District Five teacher’s algebra lesson featured in national publication
January 14, 2016
Dutch Fork Middle School math teacher LuAnn Graul knows students learn best when they can visualize and relate concepts to the real world.
She is now sharing that lesson with others nationwide as part of an article she co-authored with two university professors. “Stacking Cans: Abstracting from Computation” is the cover story of the December/January issue of Mathematics Teaching in Middle School, a national education journal. Graul co-authored the article with George Roy, a professor of mathematics education at the University of South Carolina, and Farshid Safi, an assistant professor of mathematics education at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
“It’s really great to see that something I had a hand in has benefited other people and perhaps helped other students,” said Graul, a middle school teacher for more than 20 years. “There are math professors reading this. There are teachers using this lesson…and that’s the real reward. Sometimes I think I’m just a middle school math teacher, but there is a big impact that occurs from writing an article like this. It’s something I’m really proud of.”
The article was written about a classroom lesson, using stacked cans to create a visual of how to add objects in a pattern then turn the pattern into an Algebraic expression. To start, three cans were placed on the bottom row of a stack of six. Seventh grade algebra students were then asked to use patterns to determine how many cans the stack would contain if 30 cans were on the bottom.
Seventh grader Alexis Walker said the concept was hard at first. “But I kept on thinking about it, and then finally I understood it. Being able to see the cans and building on what Ms. Graul said, it really helped me think of the right answer,” Walker said.
Abstracting from computation and critical, real-world thinking are important lessons given the importance of strong algebra skills in high school, college and career, Roy added. “The students were open to thinking differently, that’s why it works. We gave the students a chance to think and use their knowledge base and make sense of mathematics in a way that’s fundamental to their thinking. Now, we are lucky enough to share that knowledge and this lesson with people around the country,” he said.
Mathematics Teaching in Middle School (MTMS) is the official journal of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Published nine times a year, MTMS publishes articles on intuitive, exploratory investigations that help students strengthen math skills. Articles have won numerous awards, including honors from the Society of National Association Publications.
Colleen Boissinot, District Five coordinator of mathematics, said: “The article in the national publication really just highlights the high caliber of teachers we have in this district, and Ms. Graul is one of those great educators. We’re proud of the article and how it might impact other teachers and students nationally.”
