Taking the Time

My students completed the Des-man project through Desmos.

The original, original Des-man project was created by Fawn.  She is so inspirational.

The post by katenerdypoo at in pursuit of nerdiness, was my starting point.  Kate also teaches at an IBMYP school, and so the language and her assignment set-up made sense to me.

I used her assignment to develop my own.  I also evaluated Communication within the IBMYP framework.  I teach secondary 3, grade 9.

I let the students have one 75-minute period to work on their project.  At the end of the period, I realized that they had just barely had enough time to get used to Desmos, figure out what the project was, and begin to work.  At the end of the period I promised them another, even though on the site they suggest that it is a 45-minute lesson.

I have spent the weekend grading these assignments.  As I evaluated them, I looked through what they had produced during the first period.

One pair of students produced the following:

The first effort.

The final product

Two 75-minute periods were devoted to this assignment.  To some this may seem like a lot.  Looking back it was time very well spent.  A number of things struck me as I was grading their assignments. 

The first period allowed them to get used to the graphing calculator and do some trial and error.  The Teacher Dashboard really helped here because I was able to put it up on the SMART board, and the students were able to identify who was doing what.  I encouraged them to visit other groups and ask for equations and ways of making certain lines and parts of the faces. 

The first period also let the students figure out what I was asking them to do.  I asked them to use at least two linear functions.  I asked them to restrict the domain for at least one of the linear functions.  The written part asked them to identify why what they had chosen was a function.  I had not done a lot of direct teaching in these areas, and so during the time that they took, they were actually learning, from their notes, from each other, from Google.

At the end of the first period, once we were back in the classroom, I asked how many knew if they had used a linear equation in their Des-men.  Even though I had seen many in their Desmos faces, not many people raised hands.  I knew I needed to reinforce this.

A second pair of students did the following:

The first effort.

The final product.

During the second period let the students start again.  I let them see their previous attempt and use the equations.  I put up the Teacher Dashboard again.  I let them visit again.  They finished during the second 75-minute period and were able to begin on the written report.

A third pair of students produced this:

The first effort.

The final product.

I was struck by the students' creativity.  I had let them play, and they really did.  In the side-by-side Des-people above, I can see the transformation to the wink and crooked smile, the addition of the hat, and feminine aquiline nose.  

I am happy that I devoted two periods to this learning, and I am glad I took this time.