Figure 4.1: Matrix activity graph.
CLASSROOM EXAMPLE
A teacher gives each student an individual matrix while posting a large display on chart paper in the classroom. Students consider the educational benefits of using cell phones in class while also reflecting on the risk of distraction. Students decide how they rate each item. For example, one student loves using technology in class and rates a nine on that axis, but he is also a little concerned about the distraction and rates that a six. However, two others at his table rate slightly differently. Students place their rating on their matrix, then plot it on the classroom matrix (see figure 4.1). The teacher organizes students into small groups to reflect on the data and consider topics for a whole-class discussion.
Strategy Steps
Use the following seven steps to help you implement the Matrix strategy (Stobaugh & Love, 2015).
1. Select two variables to use in forming the matrix. The interaction of these variables should spur thought-provoking discussions and expose diverse viewpoints.
2. Have each student create a matrix on paper and mark his or her rating. For example, a student might apply a rating of 9 on a scale of 0 to 10 to a topic of high importance (preserving the environment) but apply a rating of 2 to a topic of minimal importance (financial support of environmental projects). The student would then mark the intersection of those points on his or her matrix.
3. Instruct students to use the space below their matrix to justify their opinion in several sentences. Encourage students to use readings or other materials to support their answer.
4. Create a large matrix on chart paper, and post it on the wall. Have students use sticky notes (or dots) to mark their rating on the classroom matrix, creating a cluster graph.
5. Form students into two concentric circles—an inside and outside circle with students facing each other. Instruct students to examine the data and ask them the following questions.
• “What do you notice in the data?”
• “Do you observe any patterns, and what do they tell you?”
• “What surprises you?”
• “What can you infer, and what conclusions might you draw?”
After each question, invite students to discuss their answers with the student in front of them.
6. After discussing, have the students on the outside circle move three spots to the right so they are with a new partner to discuss the next question.
7. Have students share their conclusions in a whole-group discussion.
Variations
You can use the following variations in association with this strategy.
• Near the end of a unit of study, put students in groups and have each group generate a topic and two variables to analyze based on their unit learning. The class should then select one or more of the group-generated ideas and complete the matrix activity.
• To gauge how opinions have changed from the beginning of the Matrix strategy to the end, have students use different color sticky notes (or dots) to indicate if their opinion changes at the end of the discussion. This provides a useful visual for how many students changed their minds about the topic.
Additional Content-Area Examples
This section provides examples of some ways you can connect this strategy to your teaching in different content areas.
• A language arts teacher designs a matrix that analyzes the importance of the format relative to the impact of haiku writing.
• A science teacher designs a matrix that analyzes the importance of studying space with the costs involved.
• A mathematics teacher designs a matrix that analyzes the importance of the process to solving a mathematical problem to the importance of finding the correct answer.
• A social studies teacher designs a matrix that analyzes how much risk a business can take relative to the potential profit involved in taking that risk.
• A careers teacher asks students to chart how much effort they put into a resume on a scale from 10 to 1 (10 being maximum effort and 1 being minimal effort) and their grade on the assignment (from one to ten points).
Strategy 4: Ten Most Important Words
Vocabulary is very important to students, particularly those who come from poverty (Jensen, 2019); they will carry it throughout their lives. As with the Strategy 1: Vocabulary-Building Movement strategy, the vocabulary students know will enhance their learning experience and breadth of knowledge. The Ten Most Important Words strategy helps students identify key vocabulary terms and increase their understanding of them by making connections between those terms and the crucial knowledge that constitutes learning targets.
CLASSROOM EXAMPLE
After learning about environmental sustainability and the impact of people on the world around them, a teacher instructs students to read an article about the recycling process. Students identify ten key vocabulary terms in the article, and record their choices on individual sticky notes. The class compiles the vocabulary terms in one chart and discusses the patterns students observe.
Strategy Steps
Use the following five steps to help you implement the Ten Most Important Words strategy.
1. Provide each student with ten sticky notes.
2. Have students read or interact with a new source of information, like articles, websites, science data, and so on. The crucial factor is that the source contains plenty of relevant vocabulary-building words for students to choose from.
3. Instruct students to read or view the content you select and determine what they believe are the ten most important words mentioned. Students write each word they identify on a sticky note.
4. Using empty wall space or section of the floor, have a student announce a vocabulary word he or she selected and instruct him or her, along with any other students who identified the same term, to adhere their notes to the selected area. As each term is added to the mass, the sticky notes begin to form a giant bar graph depicting the number of times a student identified a key vocabulary word.
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