Lifelong Learning Programme

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Experiences

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TEACHERS EXPERIENCES FORM

Title of the Experience
Upside down
Name of the teacher
Maria Olivotto
Country where it took place
Italy
School typology
High Secondary School
Thematic Area
Maths
Experience typology
Teaching in class
Type of contact
Direct
Description of the Experience
The topic I addressed was “Solving disequations with absolute values”.
The main difficulty for students was to recognise simple ways to solve this kind of disequations, when the general method was not necessary (i.e. |x-5|+3>0). Test results showed that the big majority of the class didn’t understand how to recognise different cases.
The solution I tried (applicable also in other situations) was to put them in my place and ask them to prepare a test about that topic, having the characteristics I fixed. The text of the test had to contain 5 absolute value disequations, to be solved with a different method each, using particularly simple methods instead of the standard one.
After checking the texts to be sure they were faceable, and modifying any discrepancies, I gave them the test to solve, making sure that everyone had a different text from the one prepared.
Students had time to make practice before the test, consulting the works of their colleagues, but I clearly explained them that was useless to solve all the 20 texts (100 exercises!) while they only had to learn how to solve the different cases.
This second test has been much more successful than the first, partially because the students had more time to assimilate the topic, but surely also because changing point of view and putting them in the role of “designers” stimulated their will of understanding what they had to project.

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