Real World Math

Critical Thinking. Global Perspective. Informed Action.

Real World Math:
Engaging Students through
Global Issues

Dave Wilton
Assistant Outreach Director

www.facingthefuture.org
Copyright © 2009, Facing the Future

Agenda

Your Visions
Who is Facing the Future?
Why Real World Math?
From the Teacher Perspective
From the Student Perspective
Give and Take
Reward for Your Patience


About Facing the Future
 Seattle-based nonprofit
founded in 1995
 Interdisciplinary global
issues and sustainability
curriculum for K-12
 Over 1.5 million students
reached annually
 All 50 U.S. states and over
100 countries
 Professional development
and consulting


Using Math & Real World Data
to Develop Global Competence
Globally competent students must have the
knowledge and skills to:
 Investigate the World  I’m Curious
 Weigh Perspectives  I Have an Opinion
 Communicate Ideas  I Want to Share It
 Take Action  I Want to Be Involved
 Apply Interdisciplinary  I Want Bring My Talents
& Disciplinary Expertise to Bear

~ Anthony Jackson,
Asia Society VP of Education


Defining Sustainability
“Meeting our own needs without limiting the ability
of future generations to meet their needs”
World Commission on Environment & Development, 1987

Social
Well-being

Sustainable
Communities Strong
Flourishing
Environment Economy


Think, Pair, Share
What is one thing you are
currently doing to engage
students with mathematics
in the world?

(If you momentarily can‟t think of
anything, what is something you
would like to do?)


“When Will I Ever Use This?”
Teachers requested:
 Engaging „hook‟ activities
 Un-manipulated, real world data
 Purposeful mathematics skill
development
 Content knowledge acquisition
using meaningful issues


Global Issues (Algebra + Geometry)
= Real World Math
 Teacher‟s Guide & Student Workbook
 15 NCTM aligned lessons
 State alignments by September 2010
 Aligned with popular U.S. math texts
 Students use 21st-century skills
 Critical thinking
 Collaboration
 Global perspective
 Multiple points of implementation:
 Hook activities at start of a unit
 Reinforcement of learned concepts
 Assessment of learning
 Individual, small group, whole class


15 Engaging Lessons
1. Number Patterns: Waste & 9. Solving Inequalities: Carbon
Recycling Emissions
2. Introduction to Algebra: 10. Spatial Thinking: Solar Power
Poverty & Microcredit 11. Area & Transformations:
3. Modeling Integers: Wildlife Habitats
Population Growth 12. Surface Area & Volume:
4. Solving Algebraic Equations: Sustainable Design
Food Choices 13. Linear Functions: Systems &
5. Data & Graphs: Youth Global Education
Conflict 14. Midpoint & Distance Formulas:
6. Number Theory: Resource Distribution
Consumption Choices 15. Data Analysis: Quality of Life
7. Rational Numbers: Financial
Decisions
8. Proportion, Percent, &
Probability: Global Health


Lesson 1
Number Patterns: Waste & Recycling

Critical Thinking Questions:
 What are historic and current recycling trends in the US?
 What are the impacts of waste disposal?
 What are ways to reduce impacts of US produced waste?


Lesson 1

Objectives:
 Create expressions containing variables that represent
real world patterns
 Explore patterns of US disposal and recycling
 Use tables and graphs to organize data
 Identify number patterns


Iceberg Model
for understanding root causes and
leverage points of global issues


Lesson 1

Introductory Activity:
In small groups, answer these
questions about the items on
the next slide:
 Where does it go after it’s used?
 Can it be reused? If so, how?


Lesson 1

In small groups, answer these
questions about the items on
the next slide:
 Where does it go after it’s used?
 Can it be reused? If so, how?
Questions for the whole group:
 Is it OK for all these to be landfilled?
 How many plastic bottles do you use in a day?
 How many are used in the U.S. in 5 minutes?
2 million

Waste Not, Want Not

2. How many plastic bottles are used in 1 day
24 mil. bottles per hour x 24 hours = 576 mil. bottles
3. If 1/3 are recycled daily, how many are not?
2/3 x 576 = 384 mil. bottles OR 576 – (1/3 x 576)= 384 mil. bottles
4. 2 consequences of NOT recycling plastic bottles?
5. Create an equation to solve for number of bottles recycled
for any number of hours where B=Bottles & H=Hours
B = H x 24 mil. bottles


Waste Not, Want Not

6. Organize this data 5.5
into a line graph 4.6
7. Predict the number
of pounds per day
the average person
will discard in 2020
approx. 4.6 to 5.5 lbs


Waste Not, Want Not
8. All materials except plastics and
food scraps make up 76% of
our waste stream.
The % of plastics is the same
as the % of food scraps.
What % of our waste stream is
plastics?
(100% - 76%) / 2 = 12%
9. Recycling 4,050 20 oz. bottles
saves 1 cubic yard of landfill
space.
How many bottles need to be
recycled to save 50 cubic yards
of landfill space?
4,050 x 50 = 202,500

Waste Not, Want Not
Discussion Questions
Is it important to recycle as much as we can?
What are other ways to reduce the amount of waste we
produce?
Where is the closest landfill to your house? What factors
influence their location? Would you want one near you?
Will the amount of waste generated per person in the U.S.
continue to increase?
What kinds of materials are recyclable in your community?
What are barriers to recycling and ways to overcome them?


Additional Resources

Partial Zoom

Images retrieved from www.chrisjordan.com


Trash Track:
 Partnership between the
Seattle Public Library and
MIT
 Tagging everyday items
with GPS locators to
follow them through the
“removal chain”

http://senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack


Action Project

Find alternatives for
items currently being
thrown in landfills.
Organize a campaign
to support reuse of at
least one of the items
from the lesson
introduction.


Ecological Footprint:
Watch Where You Step
The area of the Earth‟s productive surface
(land and sea) that it takes
to produce the goods and
services necessary to
support a given human
lifestyle.


Choose a:
Favorite Meal
Favorite Object
Item of Clothing
Mode of Diagram:
Transportation Resources
Processes
Impacts


Photos courtesy of Ben Wheeler

Ecological Footprint Calculators

www.footprintnetwork.org

www.myfootprint.org

www.zerofootprintkids.com


 www.storyofstuff.com
“A 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at
our production and consumption patterns.
The Story of Stuff exposes the connections
between a huge number of environmental
and social issues, and calls us together to
create a more sustainable and just world. It'll
teach you something, it'll make you laugh,
and it just may change the way you look at
all the stuff in your life forever.”
 www.sightline.org
“Follows a day in the life of a fictional, typical
middle-class resident of Seattle. Tracing
back the layers of distribution, commerce,
and production involved in everyday
consumer goods Stuff is an engaging and
fact-packed look at the people and places
that are affected every time you sip your
coffee, tie your shoes, click your mouse, step
on the gas, or read a book.”


Facing the Future Resources
Teacher Lesson Plan Books
Over 25 lessons available for free at
1-2 week curriculum units
All available online to WA
teachers for free
Student textbooks
Preview chapters available
online


Staying Connected

 Visit www.facingthefuture.org
 Sign up for FTF e-newsletter
 Be a Peer Educator
 Provide feedback via survey
 Contact FTF:
dave@facingthefuture.org


“We must teach our students that
they can be architects of the future,
rather than its victims.”
~ Buckminster Fuller, Architect and Philosopher

Lesson 2
Introduction to Algebra: Poverty & Microcredit

 What are some solutions to ending extreme poverty?
 What is microcredit and how can it help alleviate poverty?


Lesson 2

Objectives:
 Investigate microcredit as a solution to extreme poverty
 Consider what it means to live in extreme poverty
 Brainstorm solutions to extreme poverty
 Evaluate formulas for different values
 Solve multi-step equations


Lesson 2

How much would you pay for the following items?
Movie ticket
Bus fare
Cup of coffee
3-course dinner
Could you buy any
for under $2


Let’s Go Shopping
 Where can you buy each
item for the lowest price?
 Which city is most
expensive?

Think, Pair, Share
 Is it feasible to live on $2
a day?
 What % of world‟s people
live on $2 a day or less?
 What would life be like?
 Where would you live
and work?
 What would you eat?
 How could the number of
people living in extreme
poverty be reduced?

Microcredit Business Plan
1. Calculate your total
operational costs (TOC)
TOC = Sc + (n x Mc)


Microcredit Business Plan
2. Calculate your profit
P = n (S – Mc)


Action Project

Organize a “Penny Challenge” to support a
microcredit organization
Each penny = 1 point
All other money is negative points (can be put in
competitor‟s container to decrease points but
increase total money raised).
Trickle Up www.trickleup.org
Grameen Bank www.grameen-info.org
Kiva www.kiva.org


Microcredit for Sustainable Development
Curriculum Extension Using
Engaging Students Through Global Issues

 40 activity-based lessons
 Subject areas and key concepts
 National standards alignment
 Timing and step-by-step instructions
 Materials needed and handouts
 Assessment questions
 Extension activities
 Connections to technology, literacy,
math, art
 Action project ideas
 Recommended resources such as:
films, books, websites


FTF Activity-Based Lesson:
“Microcredit for Sustainable Development”

Research a developing country
Apply for a $100 microcredit
grant to start a business
Create a poster and
presentation of your plan
and have plan approved
by a panel of “experts”


Lesson 3
Modeling Integers: Population Growth
 What factors drive population growth?
 What are impacts of population growth and loss?
 How is population connected to other global issues?
Objectives:
 Consider consequences of positive and negative population growth
 Define population growth rate
 Examine population trends
 Recognize and identify integers
 Add integers with same and different signs
 Solve equations with integers
 Plot integers on a coordinate plane


Lesson 3
Modeling Integers: Population Growth

What is a real life example of:
 A positive integer?
 A negative integer
Can you have a negative number of people?
As a group, line up from largest to smallest number
of children born per 100 women
 What if all countries had the same birthrate as Mali (734
per 100)? What about Singapore (108 per 100)?
 Why might some countries have higher rates than others?


The Ups & Downs of Population
1. What do you already know
about population growth:
a. Do most countries have declining or
growing populations?
b. Name 1 thing that might lead to
increase
c. Name 1 thing that might lead to
decline

2. Look at the age-gender
structure of Japan in 2000:
a. In 2000, were most people in Japan
old, young, or somewhere in
between?
b. How will the age structure be different
in 50 years?


3. Calculate the number of people
in each age group using the
following equation:
P2050 = P2000 + C
6,627,109
4. How will the number of people
7,412,041
older than 50 change from 2000 7,938,791
to 2050? 8,605,113
5. Which 10-year age group will 10,664,338

lose the greatest number? 11,665,199
12,738,388
6. What is 1 way the predicted
14,578,186
population for 2050 might affect 13,444,661
Japan?



7. How will India‟s population differ
from Japan‟s in 2050?
8. What is 1 way the predicted
population for 2050 might affect
India?
9. Japan‟s growth rate is -0.139%,
what integer is closest to this
numeric value?



10. Plot the coordinate pairs in the table on the a
coordinate plane to show how Japan‟s
population is changing
11. What is the trend of the graph?


Discussion Questions
What are some negative consequences of a
declining population? Positive consequences?
What are some negative consequences of a
growing population? Positive consequences?
Will India‟s and Japan‟s future populations match
those shown on the populations pyramids?
What are some humane ways to slow population
growth?


Lesson 4
Algebraic Equations: Food Choices
 What choices can people make to ensure a healthy lifestyle?
 How are eating habits related to future well-being?
 How are individual and community well-being interconnected?
Objectives:
 Write and solve multi-step equations
 Use tables to solve real-life problems
 Recognize the connection between health,
nutrition, exercise
 Understand that daily choices can affect
an individual‟s well-being


Lesson 4
Algebraic Equations: Food Choices

Jumping jacks for 10 seconds
 How many calories burned?
How would you define “health”?
 A state of complete mental, physical,
and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity.
(WHO)
What actions and choices make a person healthy?
Create list of common breakfast items.
 Which items do you consider healthy?

You Are What You Eat

 Compare 2 students‟ lunches
 Calculate missing calories and
calcium for Staci
 Discuss choices Estelle could make

What are some of the choices that Estelle needs to make
in order to have a healthier lifestyle? Could any of these
choices apply to you?
Is everyone capable of making those choices? Why or
why not?
How could schools help support healthier nutrition and
exercise habits of students?
What are some ways to reduce childhood obesity?
How is your personal health and well-being connected to
the well-being of your community?
How is the overall health of our country‟s people
connected to the well being of our nation?



Action Project
 Create a list of 10 foods that are part of a healthy diet
 Are these foods available at local food outlets? Why or why not?


Lesson 5
Data & Graphs: Youth Conflict
 How do actual youth violence trends compare to public
perception?
 What factors correlate with reductions in violence
 What can people do to increase the peace?
Objectives:
 Use double bar graphs to represent data
 Use line graphs to evaluate changes over time
 Create a scatterplot and line of best fit
 Examine trends in violent crimes among youth
 Explore root causes of youth violence

Lesson 5
Data & Graphs: Youth Conflict

Sides Debate Question: Youth violence is a
major problem in our society.
Agree? or Disagree?
Think, Pair, Share:
Has the rate of violent crimes in US schools
increased or decreased in the past 15 years?
Support your position


Increasing the Peace

1. Create a double bar graph using the information in
the following table.
2. Explain the trends observed in the graph



* Data unavailable for 2002 & 2004

1. Use the data to create a line graph, showing the trend in the number
of violent crimes per 1000 students ages 12-18 in U.S. schools.
2. What trend is emerging over time?
3. What are possible causes for the trends observed?


1. Use the following data to create a scatterplot.
2. Draw a line of best fit.
3. What pattern does the line of best fit reveal?

Based upon the 3 graphs, what observations can you
make about youth conflict?
Does the media‟s portrayal of youth violence represent
the same trends as on the graphs?
MS principals cite racial tension and student bullying as
the most common problems. HS principals cite gang and
extremist activities as the most common problems. What
might be reasons for the differences?
In HS, approximately twice as many males report
carrying a weapon to school than females report. What
might be reasons for this difference?
What measures do you think would decrease rates of
youth conflict even further?


Lesson 13
Linear Functions: Systems & Global Education

 How can understanding systems help us find solutions to
large and complex problems?
 How can we redesign a system to achieve a desired
outcome?
 What part does education play in creating a stable future?
Objectives:
 Graph linear functions
 Calculate slope
 Use systems thinking to look at problems
 Discover worldwide trends in primary school completion

Lesson 13

 “Bears In The Air” – Only 2 Rules:
1. Everyone must touch the bear
2. Must touch it in the same order each time
 Stand in a circle, practice for one round
 Time 2 rounds, trying to get faster each round,
plot on coordinate plane
 Plot slope using first 2 rounds
 Use y = mx + b to estimate 8th round
 Exploring limits to success


Lesson 13

Bears In The Air
Limits to Success
60
50
Time in Seconds

40
30 Time
20

10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Trial Number


Making the Grade


Making the Grade
How would life be different for you if
you were not able to attend school?
What role does education play in
shaping the future?
What might be some
consequences of not encouraging
worldwide education?
Why are the goals for the 4
regions different from the actual
numbers of students completing
primary school?

Lesson 15
Data Analysis: Quality of Life
 How does the concept of what is necessary for a high
quality of life change over the course of our lives?
 What determines quality of life and happiness?
 How is quality of life measured?
Objectives:
 Develop quality of life indicators
 Administer a quality of life survey
 Organize data using a box and whisker plot
 Compare student and adult survey responses
 Analyze data by calculating measures of central tendency

Lesson 15
Data Analysis: Quality of Life
If you agree with the following statements, please
stand up:
People who have many friends have a good life.
People who make more than enough money to pay
their monthly bills have a good life.
People who graduate from college have a good life.
If everyone in the world was “living the good life,”
what would we have in common? (Think about QOL
as a positive concept, not just a lack of what is negative.
The WHO, defines health as “a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmary.”)

Livin‟ the Good Life
Quality of Life Survey
Develop questions and survey students and
adults to assess QOL based upon several
category indicators
Must be measurable in units of time or quantities:
Number of ____ per ____
Examples for category of Relaxation:
Number of hours per week you do your favorite activity
Number of days per year you spend on vacation
Make sure indicators are designed such that a
higher number represents an increase in QOL

 Example of
worksheet
students can use
to collect data
 Copy compiled
survey results
into table below

Extensions & Action Projects
Investigate traditional and alternative
indicators commonly used for QOL:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Genuine Progress Index (GPI)
U.N. Human Development Index
Publish a QOL Report


Problems as Opportunities
Sharing Positive Stories
Activity-based Lessons
Action Projects
Personal and structural
solutions
Service Learning
Fast Facts, Quick Actions
Service Learning Project
Database
Service Learning Framework

Facing the Future
Professional Development Workshops

 Bridging the Achievement Gap
 Climate Change
 Service Learning
 Systems Thinking
 Media Literacy
 Global Health Connections
 Equity and Quality of Life
 Sustainable Development

School & District-wide
Transformation for EfS

THE CLOUD INSTITUTE FOR
SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION
 Consulting Services
Curriculum Mapping
Gap/Strength Assessment & Analysis
Organizational Change
 Curriculum Design Studio in a Box
Tools to design your own sustainability lessons
 Education for Sustainability Workshops

www.cloudinstitute.org

K-12 and Teacher Education Resources
National Standards
Listserv
Webinar: November 2009
White Paper on EfS
Curricula, PD, Stories, etc.
http://www.uspartnership.org/

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