Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: Application of Chain Rule and Other Differentiation Methods to Solve Related Rates
Content Area: AP Calculus AB
Grade Level(s): 11, 12

Content Standard(s) Addressed:

Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE)

MC.D.1 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the definition of the derivative of a function at a
point, and the notion of differentiability
e. Use derivative formulas to find the derivatives of algebraic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric,
exponential, and logarithmic functions.
MC.D.2 Students will apply the rules of differentiation to functions.
a. Use the Chain Rule and applications to the calculation of the derivative of a variety of composite
functions.
(no standard provided by GSE for related rates)

College Board Standards for AP Calculus AB

Learning Objective:
CHA-3.D Calculate related rates in applied contexts.

Essential Knowledge:
CHA-3.D.1 The chain rule is the basis for differentiating variables in a related rates problem with respect to
the same independent variable.
CHA-3.D.2 Other differentiation rules, such as the product rule and the quotient rule, may also be necessary
to differentiate all variables with respect to the same independent variable.

Technology Standard Addressed:

ISTE Standards for Students

3a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their
intellectual or creative pursuits.
3b Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility, and relevance of information, media, data, or
other resources.
ISTE Standards for Educators
1a Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology
and reflect on their effectiveness.
3b Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters
digital literacy and media fluency.
6a Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent
and group settings.
7a Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using
technology.
7b Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that
accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students, and inform instruction.
7c Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents, and education
stakeholders to build student self-direction.

Selected Technology Tool:

Khan Academy
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):
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• https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-calculus-ab/ab-differentiation-2-new/
(link to Chain Rule lessons in Khan Academy)
• https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-calculus-ab/ab-differentiation-2-new#ab-3-4
(link to Differentiating Inverse Trigonometric Functions lessons in Khan Academy)
• https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-calculus-ab/ab-diff-contextual-applications-new#ab-4-4
(link to Related Rates lessons in Khan Academy)

• http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/RelatedRates.aspx
(link to Related Rates lessons in Paul’s Online Math Notes [potential supplementary site])
Type of Instructional Software:
☒ Drill and Practice ☒ Tutorial ☐ Simulation ☐ Instructional Game ☒ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☒ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting
☒ Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
☒ Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class
☒ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class
☒ Accessible to students beyond the school day
☒ Accessible via mobile devices
☒ Multiple languages
☒ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☒ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Visual/Audio Impairments and Mild Intellectual Disabilities
During the in-class instruction, I will produce many, carefully labeled diagrams to illustrate related rates
problems, and I will also write down the key vocabulary, in addition to speaking them, as I progress through
the lesson. This strategy is intended to accommodate students who experience hearing difficulties, but
highlighting important concepts will also help students experiencing mild intellectual disabilities. Additionally,
students will have the opportunity after class to watch Khan Academy videos on RR which has advantages
over in-class instruction. The ability to pause, rewind, enlarge, increase/decrease volume, include subtitles,
etc. give students who experience audio and visual impairments an opportunity to learn the material in their
own way and at their own pace. Khan Academy also provides the spaced practice necessary to assist students
with mild intellectual disabilities.
English Language Learners
The availability of site navigation and educational material (i.e. videos, readings, practice problems/solutions,
and quizzes/tests) in various common languages other than English will provide an opportunity for students
who are learning English to access the learning materials more easily and allows for mastery of content
without demanding that one know English fluently first.
Physical Disabilities

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Alternative keyboards could be used for students experiencing a physical disability that prevents them from
being able to interact effectively with hardware in order to use Khan Academy. I would allow for students
who could not effectively use a computer to provide a handwritten version of the homework on Khan
Academy on a worksheet provided by me, or if that is also too much to ask, I would allow students with
physical impairments that prevented them from typing/writing to present their work verbally to me on an
individual basis (i.e. not ask them to do any more or less than what is expected of other students; simply a
different format for allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding).
Attention Difficulties
To accommodate students experiencing attention difficulties, there is more than one way of learning
information on Khan Academy (e.g. videos and text) which gives the students a choice in how best to study
the material. Students are free to visit other educational websites outside of Khan Academy, within reason
(i.e. appropriate), which should also give students with attention disabilities an opportunity to learn on
another site if Khan Academy and classroom instruction need further supplementation (i.e. they understand
the material better through another source than the one the teacher has provided).
Lesson idea implementation:
The students will complete the Related Rates (RR) lessons on Khan Academy (i.e. watching videos, practicing
problems, and taking quizzes) at home after the topic of Related Rates is introduced in class via direct
instruction. The assignments on Khan Academy will lead students to a fundamental understanding of related
rates through drill and tutorial. Additionally, at this point, the students should already be familiar with the
concepts of the Chain Rule (CR) and differentiating inverse trigonometric functions (ITF), and they will have
solved ample problems pertaining to each both in previous classes and on Khan Academy. A thorough
understanding of both CR and other differentiation techniques will be required to solve the related rates
problems, and if additional practice is needed with CR and/or ITF, the students can review the videos on Khan
Academy (i.e. or other relevant, educational source), reference their previous work, and discuss the topics
with a partner.

The teacher will ask students to work on the Khan Academy related rates lesson before the next class meeting
(i.e. 2-3 days) to supplement the direct instruction and have them demonstrate their knowledge of related
rates. Student learning will be assessed by primarily considering the completion of tasks and assessments in
Khan Academy. Khan Academy provides brief formative quizzes and a unit test for each section, and I would
use the teacher account to check that the students have watched the videos, read the articles, and completed
the quizzes for the assigned section. I will use the data from Khan Academy to evaluate student
understanding of the topic of related rates which will help me plan what content to concentrate more on in
class as well as on an individual basis for each student. The significant takeaway is that students will be able
to apply previously learned material to their current topics in a way that demonstrates their problem-solving
and critical-thinking abilities. In other words, by the conclusion of the Khan Academy assignment, students
should know what components are required to set up a general related rates problem, understand the proper
arrangement of those elements, construct a set of equations to solve for the desired value/formula, apply
appropriate differentiation techniques (e.g. CR and ITF in this case), and interpret what the results mean in
the context of the problem (i.e. not solely listing the answer without context; describing in specific detail what
the answer reveals about each scenario). To extend the student learning to a higher level beyond the drill and
tutorial of Khan Academy, I will modify some of the problems that they had on Khan Academy to be more
cognitively demanding (i.e. driving students to explain their reasoning and create their own components to
solve the problems). Feedback to students will be given in the form of individual comments on the Khan
Academy website.

Opening:
“We previously discussed the Chain Rule which is connected to solving related rate type problems which we
will be going over today. The essential knowledge that we should be taking from this lesson is that the chain
rule is the basis for differentiating variables in a related rates problem with respect to the same independent

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variable (e.g. often time). Moreover, other previously studied differentiation rules (e.g. product rule, quotient
rule, differentiation of trigonometric functions, etc.) may also be necessary to differentiate all variables with
respect to the same independent variable.”
Instruction:
• Introduce topic of related rates with the class
• Mention the Khan Academy assignments for related rates that should be completed for homework,
and remind the students that it may be helpful to review previous sections, especially the chain rule,
in order to become proficient at solving related rates problems. Encourage the students to explore
other educational websites that may be helpful regarding the topic of related rates.
• Let the students work in groups of 3-4 to complete the more rigorous related rates problems that I
modified from Khan Academy in class.
Closing:
• Ask one person from each group to explain what they learned by completing the Khan Academy and
in-class assignments on related rates and what may still be confusing about related rate problems.
• Reiterate the GSE, College Board, and ISTE standards for students.

Reflective Practice:
I feel like the activities that I created will aid students in developing the much-needed procedural skills of
mathematics through drill and tutorial on Khan Academy. By establishing procedural competence, math
students will then be able to address more cognitively demanding tasks with ease, as the foundation to solve
each problem is already present. To further extend the lesson, I could develop a group project and formal
report for the students to complete that deals with related rates, because then the students would have an
opportunity to express their evaluation and creativity skills more so than in the drill and tutorial of Khan
Academy. Additional educational videos and websites (i.e. especially those with interactive applets for related
rates like GeoGebra) would be excellent tools that could further enhance this project.

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