This activity gave students the opportunity to use mathematics through the lens of the scientific process.
Question
Students were posed the following question:
Hypothesis
Using a visible thinking routine, students were asked to think of "tugs", or reasons why they support a certain side of the question.
Hypothesis ranged from a strong yes, to a no, and even yes and no:
- Yes, taller people jump further I think because they have longer legs. -Izzy
- Yes, taller people are probably a bit stronger so they can probably jump further. - William
- It is a no and yes, because I think it depends on how strong you are and how heavy you are. I'll need to find out more before I can say yes or no. - Tony
- No, because the taller people are heavier so they drop faster so they can't jump as far. - TJ
- No, because taller people are heavier than shorter people so they won't be able to jump as far. - Aqif
Learner Profiles
As a class we discussed what Learner Profiles we should all be mindful of for a successful investigation:
- Principled - We need to be principled because if we make a jump of 120 cm, we can't say we jumped 150 cm even though no one is looking. - Dan
- Caring - We shouldn't get mad if we don't get the best jump. We should be caring to others and tell them they did a good job because they tried their best. - Kris
- Thinker - We will need to be thinkers to know how to use the measuring tape and rulers. - Ben
- Inquirer - We will need to ask questions and think for ourselves. - Theresa
- Risk-Taker - You can't be worried about making the best jump and just try your best to jump. - Antonina
Is it Fair? Experiment
Students were asked, "What would we need to follow to make sure our investigation is fair?"
- When you jump, you should measure where the top of your toe lands, not where your hand falls, or the back of your foot. - Paula
- You need to measure from zero when you use the measuring tape. - Jung Seo
- You need to stand behind the black line, not on the black line or on top of it. - James
- You shouldn't run and jump. You need to just stand and jump. - Minh Anh
- We need to take turns so we don't jump into people's area and ruin their jumps. - An Dan
Conducted an Experiment
Our mathematical focus was:
- Compare, order, and describe objects by various measurable attributes for length
- Select and use appropriate tools and units to measure length
Students carried out tests by jumping and measured the length of their jump using centimeter/meter rulers.
Analyzed the Results & Made a Conclusion
Students shared their results and some changed their position on the "Yes" and "No" continuum of our original hypothesis.
- No, Dong Jae is shorter than Nhat Anh, but he jumped further. Paula is very tall, but she made the smallest jump.
- Yes and no because Dong Jae is shorter than Nhat Anh, but if Dong Jae was gone then you can see Nhat Anh jumped further than Aqif and Dan jumped further than Minh Anh and they are both taller. There is a pattern that answers yes, but there are also patterns that answer no.
As a class we brainstormed other questions we could investigate. Students then worked in groups to come up with their own mathematical experiment.
