Who knew that gummy bears could be used to solve complex math problems? In an innovative approach to teaching equations, eighth-grade accelerated math students used a game called Lilypad Landing (using gummy bears as frogs) to grasp the concept of mathematical modeling.
Middle School Math Teacher Dr. Jody Marberry said, “In our math department, we focus on teaching students how to use equations to represent real-world situations—a process called mathematical modeling. We aim to help students not only understand equations but also to create their own models from practical situations.”
The leapfrog challenge was for students to figure out the least number of moves needed to transport the frogs from one side of a pond to the other. They started by using different strategies, such as making organized lists to keep track of the moves and patterns. Once they figured out the best method for a certain number of frogs, the next step was finding a rule or equation to predict the least number of moves for any frog.
“This activity helped students move from working with a specific example to developing a general formula they could apply to more complex problems. It’s a fun way to connect hands-on problem-solving with the abstract world of equations,” Dr. Marberry said.
The students struggled at first but eventually found their way across the pond. “We were able to solve the game,” said Parker Cabbabe ’29. “The most challenging part was when we had to get all six of the gummy bears to the opposite side of the board. We struggled for around five minutes before finally figuring out the formula.”
Ada Song ’29 said, “I enjoyed working with another person instead of by myself so that I could collaborate with others. It was challenging to try and move on whenever my partner and I got stuck because it was frustrating. I think this will help me in the future because this has something to do with functions, which is super helpful in the unit I am in. Functions are also a good thing to remember when you are an adult!”
“It was very challenging to not end up with two of the same color gummy bears next to each other because then the one in front had to move to an open space so the one behind could get out.
We found the solution by trying new ways over and over again that we hadn’t tried before. This will help me find future math problems because we found that there is an equation that we could make to always find the smallest amount of moves to get them to the other side, so now I will be able to do that for different problems,” said McCormack Amini ’29.
“The gummy bear activity was a fun and creative way to think outside of the box and develop teamwork and critical thinking skills,” said Nika Landrum ’29.
Lilypad Landing was more than just a game; it was a playful way to connect abstract mathematical concepts to real-world problem-solving and have a hopping good time!