These clips are from a lesson using Can you find…trigonometry edition. The clips may help you prepare to use the resource or reflect on classroom practice.
These students kindly agreed to let us film them sharing their initial thoughts as they worked on this task. Our aim in selecting these classroom video clips is to offer an opportunity to see the different ways mathematical thinking is revealed, as it plays out, rather than as a final and polished piece of work.
After viewing each clip
Spend a minute replaying the clip in your mind. Try to reconstruct significant parts of the episode. If watching with a colleague, compare your accounts of what you saw — watch the clip again if necessary to reach agreement.
Consider the prompts relating to student thinking and the teacher’s role.
Try to relate these episodes to your own classroom experience.
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In this lesson, Can you find…trigonometry edition was used as a follow-on to a modified version of Trig tables. Before the lesson, the teacher shared with two colleagues her reasons for sequencing these tasks. The teachers also discuss how graphing software could be used to support students’ thinking. After watching the clips from the lesson, you might find it interesting to watch the students talking about the task and any misconceptions that were revealed. |
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Clip A shows a range of approaches students took to part (a) of the first set of problems.
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Clip A
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Clips B and C show the early stages of students working on part (b) of the first set of problems without input from their teacher. Note that at the end of clip C we witness a discussion that the teacher did not hear. We then see the teacher responding to the students’ written solution.
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Clip B
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Clip C
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Clips D and E show students working on part (c) of the first set of problems.
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Clip D
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Clip E
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Bearing in mind the teacher’s comment about “throwing them in there, seeing what they can remember and getting them to figure it out again”,
What does each clip reveal about these students’ understanding of trigonometry and graphs?
How do the ideas overheard in these clips offer opportunities to support student thinking?
As a teacher, what choices might you make in a similar situation in your own classroom?
Students’ thoughts
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This task was used without previously reviewing graph transformations. Hear how the students responded to the task, the approaches they took, and the misconceptions that were revealed by working on the task. You can hear further student discussion about being taught through rich tasks by visiting Trig tables - teacher support and watch video of students working on this related resource. |
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We are very grateful to these students and their teachers for allowing us to film them working on and discussing Can you find…trigonometry edition.
We are grateful to Julian Marshall for directing the filming, selecting and editing some video clips and for his guidance on the use of classroom video.
