Journal Summary- Going with the Flow

Going with the Flow: Challenging Students to Make Assumptions

Mathew D. Felton, Cynthia O. Anhalt, and Ricardo Cortez 

 

Felton, Mathew D., Anhalt, Cynthia O., Cortez, Ricardo. (2015).  Going with the flow: challenging students to make assumptions. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. (20, 6).

 

This  article mainly focuses on the concept of modeling mathematics problems. The article talks about a unit which was made for pre-service teachers to discuss using modeling.  Many students think that modeling just means drawing pictures, using manipulatives, making graphs, etc. This is not exactly true, modeling is a process which includes many steps. According to the CCSSM, these steps inclue; making sense of the problem, determining what information is needed, coming up with a solution, interpreting results, determining if the solution makes sense, and reporting the solution. The example given in the article is about water conservation. The problem is to determine whether baths or showers conserve more water. In order to solve this problem, the student would have to work through the whole process of modeling. 

I think that this article is helpful for teachers. Prior to reading it, I also shared the assumption that modeling could be as simple as just drawing a picture under your work. This is something important that teachers need to have an understanding of. Mathematics teachers will be able to include real-world type problems and examples of how to model them. This will help their students to understand and follow the process.