USING SPREADSHEETS IN REAL WORLD MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH LESSONS

Transcription

1 by SCOTT PIERSON AA, Community College of the Air Force, 1992 BS, Eastern Connecticut State University, 2010 A SPREADSHEET PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN MATHEMATICS (EDU 556) Instructor: Dr. Hari P. Koirala DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY August, 2014

2 Introduction While there is some controversy over the use of calculators in the classroom, there is very little over the use of spreadsheets. I find this rather odd since the spreadsheet is partly a calculating program. Since the very first electronic spreadsheet was developed in 1961 (Power, 2004), their use has become more and more prolific in today s society. True, many wise teachers still ensure students do not fall into the habit of using spreadsheets as a crutch but the overwhelming support for spreadsheets in the classroom must make calculator supports scratch their heads. The challenge, then, is the same as with any other form of educational technology: how to create a lesson using the spreadsheet that will assist in the teaching of the lesson and, more importantly, the learning and retention of the material. The answer is in the development of practical lessons that use real world situations ones that students can see an advantage in learning. Example: If I were to create a spreadsheet lesson involving the amount of space available on an ipod and how many songs can be stored there or a lesson that uses a spreadsheet to calculate student grades students may see the advantage of learning these lessons. These lessons will also give students a basic knowledge of the value of spreadsheets for other lessons and uses down the road. As fortune would have it, I actually have taught a lesson using spreadsheets to classes of 5 th through 8 th Graders. I did so as part of my MS Ed Tech degree program, and also as the newly assigned Technology Director for our school. While I did not use the spreadsheet lesson to teach Math, we did learn a little about math in the process.

3 And while I have not used a spreadsheet as a grade book, I did use Excel to create the school s high school transcripts. In her article entitled Compelling Spreadsheet Tips to Understanding Mathematics, Wendy Petti notes that a spreadsheet program might be one of the most underappreciated assets on nearly every computer (2010, p. 1). She notes that there are several benefits from adding the use of spreadsheets in math lessons, to include: Empower students as they facilitate inquiry and analysis. Enable exploration and construction of meaning and dynamic and creative ways. Students can experience elementary algebra in action as they create and use formulas and function tables. Students can make predictions and formulate conjectures as they compare theoretical data with real life data. Further, she notes that "a spreadsheet is a tool for understanding and communicating mathematically" (Petti, 2010, p. 4). Others have also noted that teachers can use spreadsheets to help students practice addition and counting skills (InvestInTech Staff, n.d.). For me, a spreadsheet is an organized and colorful way to display mathematical calculations. In my budget spreadsheet, I have crunched all the numbers on the first sheet to show where all the money goes and this shows a clear picture of where my money is supposed to go and where it actually goes. However, some people get lost in the numbers. So, to make it more vivid, on the second sheet I have a pie chart that provides a more literal picture of where all the money goes. I find it a great way for me to realize how much money is spent on frivolous expenses. I think the same can and should be done in our classrooms. The numbers are great and the numbers tell the

4 tale... but an associated graph may not only be a sharper picture but may appeal to students who may get 'lost in the numbers'. In support of the practical use of spreadsheets in the classroom, Arizona State University Professor Emeritus, Dr. Alice Christie has noted in her article Dr. Christie's Using Spreadsheets in K 12 Classroom, (2007), Dr. Christie shows several practical and easy to follow lessons on how to get children used to creating spreadsheets, charts, and graphs. She begins by creating a lesson that calls for comparative statistics. Then, she helps the students create their own charts (often hand drawn) that show the results in bar, column, or pie format. Lessons like these help students understand the relations between numbers and provide a practical, colorful, and fun way to learn. It also provides a natural springboard for a teacher to then move children from the hand drawn charts, to the creation of electronic spreadsheets, charts, and graphs. Project The purpose of this project is to explore the use of Excel in teaching the concept of travel expenses and associated statistical data. More specifically, the project has the following objectives: 1. Teach students how to use Excel to track common expenses 2. Use Excel to teach students how to plan, budget, and track expenses

5 3. Use Excel to help students to think critically about which expenses would be needed for a trip to another country. Project Overview This multimedia project was designed for students in 5 th and 6 th grade but has also included 7 th and 8 th grades. It can be accomplished by one classroom or many. In this assignment, students are told to research information for a one week trip to another country. If a classroom from another country is involved, classrooms should plan a visit to the other class s country. If several classrooms are involved, classes should choose a fair method to assign the vacation country (i.e., by selected participating country names out of a bowl). Students are given sufficient time in class to research airfare, hotels, restaurants, museums, activities, etc. This project can be completed individually, but it is recommended that students complete this job as a class. The class can be broken down in teams with each being assigned a different topic to research. Students should save pictures of aircraft, cities, hotels, attractions, restaurants, etc. for the later creation of a newsletter or PowerPoint presentation. Of more concern for this paper, however, is the tracking of expenses. Expenses should be kept on paper so that an Excel spreadsheet can be created from gathered material. Students will then be guided through the development of an Excel spreadsheet to include a simple pie chart. The main benefit of this project is that students will have a better understanding of how Excel can be used for common tasks, such as vacation planning, expense

6 tracking, and budget preparation. Students will walk away with a basic knowledge of some useful ways spreadsheets can be used. Project Activities Students will be guided step by step through the creation of an Excel spreadsheet and an associated graph based on financial information (expenses) that were gathered during the project. This project combines math, geography, computers, and social studies so multiple teachers and class times can be used for the completion of the project. Step by step instructions can be found attached on Worksheet 1. Project Assessment Students will be assessed according to their participation in the project, as well as the final product. The most important aspect of this lesson isn t the final cost or final answer but whether or not the students participated in the project and understand the process. Grades will be assessed according to the rubric in Worksheet 2. Final Thoughts I actually created this lesson in the Spring of While the classes teachers taught and guided the majority of the lesson, I taught students the use of PowerPoint and Excel. I was able to guide them through the creation of the final spreadsheet. The entire project received a lot of positive feedback and I consider it to have been successful. The only issue we had was in the Skype connection with the Russian class and had nothing to do with Excel or Math. Teachers considering this project should consider opening it up to students from other countries. That was actually the best part of the lesson

7 Feedback An exit survey will be conducted to give the students a chance to offer project feedback. The following questions will be asked: 1. What was your favorite part of the project? 2. Which part was hardest? 3. Did the pie chart help you understand where all the money was spent? 4. Were you surprised by any of the results? 5. What could have made this project better?

8 REFERENCES CCSS Staff. (n.d.). Grade Seven Standards for Mathematical Practice. Standard 5. Retrieved from CoreStandards.Org: Christie, A. (2007). Dr. Christie s Using Spreadsheets in K 12 Classrooms. Retrieved from alicechristie.org: InvestInTech Staff. (n.d.). Teaching Technology: Using Microsoft Excel in the Classroom. Retrieved from InvestInTech.com: Petti, Wendy (2010, April 27). Compelling Spreadsheet Tips to Understanding Mathematics. Retrieved from Education World: Power, D. (2004, August 30). A Brief History of Spreadsheets. Retrieved from DSSResources.com:

9 WORKSHEET 1 INSTRUCTIONS *Note: Students will follow as teacher shows each step on an overhead projector. Open a blank Excel spreadsheet 1. In cell A1, type the word ITINERARY 2. In cell A2, type the name of the currency used in the country you will visit. 3. QUESTIONS: a. Do you know what they use for currency? b. Where could you look to find out? 4. In cell A3, type DOLLARS 5. In column A, under ITINERARY, list all your expenses. I put them in chronological order (by date), you may enter them any way you wish. 6. Right click on the letter B at the top of column B. 7. Select Format Cells. 8. Under Category, select Currency 9. Next to Symbol, scroll down to find the currency used in your vacation country. A teacher will help you if you need assistance. Click OK when this is done.

10 10. In column B, under the name of the currency, enter the costs corresponding to each item you typed in column. 11. Left click on the letter C at the top of column C. At the top of the screen, near the middle select either currency or accounting, and then click on the $ sign below. 12. In cell C2 we are going to convert your foreign currency to US Dollars. 13. Find the current exchange rate for the vacation country s currency. 14. In cell C2, type the formula you would use to calculate the US Dollar amount corresponding to the expense you ve entered in cell A2 and the foreign currency amount you have entered in cell B2. a. In my example for Russia, I have entered =B2/ b. I ve taken the RUB amount in cell B2 and divided by the current number of Rubles you can buy for $ Copy cell C2, highlight cells C3 through the end of your list, and then paste. 16. QUESTION: What did you think would happen? Did you think you would have a long list of the same number? 17. FACTOID: If you typed a number in C2, copied it, and then pasted it, you would have a long list of that number. But when you copy a cell that has a formula in it, it pastes that formula but makes it applicable to THAT row. 18. RESULTS: In my example, I copied C2 which contained the formula B2/ When I paste it into cell C3, it changes to B3/ C4 will be b4/ , etc. 19. Now that you have pasted the formula into all the cells in column C, every amount you enter in column B will be automatically converted to US dollars because that is what you told it to do when you pasted the formula in those cells. 20. In the next empty cell below your Itinerary List, type TOTAL EXPENSES. 21. In the corresponding foreign currency column B, you need to calculate your total expenses in the foreign currency. This can be done one of two ways: a. Highlight all of the expense amounts in cells B2 and below, highlighting also the cell that will contain your total. Find the (AutoSum) symbol at the top right of the screen and click on it. This should calculate all the item s you ve selected into the last column you selected.

11 b. Enter this formula: =Sum(B2:B_), where _ is the last row you ve entered an expense in. Notice my example was B24 so mine would read =Sum(B2:B24). 22. Right click on your foreign currency total and select Copy. 23. Right click on the corresponding cell in column C and select paste. 24. QUESTION: What happened? 25. You should now have total expenses shown for both the foreign currency and US dollars. We will next break down all your expenses into major categories. For mine I have: Transportation (which will include planes, trains, busses, taxis, etc.) Lodging (Hotels) Meals Activities Miscellaneous 26. In cell E1, type EXPENSE SUMMARY

12 27. Highlight cells E1, F1, and G Click on the Merge & Center button near the top center of your screen. 29. Type EXPENSE in cell E2, your currency name in F2, and DOLLARS in G List your major categories in cells E3, E4, E5, E6, and E Now we will total the expenses that correspond to each category. a. In the sample above, I clicked on cell F3 and entered =B2+B10+B11+B16+B17+B23 b. If you look at the corresponding entries in column A, you will see that these are all of the transportation expenses. 32. Repeat this process for all the categories listed in column A. 33. Repeat the process listed in steps 13 and 14 above to calculate the Dollar amount for these categories. NEXT we will make a graph of our expenses. 34. Highlight cells E3 through F7 (E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7) 35. In the upper right corner of your screen, select the Insert tab. 36. Click on the Pie chart symbol near the middle of the top, then select the type. a. I selected Exploded pie in 3D. 37. A pie chart will appear. Notice the different sizes of the pie pieces. 38. QUESTION: Look at your pie chart and tell me what you see? In one picture, what does it tell you? 39. Click on any one of the pie pieces but click only once. Notice how dots surround all the pie pieces? If one piece has dots around it, click outside the box and then click one piece again but only once. Now all the pieces should have dots around them. 40. Right click on that same piece and select Format Data Labels.

13 41. Make sure only these are selected: Category name, Percentage, Show Leader Lines. Make sure Best Fit is selected under Label Position. 42. Click on Close. Note that your pie pieces are now labeled with the name of the category and the percentage of the total cost for that category. 43. Clicking on one of the labels will select them all, clicking on it a second time selects only that label. 44. Select one label, change the font, the size, make it bold and move it around. 45. QUESTION: What happens?

14 WORKSHEET 2 RUBRIC SCORE Mathematical Knowledge (Do I know it?) Strategic Knowledge (How do you plan?) Explanation (Can you explain it?) I understand how to calculate the expenses and percentages. I used math words correctly to show understanding. I did the work with no mistakes. I understand how to calculate most of the expenses and percentages. I used most of the math words correctly. I did the work with only a few mistakes, which I fixed. I understand how to calculate the expenses but relied on Excel to do the math. I used some of the math words correctly. I had trouble completing the assignment without making a lot of mistakes. I tried to do the problem but I really didn t understand it. I helped the team to plan which expenses would be needed for the trip. I showed the steps I followed to reach the expenses provided. I helped the team most of the time. I can show most of the steps I followed to reach the expenses provided. I helped the team a little. I showed some of the steps but the expenses weren t clear or were unnecessary. I tried to help the team but was lost most of the time. I couldn t show the steps I took. I wrote or explained what I did and why I did it. I explained the completed project. I wrote or explained mostly about what I did. I wrote a little about why I did it. I explained most of the project. I wrote or explained a little about what I did or why, but not both. I can explain a little about the project. I didn t write or explain how I got the answers I got. I really didn t understand the project. 0 I didn t try to figure out the project. I didn t help my class to plan or try to show the steps. I didn t write or explain anything.