Brainball

Mickey Kolis is the author of eight books and a veteran public school teacher; he is currently a university professor. Making learning relevant is his highest professional aspiration.Cassandra Meinholz has taught high school mathematics since 2008. She currently teaches and lives in Fall Creek, Wisconsin with her husband and two sons.

With Brainball (Math Edition), the authors have empowered teachers of mathematics with the tools and rationale to change student perceptions and engagement in the classroom. This book is so much more than just another neat idea. It is a roadmap with examples and research, a synthesis of human psychology and pedagogy, and a call to action for those of us in the business of teaching mathematics to create self-actualized learners.Brainball (Math Edition) inspires me to focus on learning as an adventure. With lesson plans, philosophy, and compelling links to research and psychology, I found myself immediately able to make impactful connections to my classroom. Shifting my perspective to students as a community, and learning as a game with goals, has already increased my student engagement as I utilize some of the lesson plans. Brainball (Math Edition) is a fresh take and a useful new tool for any seasoned teacher.

• ForewordAcknowledgementsIntroductionSection 1: Brainball (Math Edition) - Why Social Studies MatterChapter 1: Brainball (Math Edition) – The Point of the Game is LearningChapter 2: The Big Ideas: Product, Process, and Community aligned with PurposeChapter 3: Brainball (Math Edition) Beliefs (Dispositions)Chapter 4: Brainball (Math Edition) Key Knowledge CategoriesChapter 5: Brainball (Math Edition) SkillsSection 2: Preparing to Coach the GameChapter 6: Tip 1: Keep the End-in-MindChapter 7: Tip 2: Play the GameChapter 8: Tip 3: Competitions as EvaluationsChapter 9: Tip 4: Sequences matterChapter 10: Tip 5: Explicit CommunicationsSection 3: Day-to-Day Lesson Plans: Brainball IlluminatedChapter 11: Algebra:Lesson 1: Cups challengeLesson 2: ObservationsLesson 3: Dependent vs Independent VariablesLesson 4: Writing Problem StatementsLesson 5: Picking Problem StatementsLesson 6: Statistical InvestigationLesson 7: Gathering Information: Linear ModelsLesson 8: Gathering More Information: ResidualsLesson 9: Gathering More Information: Go Least Squares Regression LineLesson 10: Gathering More Information: Residual PlotsLesson 11: Gathering More Information: Correlation CoefficientLesson 12: Gathering More Information: Association Doesn’t Imply CausationLesson 13: Gathering More Information: Correlation Coefficient SquaredLesson 14: Team AssessmentLesson 15: Individual Assessment: Barbie BungeeChapter 12: A Geometry ExampleConclusionAppendicesAppendix A: Cups Challenge Team Role CardsAppendix B: Team Role CardsAppendix C: Correlation Stations DirectionsAppendix D: Association ToolkitAppendix E: Independent and Dependent Variables Matching CardsAppendix F: Team Project Scoring GuideAppendix G: Observations HandoutAppendix H: Idea Evaluator Appendix I: Colors Activity Data TableAppendix J: Lines of Best Fit ExamplesAppendix K: You are What you EatAppendix L: Fortune Cookie QuestionsAppendix M: Go Crickets! HandoutAppendix N: Olympics HandoutAppendix O: Scatter Plot and Residual Plot Matching CardsAppendix P: Correlation Coefficient Matching CardsAppendix Q: Correlation Coefficient ActivityAppendix R: Arm Span vs Height Activity HandoutAppendix S: The Barbie Bungee Drop HandoutAppendix T: Spaghetti Marshmallow Challenge Role CardsAppendix U: Quadrilateral Toolkit