Part 3

Part 1 is here

After some consideration I realised that counting the possibilities for 2 groups was too long/too big. So instead I asked the students to find out how many ways are there to groups the cards into 3 groups.

This is not in itself a thinking task more of a test of their strategy and use of ENV. The idea here is also the make the use of the ENV tool more attractive as it provides a short-cut to the answer! The students will hopefully conclude that yes it's worth going straight to the ENV tool rather than proceeding first through trial and error (because it's perceived as being easier?) and only going to ENV when it becomes apparent that getting the answer is just taking too long...

Dividing the cards in 3 groups would include the following options;

number format (fractions, decimals, percents) /  number of 'ones'  (0, 1, 2)  /  number of 'twos' (0, 1, 2)  /

number of 'fives' (0, 1, 2)

The students proceeded with the activity and completed it. They realised that counting the number of variables with three values would allow you to arrive at the answer.

However, they need a break now from this type of activity as they are becoming less enthusiastic about it and I need to revise the activity and give it a different context or just wait a bit so they can approach it with a fresher mind.