A Middle-School Classroom Inquiry: Estimating the Height of a Tree

Autor/inn/en	Watson, Jane; Brown, Natalie; Wright, Suzie; Skalicky, Jane
Titel	A Middle-School Classroom Inquiry: Estimating the Height of a Tree
Quelle	In: Australian Mathematics Teacher, 67 (2011) 2, S.14-21 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0045-0685
Schlagwörter	Middle School Students; Trigonometry; Inquiry; Measurement Techniques; Mathematical Concepts; Teaching Methods; Mathematics Skills; Computation; Educational Technology; Computer Uses in Education; Foreign Countries; Secondary School Mathematics; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Trigonometrie; Messtechnik; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematics ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Unterrichtsmedien; Computernutzung; Ausland; Australien
Abstract	There is an old saying that "there is more than one way to skin a cat." Such is the case with finding the height of tall objects, a task that people have been approximating for centuries. Following an article in the "Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom" (APMC) with methods appropriate for primary students (Brown, Watson, Wright, & Skalicky, 2011), this article presents two more methods that are appropriate for middle school students who are beginning to learn about the trigonometric functions. The purpose of this article, in conjunction with the APMC article (Brown et al., 2011), has been to motivate teachers to present their students with meaningful investigations that lead to an appreciation and understanding of a variety of ways to estimate the height of an object that cannot be measured directly. Each of Brown et al.'s primary school investigations, and the middle school investigations presented here, require students to use computational estimation. The activities suggested in this article are intended for use with middle school students and it is important to check that students have the necessary prerequisite skills. As well as being a hands-on activity for students, the methods used in these investigations have real-life relevance and are employed by architects, planners and surveyors who use the same principles to estimate the height of buildings, and/or land formations, often employing the use of a clinometer for accurate measurements. (Contains 9 figures.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT). GPO Box 1729, Adelaide 5001, South Australia. Tel: +61-8-8363-0288; Fax: +61-8-8362-9288; e-mail: office@aamt.edu.au; Web site: http://www.aamt.edu.au
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10