Mixed Mathematics Class

This week we completed activities that would be completed in the grade 12 mixed math class. The first activity was about domain and range of a function. First four stations were set up around the class: inequalities, words, number line and list of numbers. Then each student was given 3 pieces of paper that represented one of the stations. After this, the students from each station then collaborated to match there equivalent statements that were represented in the different ways. This allowed for collaboration and for students to actively see that a range of numbers can be represented in four different ways. At the end we were given a hand out with graphs and students would state the domain and range using two different notations. This then allowed students to apply what they just demonstrated in the beginning of the activity.

The next activity we did was about investigating exponential functions. To begin the activity an example was shown using an email chain. The first person sent the email to one person the email to two people, and then those two people sent to two more people and then all of those people sent the email to two more people etc. Everyone who got an email stood at the front of the room in a line for each group of emails, It was shown that in the first group there was one person, then two, then 4 and then 8 (figure 1). This was then graphed using Desmos to show that it is an exponential function of y=2^x. This was a great way to visually show how exponential growth works as well as get the students up and moving. Then a handout was given and students were asked to use their personal devises to access Desmos and graph three groups of exponential functions. One group exponential growth, the other was exponential decay and the third was 1^x (a horizontal line of y=1). This was a great way to visually see the graphs and see how the variable a in y=a^x affects the graph. This was another great and engaging activity that incorporates technology.