Building on the understanding of functions, students in Math 3b study derivatives, primitive functions, and integrals – and what their graphs look like. They also study the relationship between the three. For many, these are new concepts/ideas. For many, making the connection between description of an activity, an algebraic expression, the derivative and the graphs can be challenging. One way to develop this important ability is to leave the textbook behind and investigate through lab/active learning.
Last week, students in Math 3b were challenged to “match the parts” – word description, algebraic expression, derivative graph, and function graph. Students were allowed to use any tool they wanted to: teacher knowledge, textbooks, calculators, 
and/or their peers’ knowledge. Students worked in teams to accomplish this task.
The result – discussion not so 
much about what the right answer was or the right combination of “puzzle pieces”, but more about WHY?
Thanks to our Math teacher, Anders Lindahl, for investing time in lab/active learning to build understanding of the “connections”.
Learning @ VR Schools 