Julia Shimf

Professor Melissa Joell Loble, M.A., MBA

University of California, Irvine
Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual K-12 Classroom
16 March 2015
Using Interactive Simulations for Math Classes
in the English School (Moscow, Russia)

The English School in Moscow is a weekend training courses for young learners aged 7 14,
who attend Russian-speaking secondary schools, but foresee studying abroad (at high school or
college-level in the USA or the UK).
The curriculum includes preparation in English, Math and Science taught by native speakers
(certified CELTA teachers with academic background in Math, Social or Natural Science).
My position: marketing manager, working in close collaboration with Director of Studies,
teachers and administration of the School.
The idea of assignment: for Russian-speaking learners it might be hard to study new concepts
in a foreign language. To avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding of academic terms, English
teachers are advised to supplement their instruction with interactive and visual tools.
Activity
Age 8 10 (Elementary school students)
Subject: Math
Topic: Introduction to Fractions
Learning outcomes:
1. Have an understanding of English terms: Fractions, Shares and Equality.
2. Define a fraction by explaining the meaning of its top and bottom parts
3. Convert between a fraction and its numeric representation
Any student, considering an application to British or American schools, is supposed to have
relevant knowledge and academic skills both in English and Math.
One of the requirements for school application is an entrance math exam, which include
fractions. Russian students should apply for international schools one or two years before the
academic year. So, the children aged 8 - 10 should do advance preparation and have

foreknowledge in English and Math to enroll, be accepted and start studying abroad at 11+ or
13+.
In the English School, Moscow, teachers are native English speakers. They are obliged to make
use of face-to-face communication in class (which is important for teaching English as a second
language). Incorporating virtual technology in a traditional face-to-face course can help students
better understand calculations in English and develop their quantitative skills.

Technology
For this assignment I suggest using the Open Educational Resources provided by PhET
Interactive simulations:
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/fractions-intro
Why use simulations:
The English School is located in the heart of Moscow, closed to inspiring landmarks of Bolshoi
theatre and the Red Square. However the office is not equipped with science labs (as the school
is primary focused on teaching ESL). Thereby any scientific experiment can be carrying out only
in virtual framework. Virtual simulations might help students actively engage with materials not
available in the physical classroom.
The PhET Simulations offer fun, interactive applets with graphics to help visualize the
mathematical concept of fractions. This technology is free to download and easy to install.
For a group of 6 students handouts and laptops (with installed simulations) will be necessary.
The lesson will begin with a face-to-face conversation. Students will be asked to brainstorm their
ideas about how people use fractions in daily life. The key term here is sharing (due to its
explicitness to non-native English speakers). The teacher can bring an apple to the class, share it
equally between students and ask them to count the number of parts. This activity will result in
childrens understanding that fractions are equal parts of a whole.
Then, the teachers will hand out papers, laptops and have students work with the tab Intro of
the PhET simulation.

The students can choose a representation (a circle, rectangle or even a chocolate cake), make a
fraction and draw it. Increasing and decreasing the top part of the fraction, the students will be
reflecting on what happens and sketch the new fraction in their work sheets.
After that the student will go back to their original fraction and try increasing and decreasing the
bottom part of the fraction. Their work sheets should report the fraction name and its sketch.
This activity enables students to observe how the amount changes when the numerators and
denominators are increased or decreased.
For the second part of the lesson the students will be building fractions independently with the
simulation. The idea is to build fractions that match the numeric representation. This tool can
help test childrens knowledge of the top/bottom parts of a fraction.

As a home assignment the students can continue practicing with fractions making by the
Making Game tab of the simulation. Its available at eight different levels of complexity,
which help student feel them progressing.
Possible challenges
The PHET interactive simulation Fractions Intro is very representative and applicable.
Although students should intuitively understand it, detailed instruction might be necessary. The
challenge here is that non-native English speakers can get lost during the procedure of English

instruction. So it is really important for teachers to provide the clearest possible guidance with
simple words and expressions.
Assessment
In order to measure the outcomes of the lesson, two stages of assessment can be used.
1. Formative assessment of each students work during the simulating activities (earning
stars in the fraction games, level increasing).
2. The actual assessment of newly attained knowledge by working out a sample problem
from a real math entrance exam for an international school (e. g. Foremarke Hall Repton
Prep School, UK).
Sample tasks
Shade in

4
of the shape below
5

a)

b)

Shade in

2
of the shape below
3

3
of the same shape below
5

c)

Now shade in

d)

Look at your shaded regions. What does this tell you about the fractions

2
3
and ?
3
5