Relevant Math for Middle Schoolers

School:: Cypress Palm Middle
Subject:: Mathematics
Teacher:: Karen Torres
Students Impacted:: 45
Grade:: 8
Date:: August 16, 2015

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

CareerSource Southwest Florida - $1,757.00

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 45

The goal of the project was to interest the students in the math we were learning by gathering and working with our own data. By using real data that we were interacting with, the students would draw conclusions and create solutions. I learned that by increasing the interest level of the data we were working with , the students were more engaged in their learning. The use of the technology came very naturally to them. The labs inspired so much discussion and "thinking like scientists". I hope to develop additional projects for the use of this equipment to include in my lessons for next year.

Original Grant Overview

Goal

After participating in the STEM Institute Summer Workshop presented by the Conservancy and the Whitaker Center this summer, I would like to inspire my students to be involved in their math using real, pertinent data. The activities will allow them to use scientific data they gathered and manipulate it within our math concepts to draw conclusions and create solutions to problems.

What will be done with my students

Students will use the Labquest2 sensors and probes to collect, organize, graph and analyze data. The variety of sensors and probes allows for us to monitor the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in our classroom, record and monitor data on the wetland on campus and gather personal data as we incorporate a health and nutrition project in our math curriculum. Within each of these 3 projects, a problem will be posed. Through the data analysis and the conclusions they draw, they will design a solution and present it. The data will be utilized in Conceptual Unit 2: Proportions, relations, and functions, Conceptual Unit 3: Solving equations and systems of equations, and Conceptual Unit 6: Statistics. Data for the classroom air and the campus wetland will be collected all year. Each of the Conceptual Units is about 2 months long.

Benefits to my students

Students become more involved in math when it has meaning to them. As they gather and analyze data about themselves, their classroom and the schoolyard, their interest in knowing will be there. They will be engaged in their learning. The projects are STEM based, making the natural connections between math, science, engineering and technology. There is nothing more real-world to a student than something tied directly to them. It has also been my experience that when students are working with math concepts within other disciplines, they forget that they may dislike math or think they can’t do it. Having a purpose for using math concepts and skills gives the math knowledge more value and they retain the learning they have gained.

Budget Narrative

The tools with which we gather the data are the Labquest2 and sensors and probes. Having two Labquest2s available would facilitate the data being collected in a station setting. The eight types of sensors and probes would enable us to complete 3 projects, supporting 8th grade science concepts and reviewing 7th grade concepts.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Labquest2 x 2	$658.00
2	PH Sensor	$79.00
3	Light Sensor	$55.00
4	Turbidity	$112.00
5	Temperature	$29.00
6	Dissolved Oxygen	$209.00
7	Hearty Rate x 2	$178.00
8	Oxygen Gas Sensor	$188.00
9	Carbon Dioxide Gas Sensor	$249.00
	Total:	$1,757.00

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