Working through geometric proofs

Today was a continuation of working through proofs. It was a mixed bag as to how students fared on their own. Most didn't get very far but at least I could see that many had actually attempted the next proof.

I had the class work in groups discussing what they did. I walked around and helped get students going in the right direction. Many students could see a statement was true and could articulate general reasoning. They fell short in providing step-by-step instructions or providing the "why" for their reasoning.

As the class continued to struggle through the proofs, I could see that they were beginning to grasp better the detail and supporting reasons needed for a proof. I found that describing a proof as something similar to giving detailed instructions that also included why each step in the instructions was given seemed to help. For a couple of students who take computer programming, I likened writing a proof to writing lines of code. You need to provide the computer all of the instructions and you cannot leave out any instructions.

The plan is to wrap-up proofs next class and then work through a review sheet. I will assess the class the middle of next week. The assessment will be a common assessment that the geometry team uses coupled with an additional assessment where students have to explain and illustrate the connections between reflections, translations, and rotations.