The M&Ms activity: ICT and Maths

The M&Ms activity; yet another great example of how ICT can strengthen the learning experience by involving creativity. If I think back to my primary school days it was all standard question answer worksheets and algorithms. There must be a better way to teach kids maths!! In this weeks maths lecture I come to understand the importance of developing a child's mental calculative process and familirisation of number groupings before introducing algorithmic rules. To often students develop the perception that maths is a set of formulated procedures and neglect the practicality of maths in everyday life. It's so important to engage students through creative yet challenging activities. Also, problem solving tasks that require student initiative, higher level thinking and discussion provide a much deeper learning experience than a worksheet of sums.

So, how do M&Ms fit into all of this?

The purpose of this workshop task was to explore mathematical concepts that may be applied to a packet of M&Ms and facilitate the process using ICT. Given the number of M&Ms for each colour varies within a packet, mathematical topics for this activity may include grouping, graphing, percentages, fractions and calculation. As seen below, using worksheets like Greg's 'M&M's Candy Colour Chart', a graphical representation of colour groups can be formed.

This information can then be input into Microsoft Excel where students may examine different ways to present information and make use of the spreadsheet features.

There are various ways a teacher may involve this type of activity when planning a lesson. Students may work in groups with each group exploring different mathematical ideas to report back to the class. One group focusing on percentages may predict the percentage of each colour group to the total number of M&M's using the the paper worksheet and then verify their estimates using the Excel spreadsheet. Another group may be in charge of collecting information as to establish which colour on average appears most or least frequently in a packet of M&M's. Surveying information gathered in a maths class can be a great resource for other subjects. For example, the class can discuss reasons as to why they think certain colours are used more than others and then be asked to write an opinionated piece on what colours they would include in a packet of M&M's. The percentage figures of different ingredients may also be examined and related back to health issues associated with sugars, artificial colouring and saturated fats. In this way creativity makes for a more dynamic learning experience, but still, it's critical that the core learning purpose of any lesson is firmly grounded within the activity being used.

I am slowly coming to understand the absolute level of involvement and responsibility teaching requires. There are many other issues to consider besides the learning benefits of the activity described above. These include:

• Does the school have a 'junk food' policy?
• Do students have any special dietary requirements? (considering M&M's will inevitably be eaten at the end of class)
• Does the activity endorse junk food in any way?
• Will student's parents allow them to bring M&Ms to class?

A teacher must be aware of all these things and may be sometimes be required to sacrifice a good lesson plan because of unsuspecting issues. However I think the best teachers are adaptive and always have a plan B. So I pose the question (to myself); what could be used in place of a packet of M&M's? Maybe a can of mixed fruit...though that might get messy. A packet of stir fry mix vegetables? Still, I think I'd go for the M&M's but be sure to cover my bases. A health awareness objective would definitely form part of the lesson plan.