Teachers share success stories and ideas that stimulate thinking about the effective use of technology in K–grade 6 classrooms. This article describes a set of lessons where sixth graders use virtual pattern blocks to develop proportional reasoning. Students' work with the virtual manipulatives reveals a variety of creative solutions and promotes active engagement. The author suggests that technology is most effective when coupled with worthwhile mathematical tasks and rich classroom discussions.
Browse
Kathy A. Bacon
Presented with a variety of palatable, inquiry-based, creative learning choices in geometry, this teacher and her fifth graders found tremendous satisfaction in meeting target goals for reasoning skills and taking important “next steps” in learning.