EXAMPLE OF A CULMINATING PROJECT
In this section you will find an example of a Culminating Project put
together by two future teachers as they worked through the MDM4U course
content for the first time. The Culminating Project is a major component of the
MDM4U course. Students will find personal interest in the subject they select
and they should be able to do a very good job if they start the project early in
the course and return to it at various times. It is recommended that students
identify an area of interest early in the semester and that they be required to
find appropriate data within the first two weeks of classes. Additional data can
be identified as the course develops. When a major section of the course is
concluded students should be asked to reflect and apply what they have learned
in order to advance their project. They will find that some sections are directly
applicable to their project and area of interest, while other sections will only
provide an opportunity to explore concepts that marginally apply. A variety of
activities have been assembled in the pages called Projects by Sections.
These show work in progress, some of which did not make the Culminating
Project. What you have there are examples of the best that the students could
do at the time. On further investigation new ideas were generated or new data
was found that fitted better into the Culminating Project. The final product, the
Culminating Project, is certainly not perfect and one could question some of
the statements and conclusions made within it. Nevertheless we hope that
you will find this resource useful and that you will join the discussion group of
MDM4U mathematics teachers. Best wishes with the course.Eric Muller