Christina GawlikKansas State University
Come Wii with Mii! Mathematics and Wii, Working
Together
Educational Video GamingProvides intrinsic motivation in the
learning environmentLearning context is meaningful to
students Games and the act of play, have
positive effect on student motivation and retention of knowledge
(NCTM, 2000; Ma and Kishor, 1997; Sedig, 2008)
As educators, how can we use this information?1. Student Created Experiments using
Nintendo Wii2. Supporting NCTM Standards3. Differentiated Instruction – Supports All
Students
Getting Started: Using Wii Sports
What are potential types of data to be collected when playing…?BaseballTennisBowlingGolf
Variables to Consider GenderDominant/Non-
dominant handedness
Time of dayHeight of studentEyes open/close
Number of wins/losses
Game averagesHigh/low scoresStudents who
regularly play Wii, and those who don’t
So, what can we do with this information?
Student Created ExperimentsAsk a QuestionDo Background ResearchConstruct a HypothesisDesign an ExperimentTest your Hypothesis by Doing the
ExperimentAnalyze your Data and Draw a ConclusionCommunicate your ResultsDiscuss Future Extensions
How to use Differentiate InstructionIndependent
StudentsAllow
students to create their own experiment
Self directedMinimal
teacher facilitation
Students who need Probing
Provide suggestions for hypothesis
Use guiding questions to encourage background research, data collection strategies and analysis
Dependent Students
• Supply students with more direction: hypothesis &discussion of what data to collect
• Facilitate background research & analysis
Differentiation InstructionInstruction designed to meet the needs of
diverse learnersHonor individual studentsIncrease curricular outcomesAll students have the same goal, they just
reach it differently
MACE Conference DataThursday March 5, 2009 Session 1
FirstName
Gender DominantHand
Frame1
Frame2
Frame3
Frame4
Frame 5
Kim F R 7 / 8 / 8 / 6 2 7 218 36 52 60 69
DeLaine F R 8 - 7 2 5 4 8 1 6 28 17 26 35 43
Dusty M R X 6 / 9 / 7 1 9 120 39 56 64 73
Preston M R 9 / 9 - X X 5 -19 28 53 68 73
Analysis of Final Scores
Range = 30 Mode = 73 (bimodal) Median = 71 Mean = 64.5
Which central tendency is the best representation of this data? Why?
MACE Conference DataThursday March 5, 2009 Session 2
No/Yes Under Names: indicates if the person has ever played Wii before.
FirstName
Gender DominantHand
Frame1
Frame2
Frame3
Frame4
Frame 5
LeslieNo
F R X X 7 1 9 / 8 127 45 53 71 80
Ashley SYes
F R 6 3 X 6 2 7 - 8 -9 27 35 42 50
Ashley DYes
F R 3 6 7 / 3 6 6 2 6 19 22 31 39 46
JeremyNo
M R 7 / 5 - 9 / X - 215 20 40 52 54
Student Created Experiments1. Ask a Question
2. Construct a Hypothesis
3. Do Background Research
4. Design an Experiment to Test your Hypothesis
5. Carry Out Experiment & Collect Data
6. Analyze your Data and Draw a Conclusion
7. Communicate your Results & Discuss Future Extensions
1. Who has higher bowling scores, boys or girls?
2. 3rd grade students in Mrs. Byrd’s class will have higher bowling scores than Mrs. Woodlock’s 5th grade class.
3. Research professional bowling teams4. Boys and girls will take turns bowling
3 games each, and determining personal averages. Averages of boys scores and girls scores will be compared.
5. Create a schedule to collect data6. Compute personal averages, the
average score for boys, and girls. Determine a conclusion.
7. Create a presentation of results that discuss findings and explain further extensions of experiment
What does the classroom look like?A Suggested Timeline
Week 1 & 2Introduction & Initial Design
Creating a hypothesis, plan to carry out experiment, & create data recording apparatus (table, poster, excel)
Data Collection & Background ResearchStudents begin collecting data
Before/after school, lunch, recess, or create centers to engage all students during class, use afterschool programs
Others are conducting background researchPractice problems
Example data from websites, texts, and/or newspapersCalculate central tendencies, probabilities, and
representations of dataWrite about results
Suggested Timeline
Week 2 & 3Collect “Real” Data by Mimicking Student
Experiments Fieldtrip to a bowling alleyPlay softball or tennis on school grounds
Draw Conclusions about Video & Real DataCalculate central tendencies, probabilities, and
representations of dataDiscuss similarities and differences from virtual
vs. non-virtual experiences
Week 3 & 4Create Presentation & Communicate
Experimental Design & ResultsPosters, PowerPoint, WebsitePresent to class, other classes,
administration, parentsParent/Teacher ConferencesParent Math Night
Create a class book of student group experiments
Suggested Timeline
NCTM – Supporting Student Learning
During the unit all Process Standards will be addressedProblem SolvingReasoning & ProofCommunicationConnectionsRepresentations
Additional Project IdeasClass challenges
among same grade levels or across grade levels
Challenge adults (parents, teacher, other staff) vs. students
Discuss geometric probabilities when playing Tennis Target Training
Economics – SimCity Creater Game
Music – Wii MusicMSNBC Article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29127548/
Wii FitAbility to store and graph
data over timeSet personal goalsRecord other activities
and the amount of time
Background ResearchCompare data from their favorite
professional or local sports team with the data collected from their experiment
United States Bowling Congress www.bowl.com KC Royals
http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc
Consider drawing similarities and differences between virtual play and actual playTake a fieldtrip to the bowling alley
Analyze data on http://www.bowlingstats.net/ for FREE!
Example HypothesesStudents will bowl higher scores using their
dominant handBoys will throw more strikesStudents who don’t play video games will
have a lower game average than those who do
Students who play sports will have higher scores than those who don’t
Design an Experiment to Test Your Hypothesis What data will you collect?How will you collect it? How will data be recorded & stored?Predict type of analyses to you plan to run
What is your class plan for collecting ? How many experiments do you want
running at once?What type of data do you want your
students to collect?
Carryout Experiment & Collect Data
Analyze Data & Make ConclusionsCalculate statistical analyses
AveragesRangesMaximumsMinimumsQuartilesRegressions
Make Concluding Statements
Communicate Your Results & Address Ideas for Experiment ExtensionsWrite a reportCreate a presentation
Present to class/other classes/Principal/Parents
Collect all studies and create a class bookStudent portfolios
How can this project support Differentiated Instruction?
Changing Expectations no need for a rules - based approach to
mathematicsProblem based learning
Getting to know your studentsTransforming tasks to meet the needs of all
learners
Other Fun Wii GamesWii Fit
Set personal goals and get fit simultaneouslySim City
Develop a functioning city and track the economics
Wii MusicLearn to read music and become a musician
Rock BandStart a rock band with up to 4 players
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith **Wi-Fi: play against your friends from another
location