The Effectiveness of the Scavenger Hunt Activity: WMS Visit #10

Today the students had a scavenger hunt activity involving fractions. There were twelve stations set up around the room, and each student was assigned a number which correlated to the station where they were supposed to begin the scavenger hunt. Each student would rotate through all twelve stations before bringing their work to the teacher to check for correctness. The teacher would evaluate the students’ answers, and the answers that the students got incorrect would require another attempt at the problem by the student. They did this process until they got all of the answers right, or until the class period was over. What the students were solving on each card regarded how to apply all four operations to word problems that involved fractions. On their papers, the students were given three columns to answer each question. One column was for which operation the students thought they would use, another column was for their work, and the final column was for their answers.

The first class focused on this task better than any other time I had visited. They listened and understood instruction, they cooperated together to derive answers for each question, and nearly every student was so engaged in their learning to the degree that almost every student in the class finished their worksheet. This assignment was a great way to get the students moving around the room rather than sitting in their desks, and that component took away from the restlessness that many students in this class feel after sitting for an hour. This assignment also allowed for students to work together, and I think this aspect of the task really helped students figure out ideas for the solutions that they might otherwise had not known if they were attempting these problems by themselves. The students seemed to really like this activity and take it very seriously, and I was very impressed to see how focused, engaged, and enthusiastic the students were towards their learning.

It is hard for me to determine whether the activity was genuinely engaging for students, or the entire class was having a good day behavior wise. I would like to assume the former to be true, and in doing this I can gain great insight into how I could implement an activity like this into my classroom. Getting the students moving around and doing real-world activities rather than doing worksheets helps students understand the importance, uses, and significance of mathematics. Also, the organizer that the teacher used gave students a clear path as to exactly what the teacher was expecting for answers. Also, allowing students to utilize different stations and work together was beneficial to maintain focus, but also come to some exciting conclusions with their friends. This class has shown clear advancements in teamwork due to the activities that the teacher has implemented, and I am stoked to see some more engaged students next week!