Reflections on Chapter 8: Spreadsheets

1. Can you identify two type of data your sudents could collect as part of a lesson?

One type of data might be rainfall over time, students could check a rain gauge daily and enter the data on a spreadsheet.  This could even be a multi-year project, if one teacher cared to continue it that long.  Another type of data could be plant growth when seedlings are exposed to varying amounts of sunlight.  The students could do an experiment with three or four experimental groups of seedlings that get different amounts of sunlight each day. 

2. How could your students manipulate the data to discover relationships or trends?

In the first example, the students could compare rainfall to temperature, time of year, and other localities.  They could use the sort functions of the spreadsheet to try to find trends.  In the second example, the students could then measure the plants and use a spreadsheet to average the growth for each group.
They could then compare the groups and try to see how much more the plants grew with each extra two-hour interval of sunlight.

3. Can you identify three graphs or charts your students could make that would help them develop a better understanding of the content?

The students could use line graphs, bar graphs, or a chart to display data (Morrison & Lowther, 2010).  Some teachers use spreadsheets to help their students understand abstract concepts such as finding algebraic variables (Green, 2009).

4. Is it possible to create an interactive simulation or model with a spreadsheet?

According to Morrison & Lowther (2010), "You can also use spreadsheets to create interactive graphs.  For example, an algebra class studying the slope of a line can vary the values in the equation...."(p.211).
The formula in the cell has to be correct, then any value can be entered to see what the result will be.  Of course, that presumes that the person creating the spreadsheet is not suffering from spreadsheet paralysis, as I did with the earlier assignment...



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Green, J. (2008). Using Spreadsheets to Make Algebra More Accessible. Part 1: Equations and Functions. Australian Mathematics Teacher, 64(4), 7-11. Retrieved from EBSCOhost on 13 June 2011.

Morrison, G.R. & Lowther, D.L. (2010).  Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom:  Skills for the 21st century (4th ed.).