Do You Want to Build a Snowman? Engaging Tools in Geometry

One of the many great benefits of technology in schools is the way it can support and increase student engagement. Students in Andrea Gansen's geometry classes have recently had opportunities to use their Chromebooks in class to get them engaged and interacting both with the material and with each other.

First, students often begin class by answering a question on Formative, a site that teachers can use to quickly and efficiently gather information on student understanding. Students can respond to multiple choice and open-ended questions, but in geometry they have been taking advantage of Formative's capability for responses in the form of drawings. Once students submit their responses, Mrs. Gansen can post them (with or without names) for the class to see. Students can view solutions from everyone and compare how their method might be different from their classmates'. Mrs. Gansen also gets a quick snapshot of each of her students' understanding, which she can then use to design further instruction.

Another engaging tool students use in geometry is GeoGebra, an interactive program where students can construct and manipulate geometric elements like points, segments, lines, polygons, etc. According to its website, "Teachers and students can use GeoGebra to make conjectures and to understand how to prove geometric theorems." Mrs. Gansen's students first explored the tool and its functions by using it to create snowmen drawings. Once they were familiar with how GeoGebra works, they used it to examine the concepts of congruence and transformation.