Blog 1 - OSMO Words- Task 1

OSMO words is a game whereby setting down letter tiles, players attempt to interpret the hidden words on the screen, and hints will be given by relevant pictures. Retherford (2020) stated that students who studied through Osmo had a more consistent and huge increase in vocabulary, were more motivated, and were more immersed in word learning. But how does it relate to secondary math?

---

Concept map based on six recommendations by Marzano for effective vocabulary instruction.

Well, a significant element of mathematics learning is knowledge of various shapes, formulas, and theorems. There is no doubt about the value of educating mathematics vocabulary as the language of mathematics continues to become a priority in the development of mathematical ability. (Riccomini et al., 2015)

---

Mathematics is a subject that involves not much creativity, but the way students learn and implement math allows creativity to happen. In OSMO, players can create their own library, where creativity is fostered when students discover words relating to a certain concept from the photos they took. They can decide and adjust the difficulty of their libraries, and the hardness for other people to figure out the word in the photos.

---

shapes in real life

As Lin (2011) mentioned, “Children explore out of their curiosity”, and a learning environment that is full of interesting challenges encourages “spontaneous learning” and develops creative thinking capabilities (p. 152). OSMO inspires students' ability to see the elements of mathematics around their lives, in order for students to make mathematical connections to what they see around them. Allowing students to achieve “mini-c” in the activity, and progressively engage with “little-c creativity” (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2013, p. 12)

To use it in classrooms, students can each create a library with up to 4 photos with a word list, then students in groups compete, the group that got the most words right wins. As an extension, students can add words of shapes, or any mathematical theorem they found in the photo.

---

engaging with OSMO words in EDUC 3620 tutorial

---

Limitations:

This technology can only be used in the classroom and the school needs to purchase a lot of equipment for this activity, such as the game itself and the electronic devices (iPad) needed for the game. Students who wish to practice at home will have to purchase it themselves, but not every student will be able to access that.

Students playing these games in class may take them away from the main point of the game and there is a possibility of students becoming competitive with each other. Teachers need to control classroom order at the right time as well as link the games to the mathematical content.

---

References

Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2013). Fundamentals of CREATIVITY. Educational Leadership, 70(5), 10–15.

Lin, Y.-S. (2011). Fostering Creativity through Education – A Conceptual Framework of Creative Pedagogy. Creative Education, 2(3), Article 3.

https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2011.23021

Marzano. (2004). Building background knowledge for academic achievement : research on what works in schools. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Retherford, T. A. (2020). The Effects of Gamification on English Language Learners’ Motivation and Vocabulary Growth [M.A., Southeast Missouri State University].

https://www.proquest.com/docview/2436390567/abstract/E2BA1593292E4CAEPQ/1

Riccomini, P. J., Smith, G. W., Hughes, E. M., & Fries, K. M. (2015). The Language of Mathematics: The Importance of Teaching and Learning Mathematical Vocabulary. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31(3), 235–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2015.1030995