Activating students' learning is an important step to engage and prime students for the learning task. Stories, with their unique blend of entertainment and education, are a powerful tool to engage students, ignite their curiosity, and make learning an adventure.
Why Story-telling in Math?
Stories evoke emotions, thereby making learning experiences more memorable. I firmly believe that when students emotionally connect with the content, their likelihood of retaining information significantly increases.
Through stories, students are taken on imaginative journeys where they explore diverse perspectives and scenarios. This approach not only enriches their learning experience but also fosters creativity and open-mindedness, essential skills in today's world.
Finally, the provision of context is crucial, especially in math education. This insight was reinforced during my time in the U.S., particularly when I attended Dr. Brian Sharp's Math 330 - Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School course at IUP. His approach highlighted the significance of contextual learning, illustrating how stories can make complex mathematical concepts more accessible and engaging for students.
AI to the Rescue!
Immersing students fully into a story is undoubtedly a challenging task. It requires a significant investment of time, not only in writing the story but also in bringing it to life. Visual aids like pictures or videos can be instrumental in this process, offering more than just words to captivate the students' imagination.
Fortunately, AI tools like ChatGPT or Bard presents us with a valuable ally. These tools can help us to simplify the process of creating educational stories. For instance, in teaching the concept of factors and multiples, I introduced a character named Baker Jo. This character's baking challenges were intricately linked with what students are learning, allowing them to explore these mathematical concepts in a fun, relatable context.
Baker Jo
Here's the introduction to Baker Jo.
Students then used physical manipulative (i.e. linking cubes) to solve this problem and learn about factors in the process.
Here's another problem that my students helped Baker Jo with. This would led the class in their thinking and discussion about common factors.
Conclusion
Incorporating stories into our learning experiences not only makes learning fun, but it also creates a rich, immersive environment where students are emotionally engaged. So if you haven't used stories to activate your students' learning yet, I encourage you to give it a try! With AI readily available at our fingertips, making stories a part of your teaching toolkit is easier than ever!
If you have used stories in your lessons before, I would love to hear about how you've incorporated them into your teaching.
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