When students observe how course content is used in their lives they are more likely to see the relevance of courses not directly related to their major field of study. To engage students in identifying the value of a class for real life situations. To encourage students to make connections between the analysis of a question or problem, writing, and mathematics. To help personalize a course's content, which is normally considered mechanical, by encouraging students to find examples which relate to their life situations. Have students observe other people using math and keep a log of their observations.
Students share their logs in pairs or larger groups.
Groups list and categorize the math operations or concepts used by their members and report to the whole class. Any math operation can be used including arithmetic, algebra, statistics, etc. I want you to describe a different activity each day. You may also add any personal observations or comments you wish to the log about your reactions to doing the math or writing the log. Write in full sentence form using a paragraph structure for each activity.