This is where the Thinking Blocks website came in very handy.

            A few years ago I had stumbled upon it when it was in its infancy and needed a bit of work.  I returned to it this past year  and was excited to see how much had changed immediately recognizing this could be the answer I needed. The site has hundreds of word problems for the different operations as well as for fractions and ratios. Additionally, within each students can focus on a specific form of problem, such as missing factor, one-step multiplication or two-step problems. After reading the problem, students must place blocks on the board to illustrate the different parts of the problem. If students have difficulty there are optional hints they can use. They are rewarded for solving the problem without the use of the hints with a star. The object is to collect six stars for each type of problem, thus mastering them. Progress is saved as long as you use the same computer.

            I had students access this site during their multiplication math centers, starting with some of the easier types of problems, such as missing factor or comparison problems. These were the types we had talked about most in class. Once they mastered these, I challenged them to give the tougher, two-step problems a try.

 

Objectives:

            By using this resource, I wanted my students to learn how modeling/drawing a picture can help solve math problems and to be able to filter out unnecessary information. Some students quickly went through the easier problems. They were ready to tackle the more difficult one, thinking they would breeze right through them in the same way. That did not go as they had planned, but it was exactly what I wanted to happen! This allowed for natural differentiation. Those students who worked through the easier problems were slowed down significantly when they began working on two-step problems that required multiple operations. However, students who were struggling a bit more were able to learn through trial and error with help from the hints and eventually master the different problem types. I knew we had at least some success when my lowest math student was taking the Smarter Balanced trial test in March. As I watcher over her shoulder to see how she was going to handle the problem she began listing out the information she had and drawing pictures of what she thought would work. Although she still got some incorrect answers, she was able to solve others that she previously would not have known how to begin.

As a second objective for the Thinking Block site, I wanted students to understand not all word problems are the same. There are several different types and each needs to be looked at a little differently than the others. Since students choose the type of problem they work on and I gave them a guide on the order in which to use them, this was easily done.

Additional benefits to this site are self-evaluation and higher order thinking. As they work through problems, students can see what they are doing wrong and change their plans. Since the goal is to get all six start they need to think about what went right and wrong so they can adjust their thinking with the next problem.  Additionally, as they work through the problems, there is a certain amount of hypothesizing, modeling, attention to detail and persistence required for each problem, thus allowing students to practice using essential math practices and higher level thinking as well.

 

Future changes and improvements:

            Since this was used as a math center, there was not a lot of observation on my part and students were left largely on their own to access the learning here. The best way for me to see if they were making progress was to observe their success when solving word problems in class and on standardized tests. I was very happy to see one particular student, who struggles more than anyone else in class, begin to use the skills she learned using this site when she was working on other tasks. Certainly, there may have been other factors at play with her success, but I had been able to sit with her a few times while using the Thinking Blocks and saw her becoming more and more skilled at solving the problems.

            In the future, I would like to find a way for students to record their work on the website so I can assess their progress. Perhaps creating screen shots when a problem is solved without using hints would be a way to do this. Another option could be to have a checklist with stars for each problem type. When they earn a star on the website they would color in a star on the recording sheet, thus showing me when they have mastered each category. This is probably the most feasible option.

 

Connection to ISTE Standard 4B:  Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.

 

    Students learn in a variety of different ways. Some need hand-on or visual tools to help them understand math concepts. By using Thinking Blocks as a math center they can create a visual model for word problems with the guidance they need and might not be able to get from a teacher dividing her time among many students.