Application of Gerofsky's (2011) article on graphing and gestures
Reading C: Gerofsky (2011) “Seeing the graph and being the graph”
Activity: “Function Charades”
Introduction: After reading Gerofsky’s (2011) article, I designed the game “Function Charades'' based on the activities conducted in her research on graphs and gestures. I explored this game with a Grade 6 class, and intentionally re-named it “Function Charades” instead of “Graph Charades” to move away from known math connotations. They were told the game was a combination of "Taboo" and "Charades". During the game, observations were made on how the students moved, the words they chose to use, and how they progressed from observing each other’s technique round to round.
Students: There were a total of 17 students in this section, participation to play or observe the game was optional. 14 opted to join in. Students had a variety of mathematical experiences, though most in this section are quite confident and comfortable with each other. The students have some prior knowledge of graphing, coordinate systems, the x-axis and y-axis from previous grades, and Science 6, but have not officially been taught the Cartesian plane, quadrants, or functions. Though the students were aware that it was a math game, they were encouraged to not think about it as a math game. Their objective was to simply convey enough information either verbally (Speaker) or physically (Actor) to one student (Drawer/Guesser) who would then draw the image as close as possible.
Materials: The Drawer/Guesser was provided a whiteboard that had grid lines and a whiteboard pen. The Function Charades PowerPoint was shown on the Loft screen.
Observations: 2 rounds were played. Round 1 – Drawer/Guesser (T), Actors (O, J) and Speakers (D, A). Round 2 - Drawer/Guesser (L), Actor (G), Speaker (C).
Other Observations:
Students did not realize the images were graphs, completely forgot they were doing math!
Students were really engaged and enjoyed the game, and wanted to continue playing.
Great demonstration of learning techniques and prompts from each other, noted that symbols helped with the visualization.
Video 1: O's first volunteer to act out the graph in Round 1
-
Conclusion + Links
This would be a fun activity to trial with students in Math 9 and 10 who have a stronger knowledge of functions and coordinate systems. The students were given more ‘strict’ parameters than Gerofsky’s study but modifications could be made in future observations. Because there was no risk, the Grade 6 students were quite enthusiastic to be guinea pigs for this activity.
This activity linked well to Antonsen's (2015) TED talk emphasizing the need for students to find patterns, "represent patterns with language" (even if they need to make it up), make assumptions, and try new things. This activity got the students to play around with assumptions and trial techniques to determine which were successful and which perhaps were not. They had to use their imagination to think creatively to meet the objectives of the game and empathize because it was a lot harder to think on the spot than it looked, especially when others were not understanding the language or actions used.
