2/19/2023 0 Comments Shadowpuppet edu math examplesIn the workshop setting there wasn’t enough time for such a lengthy exploration but participants were given a glimpse of how to implement some basic mathematical simulations in Scratch, like random walks and Monte Carlo area approximations. For example, last year students built a simulation that modeled throwing paper into the garbage can using random angles, velocities, and distances. They puzzle over questions like, “Why does the platform get hit 42% of the time in my Scratch simulation, but only 35% of the time in my mathematical model?” And those fascinations persist as students design their own simulations based on their personal interests and experiences. When students then have the experience of proposing, designing, and building their own simulations, they see the ways in which mathematical models can inform Scratch design decisions and the ways in which Scratch makes math learning math more rewarding and relevant. In the classroom, Patrick starts off an exploration of simulations by sharing a project like this Basic Simulation of Falling Objects, asking students to pose questions about what they’re seeing, such as “How many times will the ball hit platform?” or "If we moved the platform up would it be more or less likely to get hit?" Patrick then helps make the connection to the power of computing, using data recording features in Scratch that allow users to run experiments tens of thousands of times. This attitude is really important when doing math, but to students it might seem more natural when programming." Through this process, learners develop an experimental mindset, a key disposition for both math and computer science. “In Scratch, if you’re not getting the results you want, you have to go back in and figure it out. But grappling with the challenges was also part of the process. "Students are getting access to the mathematical idea of a function in a different way."Īs teachers tinkered with the various programs, Patrick traversed the room, helping people get unstuck. "Teachers often use the metaphor of a 'function machine' when talking about mathematical functions, but what’s beautiful about using Scratch in this way is that you’re really building the function machine!" Patrick said. Once the participants were comfortable building their functions in Scratch, they were challenged with more complex mathematical procedures, like finding maximum and minimum values of functions, and even building their own graphing calculator. Screenshot from Basic Functions example project: “You can give this to kids and it will just drive them nuts.” You may think you know how to compute x 2 + 3x + 1, but trying to get a computer program to do it is a different story, Patrick explained. The goal was to implement a variety of mathematical functions programmatically, and this required the teachers to think about how certain mathematical concepts-like order of operations and domain and range-are understood from a programmer's perspective. You just show them some of the things that we can do!” For example:Ī simple "random walk" that generates its own histogram:Ī student project that explores solutions to the Traveling Salesperson problem:Īfter seeing some of what’s possible with Scratch, Patrick invited teachers to tinker with a basic function game in Scratch. “I’ve been facilitating similar workshops for a year and a half in various venues. So he begins by sharing example projects from his advanced high school courses. And while teachers may be familiar with Scratch, they sometimes think of it as a "toy" programming language, Patrick said. Patrick, a 2013 Presidential Award-winning teacher at Brooklyn Technical High School in New York, recently hosted a Math for America workshop called Mathematics and Scratch, wherein participants “solved math problems using computer science, and computer science problems using math.” On the event page, Patrick described his aims: “I hope that teachers will leave with some ideas about how to get their own students making math in Scratch.” We recently spoke with Patrick to learn more about what making math with Scratch looks like-both with the teachers in his recent workshop and in his classroom.Īs with any group, the teachers at the workshop had diverse interests, experiences, and levels of comfort with programming. Saturday morning triumph: implementing a dynamic Voronoi diagram in /4Vwxugj51X His passion for Scratch-especially as a tool for deeper math learning-is also evident in many of his posts, such as this: If you follow Patrick Honner on Twitter, you know that his ardor for math learning knows no bounds.
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