SIERRA BONEY
PORTFOLIO
Math
This year in math I have grown in collaboration. Collaboration is one of the STEM school’s 5 qualities. It means to work well with peers even if you may not get along with them or have some disagreements. In math class we use a lot of collaboration, almost every day. We always work with our table partners.
My table partner Emma Bartnik, and I work on new investigations every day. The purpose of this work is to learn how to get through something you may not understand by talking it through with peers. The process usually consists of one of us getting confused on a problem and asking questions. This is a huge part of collaboration. If you don’t have the courage to ask questions no one can help you find the answer. Then we help each other figure it out, explaining it to them in a different way. Then we continue and end up with correct answers.
Something of mine that demonstrates my collaboration is my final draft of the table for the scaled character project. In this you can see the rule. A rule is a set of directions used for moving, enlarging or reducing the size or location of a plot graph. The rule was (2x, 2y). This means you would multiply all of the x and y values by two to make the character larger in size, not just height or width. A plot graph is a set of dots that are connected and placed in a very specific order to make a very specific shape. The plots are 2 numbers with a comma in between and parenthesis outside, (2, 3). The order you put the numbers in depends on where you are using them, the 2 is first there because you are going over 2 on the x axis. And the 3 is last because it is saying you go up 3 on the y axis. An axis is the line, either on the bottom or on the left side of the graph, they are set up on a 90 degree angle. The one at the bottom is the x, meaning it is where you would go side to side depending on the value (in the example from earlier it would be 2 because x is always the first). The y is the one on the left that tells you where to put the dot going up and down (in the example, the value was 3 because the y value is always the last).
You can also use plots to make rules by putting the number you want to multiply all of the current values by the x and y values. Like the one we used was (2x, 2y), this would mean the new plot (in our example) would be
(4, 6) because you multiply both of the values by 2, but if the rule was something like (3x, 4y), the new plot would be (6, 12) because 2 x 3=6 and 3 x 4=12. My group and I had to come up with the rule we used, (2x, 2y) to enlarge a character that we developed together and make it 4 times larger. We all made separate tables for our different sized characters. We all did our part to make all of the rules and table so that we were collaborating effectively and everyone did their part.
Another thing we did during the scaled character project in math class that helped me grow in collaboration were the feedback sessions. The main one that helped was when we shared our rule and tables with another group to see if they could follow our plots and instructions and actually make the character on their own. If they found issues they would tell us on the form. When you look at the form you see a lot of questions about the other person’s work that allowed us to collaborate with each other to make the work stronger, like how could you improve and what are the weaknesses of the project and what did we have questions about. The feedback forms let us see things clearer because of our peers and Ms. Thompson really emphasized that so that we are able to better our collaboration skills as well as our critique skills.
Collaboration is a skill that I still need to work on a lot. Usually when I think someone else is wrong and I’m right, I get really angry and I need to prove to them that I’m right, and half the time I’m not. I will need this in the future because I will always have to work with people I might disagree with. I still struggle to make sure I am including everyone by listening and supporting ideas. I know for the rest of the year this math class will continue to help me do that.
