ensure better understanding. Teaching alone cannot yield the best
results. The use of activities such as exercise and social interaction with other students can help
them to refresh their minds. This will prepare them for the next class especially when it comes to
mathematics.
The students should also be grouped into teams that can help them analyze various
concepts and provide solutions. Discussions are considered to aid better understanding of ideas
since the students get the opportunity to share various methods to obtain a solution. The students
can also be encouraged to answer questions in class by rewarding them points that will
contribute to their final grades on the subject. This will create confidence in the students and
prepare them psychologically to handle more complex tasks.
The world has become so dependent on the digital platform. This tool can be used to
promote mathematics in schools. The use of a social media platform, for instance, can help
students communicate with their colleagues from different parts of the world and thus develop
better ways of improving their performance. Other teachers in the school and students can also
share online sources. This will aid them to gain a better understanding of the various
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mathematical concepts. The students to search for more explanations on the concepts of
probability, data analysis, and algebra can also use the Internet.
Strategies such as the use of exams and tests can help in analyzing the student’s abilities.
Assignments can also be given out to groups and also to individual students to gauge their
understanding of the concepts. The use of practice questions will play a significant role in
ensuring the students develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and thus increase their
performance. To ensure, that the students understand the algebra and probability concepts. I will
give them a test after every unit on the subject before progressing to the next unit.
Question 4-Brief explanation of activities in algebra, probability and data analysis
In algebra, the use of some activities such as metacognitive process helps in promoting a
better understanding of concepts. This is mainly meant to enable students to interpret basic
aspects before moving to complex concepts. Teachers should always aim at giving exercises that
can analyze the understanding of the students. The results can, after that, be used to gauge the
students to know the next level of algebra they can handle.
Probability is an interesting concept. The use of activities such as story solving and
predicting future performance can help in promoting a better understanding of the concept. The
use of real-life examples, in this case, is critical since it makes the algebra concept clear and
makes them easily recall them during exams. Interpreting other complex questions relating to
probability is made easier, and thus students can develop a positive attitude to the concept and
even do the same to other topics in mathematics discipline (Van de Walle et al., 2013).
Data analysis is applicable not only in the career world but the personal lives of
individuals as well. The use of assignments, in this case, is critical especially for a group setting.
ALGEBRA AND PROBABILITY CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS 7
The students are likely to interpret and share their ideas, which can help in eliminating errors.
Some students are outstanding in interpretation while others are good in calculations. Putting
together the different students will ensure that they utilize their skills to come up with the best
solution while helping each other deal with their weaknesses in data analysis. There is no
limitation to which form of activity a teacher can apply and therefore, it is important to analyze
the student skills before employing the activities. Probability, algebra and data analysis can be
more interesting if the inclusion of relevant activities is made (Kelly, 2014).
Question 5- Examples of student work using different activities, strategies and online
sources.
Students can apply different activities, strategies, and online sources to aid them to
understand the mathematics concepts. The use of fieldwork research, for instance, can aid in
analyzing various concepts in algebra, data analysis as well as in probability. Fieldwork research
is involving and triggers the interest of the students in learning algebra and mathematics. By
allowing students to get out more, they will be able to obtain first-hand information regarding the
importance of changing their attitude towards this important discipline.
Strategies such as exams and continuous assessment tests can be given out frequently.
Employing tests at the end of each week, for instance, is critical in assessing the level of
understanding different levels of algebra. The rule of multiplication and addition in algebra, for
instance, can be tested at the end of each lesson to assess each student’s weakness. Use of
assignment can be alternated with test also to test on subtraction and divisions concept of algebra
(Kelly, 2014).
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Online sources such as the provision of links to relevant and reliable sources for further
reading can help students with data analysis. Class work alone cannot guarantee a 100 percent
pass but using other alternative learning tools such as online sources can improve performance.
Students should also be encouraged to share information on their learning with students from
other schools for instance on Facebook. Time should not be wasted in irrelevant chats, but
instead, it can be used to promote a better understanding of the mathematics subject. Research
indicates that young people like online communication and thus this can be used to promote
improved performance in mathematics. There is no perfect way of supporting learning, but the
combination of these alternative-learning methods can help in improving the student grades.
(Judge, 2015)
References
Judge, S., Floyd, K., & Jeffs, T. (2015). Using mobile media devices and apps to promote young
children’s learning. In Young Children and Families in the information age (pp. 117-
131). Springer Netherlands.
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Kelly, A. E., Lesh, R. A., & Baek, J. Y. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of design research methods in
education: Innovations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning
and teaching. Routledge.
Masse, L. (2001). The possibility of perfection. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School,
6(9), 500-506.
McKellar, D. (2009). Kiss my math (1st ed.). New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Van de Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S. & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2013). Elementary and middle school
mathematics: Teaching developmentally (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
