Review of "We're Poppin' for Math" (Dec/Jan, 2003/2004)

This article details a project where middle school math students plan and organize a popcorn sale at their school. In my opinion, one of the most important questions this project addresses is the age-old "How is this useful?". By using algebra, TI-83 calculators, charts, and graphs to determine the best selling price this project seeks to bring textbook math into the real world.

The project actually involves two different classes, one of 8th grade algebra students and another of 7th grade mathematics students. The role of the 8th graders is to use their algebra skills to estimate cost, profit, break-even point, and other useful predictive statistics prior to the actual sale. By doing so, students gain an understanding of how limiting or reducing costs directly impacts profit, and gets them thinking about how to earn the highest profit; is it better to sell fewer bags at a higher price, or more bags at a lower price? As for the 7th graders, their role is to conduct a survey of the school to assess the price that would be acceptable and what type of popcorn is most desired (buttered, caramel, etc.) This data is then entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and graphed, and then provided to the 8th graders.

Q1: Considering my own difficulties with math while in school, would this project have been helpful or interesting to me?
A1: Most of my difficulties with math were not due to a dearth of intelligence but stemmed rather from an inability to memorize and conceptualize abstract concepts. I feel that placing these ideas in a concrete, money-centered project would be very helpful to students experiencing the same kind of challenges that I did.

Q2: How feasible is this project? Does it require specialized, costly, or difficult-to-find equipment?
A2: Aside from the calculators and a few computers, I think this project is very accessible to a wide variety of schools. In the article, the class actually conducted the popcorn sale they had planned, which necessitated the rental of a popcorn machine and the purchase of food and supplies. While this undoubtedly makes the project more impactful, I think that even if it were carried through only the planning phase it would still be very effective.

Review of "Virtual Ideology" (November, 2004)

In this article, the author describes a project where students use online quizzes to help them identify their political values. The quizzes that were selected gave results using descriptive terms like "Conservative", "Liberal", "Centrist", or "Libertarian" rather than the actual names of political parties. Before taking the three quizzes, students were asked to write down the name of the political party affiliation they supported. In the project conducted by the author, 30 of the 50 students participating found that they personal beliefs actually contradicted their assumed alignment with political parties.

Q1: Is this a worthwhile project? What do the students get out of it?
A1: I definitely feel that this project was interesting and a good learning opportunity. Especially during the late middle school/early high school years, students are becoming politically aware, but are often strongly (or exclusively) influenced by their immediate families. As the results showed, a full 60% of the students that took the three quizzes learned that they did not conform within the artificial boundaries of a limited number of political parties. By breaking away from these labels, students can learn that it is misleading to assume that all people of one political party or ideology are alike, and the power of using words like "Neocon" or "liberal" can lose their pejorative power.

Q2: How easy is this project to do? Does it require specialized technology or expensive equipment?
A2: Unlike some of the projects I've reviewed, this one is relatively simple. With the broad availability of computers in schools, homes, and libraries this project seems like it would be well within the reach of school districts of varying levels of funding. Because it is limited to use of the internet and perhaps basic word processing, it would even be accessible to students that did not have a high degree of computer training.