Fun activity-based mathematics: some teaching situations at lawrence s.ting junior high school

 TẠP CHÍ KHOA HỌC 
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM TP HỒ CHÍ MINH 
Tập 17, Số 5 (2020): 808-817 
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 
Vol. 17, No. 5 (2020): 808-817 
ISSN: 
1859-3100 Website:  
808 
Research Article* 
FUN ACTIVITY-BASED MATHEMATICS: SOME TEACHING 
SITUATIONS AT LAWRENCE S.TING JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL 
Ton Nu Khanh Binh 
Lawrence S.Ting School, Vietnam 
Corresponding author: Ton Nu Khanh Binh – Email: binhtnk@lsts.edu.vn 
Received: November 01, 2019; Revised: November 24, 2019; Accepted: May 26, 2020 
ABSTRACT 
Learning Math has never brought all exciting experiences for most students in their learning 
process. Teaching Math therefore has never been as easy as a pie for teachers either; especially 
for those working in high-school settings and assigned the responsibilities for providing the core 
knowledge of certain concepts and formulas in a limited time frame and then making students fully 
understand and be able to demonstrate their application of what they learn to real-life situations. 
In this regard, this article focuses on the implementation of activity-based Mathematics classrooms 
following the theories of Project Based Learning, Learning-by-Doing theory, Service Learning, 
and Inquiry Based Learning to make Math lessons more engaging for the students. Throughout the 
article, the teaching process is illustrated through school-based examples at Lawrence S. Ting 
School (Dinh Thien Ly) Junior High School for students in grades 8 and 9. The activities 
incorporated the theories mentioned earlier with the aim of not only improving student’s abilities 
in solving problems by completing a designed task but also creating meaningful and fun classes. 
The results show that they have a profound impact on student achievement for more than 
two years. 
Keywords: daily problems, experiences, service learning, practical solutions, fun activity-
based Mathematics 
1. Introduction 
With the desire to arouse students’ interests in the subjects, apply the knowledge 
learned in practice, as well as create teamwork culture, from 2010, Lawrence S.Ting School 
(LSTS) started to apply Project Based Learning (PBL) in teaching. Since then, doing 
projects has become an important part of learning. However, designing a multi-task which 
contains key knowledge and helps students improve their skills yet brings joy to learners 
and also makes them experience the applications of Math in their lives seems to be a 
Cite this article as: Ton Nu Khanh Binh (2020). Fun activity-based Mathematics: Some teaching situations at 
Lawrence S.Ting Junior High School. Ho Chi Minh City University of Education Journal of Science, 17(5), 
808-817. 
HCMUE Journal of Science Ton Nu Khanh Binh et al. 
809 
“Learning by Doing activity” for teachers. Besides, students need to be trained on how to 
think critically, logically and create connections with prior knowledges to meet new 
requirements. This is the reason why we have been trying to apply Inquiry Based Learning 
(IBL) in teaching. Furthermore, students are encouraged to make products that serve the 
community, thereby spreading the value of Service, one of the six core values of LSTS. In 
this paper, I would like to introduce some Learning-by-Doing activities incorporated the 
theories mentioned above which are being applied at LSTS and their values. Among 
various definitions of “Learning-by-Doing”, the way Reese (2011) presented in his work 
best fits for this article. 
2. Some teaching situations 
2.1. The mysterious can 
The cylinder’s lesson plan is created in the form of a series of challenges. It is called 
“The cylinder’s surgery.” At the beginning, in ten minutes, students are given 
measurements and papers and asked to make a cylinder gift box with no further 
explanation. During this first task, they are required to write group’s reports that reflect 
their observation, comments, and conclusions drawn from the activity. When the group 
finish this task on time, they will get 5 points maximum for task accomplishment and 2 
points for each meaningful comment. The fact that students who share the groups’ 
comments are randomly selected by the teacher motivates them to share their opinions and 
teach each other (Sharratt, & Planche, 2016). In this process, the students learn about 
components of a cylinder and how to construct its body and bases, from which they could 
then draw conclusions about the structure of a cylinder. For example, the curved surface is 
a rectangle or its top and bottom are two equal circles. 
In the second activity, students are provided with a can without a label – the 
mysterious can. In groups, students brainstorm some possible questions on this can. For 
each question they can make, the group will get one bonus point. This stage is also a part 
of IBL. In the following activities, students will work on answers to the questions by 
themselves. 
After that, they have to calculate the volume of the can and the size of the label in as 
many ways as they could as long as they are reasonable and practical. Ultimately, the 
learning outcomes students can get include: 
- break down a cylinder into basic shapes; 
- make a cylinder with given measurements; 
- create and explain how to calculate the lateral area and the surface area; 
- apply those formula to solve real life problems. 
2.2. Measure the height of the flag pole 
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Trigonometry is first introduced in grade 9. Apparently, students face a lot of 
difficulties. However, regarding its usage and meaning, this Math concept is continuously 
taught in high school for its various applications in our lives. Thus, in order to make it 
come alive and enhance students’ skills in solving problem related to trigonometry, 
teachers in grade 9 decide to choose an appropriate context to teach this lesson and turn it 
into a challenge instead. For this activity, students will get 50% of the total score from this 
activity and other 50% from the traditional paper tests. 
The main task of this exercise is to measure the height of the taller flag pole in the 
school yard. In two weeks, each group of six students have to select at least three solutions 
to get the result. They can first introduce as many ways as they can imagine but are just 
allowed to choose one main solution to present. The students then give their explanations 
and the final result in a presentation in the form of a poster, a video clip or an infographic. 
Finally, the teacher and students evaluate group’s score based on given rubrics (Table 1 in 
the appendix). 
2.3. Living values in Math 
Living values in Math was first created by Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Uyen Phuong, 
a Math teacher at LSTS. This is an interdisciplinary project of Math and English for 
students in grade 8. In the project, students will play roles of writers, character designers, 
artists, directors, and social activists to complete particular missions. (Nguyen, Tran, & 
Dang, 2017) 
The project goes through four stages: 
- Stage 1: complete the living value challenge in three to five days which can be not 
using plastic bags, cooking a meal for the family, living a life of a vegetarian, and such. 
The challenge will provide students with initial experiences to write reflections on a social 
media platform of the project to spread the meaningful messages and prepare the ideas to 
write a story. 
- Stage 2: students learn how to draw by ruler and compass, starting from basics such 
as parallel lines, perpendicular lines, equilateral triangle, square, and so on to much more 
complex shapes, like pentagon, hexagon, how to make the template of the pyramid, 
equilateral apex, and vertical prism on paper. They are also given instructions on 
connections between real-life objects and geometric shapes learned in the class as well as 
how to sketch out the objects using the shapes to make the first drafts of the characters of 
the story created in the first stage. 
- Stage 3.1: students design a poster to describe the story and the underlying messages. 
- Stage 3.2: students calculate the surface area of the characters to optimize the area of 
the paper when they are mass produced. 
HCMUE Journal of Science Ton Nu Khanh Binh et al. 
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- Stage 4: students make comic strips in stop motion style based on the story about 
living values. The purpose of this activity is to give them a sense of community service. 
Teachers in grade 8 keep students informed of the requirements and description of 
each stage with specific rubrics, external resources and deadlines on the first day of the 
project implementation. Accordingly, students can generate ideas and plan ahead work 
schedules (see all the rubrics in Table 2 and Table 3 in the appendix) 
3. Results and Discussion 
3.1. From The mysterious can 
After the continuous challenges, students generally realize that the circumference of 
the top or bottom must also be the length of the rectangle if they want to make each part of 
the cylinder fits perfectly with others. Those discoveries have laid the important steps to 
compute the lateral area, the surface area, and the volume of the cylinder, all of which are 
the key knowledge of the lesson. 
Moreover, students have a chance to “meet” some problems related to cylinder 
objects in real life and solve those problems together. They are also allowed to try many 
realistic solutions such as pouring water into the can or buying the same can to get the 
volume of the can, which may not be accepted in formal classes. This activity has brought 
Math closer to students’ lives, sparked joyful moments, and developed their creativity 
during the discussion and presentation. 
3.2. From Measure the height of the flag pole 
As a result, each year, we are amazed by more and more unique, creative, and funny 
ways that students have shown us. Here are some of them: 
- Trigonometry: measure the base angle in the right triangle formed by the ground, the 
pole and the rope when it is untired, then calculate its tan, and finally figure out the height 
of the pole. 
- Photoshop: take a picture of a student standing next to the pole and use his height as 
a standard measurement. 
- Approximate measurement: add up the height of two floors and the approximate 
height of the extra part from the highest floor to the top of the point, then subtract the 
height of the base. 
- Congruent triangles: construct a smaller right triangle which is congruent with the 
right triangle formed by the ground, the pole, and the rope when it is untired. Using 
congruent ratio, students can get the answer. 
- Drone: fly a drone until it gets to the same height of the pole. 
- Yarn strategy: tie the yarn with the mark to the rope which holds the flag, next pull 
the rope until it reaches the top of the pole, then mark on the yarn and lower the rope to 
HCMUE Journal of Science Vol. 17, No. 5 (2020): 808-817 
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untie the yarn. All they do in the end is to measure the distance between two marks. 
- Measure apps on smart phones 
- Gravity: choose a point where it could be the half or one third of the pole, one 
student drops a yarn and then measures the falling length. From the ratio between the 
position they drop it with the tallest point of the pole, they can calculate the distance. 
- Ask the maintenance staff 
Students apply what they have learnt in different subjects to calculate the height of a 
tall object. They also create their own solutions, make decisions by choosing the best 
option, and practice communication skills (Laal, & Laal, 2012). Even in the end, although 
the students used to be curious about the answer, they just remember how they accomplish 
the challenge, not about the number. Experiences students get from the process of thinking, 
measuring, calculating, negotiating become meaningful memories. The flag pole will 
remind them about the lesson they learnt and the funny activities they did with friends 
when trying various ways to get the height of the pole. 
3.3. From Living values in Math 
After doing this project, students are able to: 
- improve drawing skill, promote space imagination, practice geometric thinking, 
calculate related to real lives; 
- stimulate linguistic thinking, the ability to write creative stories in English; 
- work effectively in a teamwork; 
- practice and experience living values. 
3.4. The development of the project 
- Stories and short films from this project will be used as teaching resources for living 
values lessons. 
- The kit of characters will be uploaded to a social network, so many people can use 
them to improve their children’s thinking ability. 
- Connect with Orphan Impact Organization to teach the smaller kids how to create 
various characters and share the 12 living values (UNESCO, 2000). 
4. Conclusion 
“Knowledge becomes most powerful when students can use information to gain 
deeper understanding of specific problems” (Fred M. Newmann). 
The results of example activities presented in this paper have shown that students get 
a full understanding of key Math concepts. At the same time, they can greatly improve 
many important skills, such as raising questions, logical and critical thinking, 
communication, decision making, collaboration, planning and so on. They also have fun 
with their teammates while completing the challenge. Based on the well-designed learning-
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by-doing lesson plans, solving Math problems can be integrated into every-day life 
activities. In consistently doing so, students get familiarized with the application of 
Math to daily situations. Generally, repetitions of these activities make it become their 
own habit. 
As the activity is based on daily problems, answers such as pouring water into the 
can to get the volume, wrapping a piece of paper around the can, or even visits to the store 
in a search for measurements of the original can become reasonably acceptable. In such 
circumstance, if they as students refuse to use Math but another method, we as a teacher, 
can make advantage of this situation instead by putting an emphasis on the importance of 
Math. For example, teachers could explain that people actually do not have to go to the 
store, cutting the paper into pieces to get the lateral area, or getting wet while pouring 
water into the can to estimate the volume if they know the way to get the formula. In this 
regard, Math will appear as a genius, professional, and magical tool to solve all the 
problems. 
 Conflict of Interest: Author have no conflict of interest to declare. 
 Acknowledgements: I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Assoc. Prof. 
Le Thai Bao Thien Trung for not only being my mentor but also for his supporting and 
encouraging. 
Secondly, I would like to extend my gratitude to Ms. Phan Gia Bao who read the first 
draft, gave me valuable suggestions and helped me a lot in finalizing this paper. In 
addition, many thanks to Ms. Truong Thi Minh Uyen, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hoa, Ms. 
Nguyen Ngoc Uyen Phuong for providing materials, numbers, project plans and reports. 
Last but not least, I wish to say thank to Vu Minh Nhat. Thanks to his care, I kept moving 
forward on this paper. 
REFERENCES 
Laal, M., & Laal, M. (2012). Collaborative learning: what is it? Procedia – Social and Behavioral 
Sciences, 31, 491-495. Retrieved from 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042811030217 
Nguyen, P., Tran, H., & Dang, Q. (2017). Living values in Math. Microsoft Creative teachers 
contest. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/Story/Lesson?token=qHCKi 
Reese, H. W. (2011). The Learning-by-Doing Principle. Behavioral development bulletin, 11. ISSN: 
1942-0722. 
Sharratt, L., & Planche, B. (2016). Leading collaborative learning; empowering excellence. CA: 
Corwin: Thousand Oaks. 
UNESCO (2000). Framework for action on values education in early childhood. 
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APPENDIX: Rubrics 
Table 1. Rubric for measuring the height of the flag pole 
Categories Max score 
Group’s 
score 
Report 
Content 
Each measure is explained clearly in 
details 
15 
Number of possible options 10 
The creativity, originality and 
effectiveness of options 
10 
Form 
Content is clear and highlighted 15 
Using appropriate animations, pictures, 
sounds, text colors and themes 
10 
Presentation 
The speaker shows his deep understanding of content, 
presents fluently. 
10 
The speaker presents confidently, knows how to 
communicate and engage audiences. 
5 
Respect others when they are presenting, have good 
questions or comments. 
5 
Group work 
effectiveness 
Communicate effectively and have fair share among 
group members. 
15 
Punctual 5 
Total 
Table 2. Rubric for character evaluation 
Category 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt 
Kit - Exactly fit with 
the structure of 
the character 
- Arrange parts 
of character 
reasonably (in 
order of 
priority: the 
order of 
character 
creation, 
making use of 
the gaps) 
- Sharp 
drawings. 
- Exactly fit 
with the 
structure of 
the character 
- Arrange parts 
of character 
unreasonably
. 
- Have 1-2 
blur detail 
(s). 
- Exactly fit 
with the 
structure of 
the character 
- Arrange parts 
of character 
unreasonably
. 
- Have 3-4 
blur details. 
- Exactly fit 
with the 
structure of 
the character 
- Arrange parts 
of character 
unreasonably
. 
- Have 5-6 
blur details. 
- Exactly fit 
with the 
structure of 
the character 
- Arrange parts 
of character 
unreasonably. 
- Have more 
than 6 blur 
details. 
HCMUE Journal of Science Ton Nu Khanh Binh et al. 
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Flap - Sufficient, well 
organized, 
easily cut and 
glue. 
- No overlap. 
- Sufficient. 
- No overlap. 
- Unreasonable 
layout, not 
convenient to 
cut or glue 
- Sufficient. 
- Overlap 1-2 
flap(s). 
- Unreasonable 
layout, not 
convenient to 
cut or glue 
- Insufficient/ 
overlap 3-4 
flaps. 
- Unreasonable 
layout, not 
convenient to 
cut or glue. 
- Insufficient/ 
overlap more 
than 5 flaps. 
- Unreasonable 
layout, not 
convenient to 
cut or glue 
Note - Have the 
model. 
- Full, clear and 
accurate notes. 
- Notes are 
succinctly 
expressed. 
- Have the 
model. 
- Full, clear 
and accurate 
notes. 
- Notes are 
reasonably 
expressed. 
- Have the 
model. 
- Notes are 
sufficient but 
have 1-2 
errors. 
- Have the 
model. 
- Have some 
missing notes 
or/ and 3-4 
errors. 
- Have the 
model. 
- No notes or 
more than 5 
misused 
notes. 
Joint - Can move in 
more than 2 
directions 
- Firm structure. 
- Can move in 
more than 2 
directions 
- 1 detail is 
separated. 
- Can move in 
just 1 
direction 
- 2 details are 
separated. 
- Can move in 
just 1 
direction 
- 3 details are 
separated. 
- Cannot move. 
- More than 4 
details are 
separated. 
Aesthetics - Lively 
decorations 
- Harmonious, 
eye-catching 
colors. 
- The edges fit 
snugly. 
- Surfaces of the 
character are 
clear. 
- Lively 
decorations 
- Harmonious, 
eye-catching 
colors. 
- The edges fit 
snugly. 
- 1-2 surface 
(s) of the 
character 
have some 
stains. 
- Lively 
decorations 
- The colors 
are quiet 
harmonious. 
- The edges 
don’t fit 
perfectly 
with others. 
- 3-4 surfaces 
of the 
character are 
blur, messy. 
- The 
decorations 
are quiet 
lively. 
- The colors 
are not 
harmonious. 
- The edges 
don’t fit 
perfectly 
with others. 
- 5-6 surfaces 
of the 
character are 
blur, messy. 
- Colorful 
decorations. 
- The edges 
don’t fit 
perfectly with 
others. 
- More than 7 
surfaces of 
the character 
are blur, 
messy. 
Diversity 
in 
structure 
- Firm structure. 
- Use a variety 
of shapes 
(rectangular 
prisms, right 
prisms, 
pyramids). 
- Firm 
structure. 
- Use two of 
three kinds of 
shapes. 
- Unstable 
structure. 
- Use two of 
three kinds of 
shapes. 
- Unstable 
structure. 
- Use one of 
three kinds of 
shapes. 
- The structure 
is soft, dented, 
distorted. 
- Use one of 
three kinds of 
shapes. 
Table 3. Rubric for short story grading 
CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 
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1. Setting & 
Characters 
Many vivid, 
descriptive words are 
used to tell when and 
where the story took 
place. 
The main characters 
are named and clearly 
described. Most 
readers could 
describe the 
characters accurately. 
Some vivid, descriptive 
words are used to tell 
the audience when and 
where the story took 
place. 
The main characters are 
named and described. 
Most readers would 
have some idea of what 
the characters looked 
like 
The reader can 
figure out when and 
where the story took 
place, but the author 
didn't supply much 
detail. The main 
characters are 
named. The reader 
knows very little 
about the characters. 
The reader has trouble 
figuring out when and 
where the story took 
place. 
It is hard to tell who 
the main characters 
are. 
2. Plot 
Elements 
It is very easy for the 
reader to understand 
the problem the main 
characters face and 
why it is a problem. 
The solution to the 
character's problem is 
easy to understand, 
and is logical. There 
are no loose ends. 
It is fairly easy for the 
reader to understand the 
problem the main 
characters face and why 
it is a problem. The 
solution to the 
character's problem is 
easy to understand, and 
is somewhat logical. 
It is fairly easy for 
the reader to 
understand the 
problem the main 
characters face but it 
is not clear why it is 
a problem. The 
solution to the 
character's problem 
is a little hard to 
understand. 
It is not clear what 
problem the main 
characters face. No 
solution is attempted 
or it is impossible to 
understand. 
3. 
Organization 
The story is very well 
organized. One idea 
or scene follows 
another in a logical 
sequence with clear 
transitions. 
The story is pretty well 
organized. One idea or 
scene may seem out of 
place. Clear transitions 
are used. 
The story is a little 
hard to follow. The 
transitions are 
sometimes not clear. 
Ideas and scenes seem 
to be randomly 
arranged. 
4. Creativity The story contains 
many creative details 
and/or descriptions 
that contribute to the 
reader's enjoyment. 
The author has really 
used his/her 
imagination. 
The story contains a 
few creative details 
and/or descriptions that 
contribute to the 
reader's enjoyment. The 
author has used his/her 
imagination. 
The story contains a 
few creative details 
and/or descriptions, 
but they distract 
from the story. The 
author has tried to 
use his/her 
imagination. 
There is little evidence 
of creativity in the 
story. The author does 
not seem to have used 
much imagination. 
5. Mechanics The story contains no 
errors in grammar, 
usage, or mechanics. 
The story contains few 
minor errors in 
grammar, usage, or 
mechanics. 
The story contains 
many and/or serious 
errors in grammar, 
usage, or 
mechanics; may 
interfere with 
reading. 
The story contains so 
many errors in 
grammar, usage, and 
mechanics that errors 
block reading. 
GROUP S P O C M TOTAL 
1 
2 
3 
4 
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5 
6 
. 
HỌ C TOÁN QUA CÁC HOẠ T ĐỘ NG THỰ C NGHIỆ M VUI: VÀI TÌNH HUỐ NG DẠ Y HỌ C 
Ở TRƯ ỜNG TRUNG HỌ C CƠ SỞ VÀ TRUNG HỌ C PHỔ THÔNG ĐINH THIỆ N LÝ 
Tôn Nữ Khánh Bình 
Trường THCS và THPT Đinh Thiện Lý, Vietnam 
Tác giả liên hệ: Tôn Nữ Khánh Bình – Email: binhtnk@lsts.edu.vn 
Ngày nhận bài: 01-11-2019; ngày nhận bài sửa: 24-11-2019; ngày duyệt đăng: 26-5-2020 
TÓM TẮT 
Những trải nghiệm trong quá trình học Toán không phải lúc nào cũng mang đến hứng thú 
cho hầu hết học sinh. Việc dạy Toán vì thế chưa bao giờ dễ dàng với giáo viên, đặc biệt là đối với 
những giáo viên phổ thông khi nhiệm vụ là vừa phải cung cấp những kiến thức nền tảng như những 
khái niệm và công thức cơ bản trong thời gian giới hạn, vừa phải cố gắng truyền đạt để học sinh 
thông hiểu và áp dụng được những điều đã học để giải quyết những tình huống thực tế. Về vấn dề 
này, bài viết tập trung vào việc triển khai các hoạt động dạy học Toán dựa trên lý thuyết của Học 
tập theo dự án, Học tập qua việc thực hành, Học tập để phục vụ cộng đồng và Học tập dựa trên 
việc truy vấn để biến những bài học Toán trở nên hấp dẫn hơn với học sinh. Trong bài viết này, 
quá trình giảng dạy được minh họa qua những lớp học khối 8, 9 ở trường THCS và THPT Đinh 
Thiện Lý (Lawrence S. Ting School). Các hoạt động kết hợp với các lí thuyết nêu trên với mục đích 
không chỉ phát triển khả năng giải quyết vấn đề của học sinh mà còn tạo ra những lớp học thú vị 
và ý nghĩa. Việc áp dụng các hoạt động dạy học này cũng đã mang đến những ảnh hưởng tích cực 
lên thành tích của học sinh trong hơn hai năm học trở lại đây. 
Từ khóa: vấn đề thực tế hằng ngày; trải nghiệm; học tập phục vụ cộng đồng; giải pháp thực 
tế; học Toán qua các hoạt động thực nghiệm vui