Who doesn't love a good math game?

Hi everyone!

Welcome to another math post! This week in lecture, my classmates and I got the opportunity to play with some interactive math games- both online and offline.

The first game that we played is called Hedbanz. This is a classic game that people play at family events, board game nights with friends, and office parties (I imagine)! However, my professor altered it to help students practice their knowledge of the different forms of quadratic equations.

At the beginning of class, my professor handed out the headbands to every student in the classroom. Each headband had a quadratic equation on it, written in factor form, vertex form, and standard form. We were not allowed to look at the equation on our own headband. The goal of the game was to pair up with a partner, and ask each other "yes" or "no" questions, in order to figure out the equation on our forehead.

My best friend (K) and I immediately paired together to tackle this challenge. We put on our headbands and quickly wrote down some questions before we approached each other:

1. Am I in standard form? No
2. Am I in factored form? Yes
3. Do I have a coefficient in front of my brackets? No
4. Do I have more than one odd root? No
5. Do I have an odd root? No
6. Do I have two even roots? Yes
7. Do I have one positive, and one negative root? Yes
8. Are my roots the same digit? No
9. The only thing left to guess were the digits of our roots.

Results: K won the match, but we both had a great time and shared a few laughs during the game!

Here is a cute picture of the two of us afterwards! (Please forgive my awful selfie skills):

Why did my teacher let us play Hedbanz instead of handing out a worksheet on the different forms of quadratic equations?

Simple. It all comes down to three words that ALL teachers love: engagement, interactivity, and creativity.

My professor could have easily given us a worksheet, so that we could practice identifying the different forms of equations, but it would not have been nearly as successful! Even though the Hedbanz game was not a typical mathematics game, it gave students the opportunity to use math terminology in their questions (roots, standard, factored, vertex form, coefficient, etc.), and there was no pressure to arrive at a quick solution. Each pair could ask as many or as little questions as they needed to figure out their equation, and they were able to create questions that would help them best understand the different aspects of their equation.

This game is a great way to assess how well the students can use prior knowledge, problem solving and reasoning to figure out their headband equation. This game could be used as a diagnostic assessment before starting a unit on quadratic equations, or it could be used as a formative assessment before a major assignment or quiz. As the teacher observes the game unfold, he/she could make notes on areas of strengths and improvement for the class.

How can we use this game in our classroom? 

Hedbanz is versatile game that can be used to practice/review a number of math concepts in a fun and engaging way for students! We used it to test our knowledge of quadratic equations, but it can also be used to test students knowledge/application/thinking/communication skills in regards to prime factors,  graphs of functions, exponents, factoring, and more! The possibilities are endless for this game. This is also a great for ELL (English Language Learners) because it gives them an opportunity to practice asking questions, using math terminology, and demonstrating their knowledge by applying it in a low-risk setting that removes some of the anxiety and pressure from participating in a larger group setting.

I hope that you all enjoy this wonderful game, and have a great week ahead!

Dayna