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Re-purposing Technology Lesson Plan

Douglas D. Harrington

TE 831

Summary Box

Lesson Objectives: The student will be able to


1. Generalize patterns in transformations to sketch graphs or write equations
2. Identify how constants of an exponential equation affect key characteristics of
exponential graphs
3. Describe or translate between multiple representations of exponential
functions

Student NETS Standards Alignment:


1. Standard 1: Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop
innovative products and processes
using technology.
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities

2. Standard 2: Communication and Collaboration


Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work
collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and
contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others
employing a variety of digital environments
and media.

3. Standard 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision


Making
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Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage
projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital
tools and resources. Students:
d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative
solutions.

4. Standard 6: Technology Operations and Concepts


Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems,
and operations. Students:
a. Understand and use technology systems.

Materials:
1. Student B.Y.O.D. (Bring Your Own Device) with Internet Access
2. Teacher Desktop, SMARTboard, and Internet Access
3. Virtual Classroom Activity in Desmos
4. Vodcast Video uploaded to Vimeo

Lesson Procedure:

Before (Launch)
Begin lesson by playing the Vodcast on exponential growth. Before beginning the
lesson, discuss important characteristics of exponential functions discussed in
video including growth factor, intercepts, and asymptotes. Highlight students
prior understanding and make that thinking visible for the class. Access the
demonstration slide using the link, making sure the link is visible on the board, to
model the technology for students. Students should log into the website as well.
Circle around to make sure any technological issues are addressed promptly.

During (Exploration)
1. Introduction of Task
After students are logged into the virtual classroom on Desmos,
demonstrate the process of accessing graphs and recording solutions in
the software. Explain that students should follow the prompts in order to
connect ideas. If students attempt to work out of order, they may not have
enough information to answer the prompts effectively. Encourage students
to be as descriptive and in-depth in their responses as possible. Take time
to model an actual answer to the first question to highlight your
expectations.

2. Pairing Up
In my classroom, students are arranged in tables of four; however, this
task is best completed in pairs. As a result, students need to follow the
pairing routine to find their partner and begin their work. Students have
the freedom to begin working as soon as possible. No paper or pencil are
necessary as they can record answers in the software.

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3. Student Actions
During the task, students should be working in pairs focusing on how the
constants a, b, and c affect the key characteristics of exponential graphs (shape,
intercepts, asymptotes, domain, range, etc.). After answering each question, the
Desmos software provides the opportunity for students to access other responses
in the classroom and revise their own answers.

After exploring the transformations, students will transition between


contexts through the challenge problems. At present, students may not have all
the knowledge necessary to fully respond to each prompt; however, the
exploration should help students provide focused hypotheses.

4. Teacher Actions

The teacher should monitor the progress of the class through the Desmos
classroom dashboard. At any time, the teacher can access any slide from
any group and see in real-time what the group is working on. The
dashboard is best accessed on an iPad so that the instructor can circle
around the room, being present in each group.

Circle the room and pay attention to the mathematical language in each
group. Students have previously explored transformations of other
functions so the teacher should focus students on using precise language
(translation, reflection, shift, vertical stretch/compression, horizontal
stretch/compression, etc.). This level of language is not an expectation, but
is an opportunity to reinforce these ideas and terms.

For students struggling with identifying the role constants play in


transforming an exponential function, use Desmos to demonstrate the
graph of two separate exponential functions. Encourage students to
explain how the graphs are different and hypothesize why these
differences exist.

As responses are entered for each prompt, pay attention to patterns in


student responses using the dashboard. This opportunity to monitor
provides the foundation for developing questions for a summary
discussion. Look for common misconceptions or well-developed thoughts.
Develop questioning strategies to extend thinking on the challenge
problems.

After (Summary)
1. Class Discussion
Lead group share or reveal responses from Desmos software highlighting
the relationship between the graph and the constants of its equation. Use

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the observations/notes collected during the Explore phase to fill in any
gaps in understanding or address misconceptions. The emphasis should be
placed on patterns in transformations rather than specific examples to
help students generalize.

2. Exit Slip
Ask students to explain the transformations of an example equation
without a graph provided.

Additional Resources:

Vimeo Vodcast:
https://vimeo.com/218768566

Virtual Classroom Activity:


https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/593692c24a479b06154352
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Reflection

I chose to begin the re-purposed lesson with the Vimeo Vodcast to create

an interesting context for exploring exponential functions. Since graphing a list of

functions is abstract, at best, and unengaging, at worst, the zombie context

provides a new way to interact with the concepts. Although my pedagogical

actions and beliefs for utilizing the Vodcast could be elaborated fully, this video

meant to simply serve the setting for the Desmos exploration so the rest of this

reflection will focus on the latter.

The Desmos virtual classroom activity completely replaced a traditional

pen and pencil task which I have employed in the past to meet the same goals.

This technology provides the opportunity to instantaneously vary the value of

constants creating limitless examples for students to compare. Instead of

spending copious amounts of time creating each graph by hand, students can

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observe many times the number of graphs in the same amount of time. Before the

lesson was implemented, I hoped to leverage this increased efficiency to promote

deeper discussions about the role constants play in transformations. Finally, the

teacher dashboard facilitates continuous monitoring and feedback making visible

the questions each group completes along with solutions in real-time. My

re-purposed plan aimed to exploit these advantages.

TPACK provided the framework for planning re-purposed technology for

increased student achievement through best practices. Careful thought identified

how this technology provides greater opportunity for students to master content

than my previous instructional practices. My current content knowledge

emphasizes the importance of patterns in understanding transformations of

functions. As my previous practices for addressing this goal were clumsy, Desmos

offers opportunity to efficiently compare multitude of examples without burden.

Therefore, capitalizing on this feature of Desmos increases instructional space for

students to recognize repetition and extend patterns foundational to the

Mathematical Practices of the Common Core State Standards. The TPACK

mindset links these affordances inherent to the technology to content

expectations providing the chance to capitalize on these advantages with a little

bit of risk.

While focusing on lesson development is advantageous, TPACK also

requires thought about the lesson in action. A robust understanding of

mathematical content reveals potential pitfalls that students may experience

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while working on high cognitive-demand tasks resulting in diminished student

outcomes. Desmos removed a possible conceptual obstacle from the task

(graphing functions by hand including evaluating, plotting, and sketching

functions), in turn, further emphasizing pattern recognition. In this way, my

content understanding informed my choice of technology to emphasize the

important concept while limiting those that challenge success. Instead of splitting

my attention between new concepts and remediation, Desmos clearly increases

student engagement with the lessons goals in mind. Upon reflection, TPACK

helped focus my lesson on the most important concepts which resulted in

significant student achievement, more so than previous enactments.

Many of the advantages provided by re-purposing Desmos virtual

classroom have been tangentially discussed, but I will summarize them here for

clarity. First and foremost, the online software created a task which avoids

educational pitfalls, created by misconceptions from prior knowledge, to develop

understanding of new content more deeply. The mathematical storyline remains

clear and concise, consistently focused on transformations and patterns rather

than graphing skills. Furthermore, fewer obstacles to active participation and

understanding promote increased engagement and achievement. The amount of

student discussion increased significantly as compared to previous lessons as

Desmos provided all students with access to make observations. Finally, this

technology provided the opportunity to monitor student progress as they worked,

no matter which slide they were on. Without this ability to monitor, I would not

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have been able to quantify this increased engagement objectively or identify areas

that needed extra attention during group discussion.

A couple limitations of the technology need to be explicitly addressed. One

major complication arose when the technology failed to work on student phones.

In my preparation, I overlooked the fact that certain features of the virtual

classroom are not supported on phones as they are on tablets. Upon further

inspection, Desmos does provide icons next to the created classroom highlighting

which formats are supported, but I missed this information. As a result, the

scramble to find the departments laptop cart could have been avoided. In the

future, accessibility to different devices is an important consideration when

developing a lesson plan. Given the interactive nature of the software, Desmos

seems designed for a solitary experience. Allowing solutions to be visible creates

the illusion of collaboration despite the truth that interactions only occur in a

single direction. The software itself does not possess a discussion feature

currently. In turn, the whole class discussion proved extremely valuable in

creating an environment of give-and-take resulting in important generalizations

about transformations. This technology does not create space for the interactions

necessary for deep, conceptual understanding.

Desmos provides numerous opportunities for re-purposing the

technology. Given the ability to create your own digital interactive classroom, it

offers more than what mathematics teachers commonly use the software for an

easy-to-use graphing calculator. Specifically, the virtual classroom can be used to

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monitor students as they work through review materials, identifying common

misconceptions to be addressed before assessment. The ability to upload videos

and images as well as provide sliders for constants creates an environment

conducive to exploratory lessons. In all, this leads to an ability to create

classroom space to focus on developing mathematical models for deeper

understanding.

I constantly feel the constraints of time as I work through the skill-heavy

curriculum of Algebra 2; however, Desmos provides an opportunity to reclaim

some of that time by adapting my longer explorations into the virtual classroom.

The ease of graphing in the software leads students straight to important

observations about functions rather than toiling through repetitive procedures.

With a foundation of better observations, I can encourage students to direct

richer discussions. Students, through collaborative discussions, ultimately

determine the mastery of content which results in higher retention and increased

achievement.

This lesson also provides a chance to increase my role as a teacher-leader

in my school. With my increased familiarity with the software and my knowledge

of how it can be re-purposed in the classroom, I can help my colleagues

understand how this technology can impact their own practices and facilitate

student success. Working with a new technology always carries a sense of risk,

which is especially burdensome when the technology is unfamiliar. I can serve as

a bridge between the content, technology, and student achievement for the

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teachers in my department.

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