We are coming up on the end of the year. This is our last full week. Seniors are taking their finals (not in our classrooms) and we're not too far from the underclassmen doing the same. I am preparing to give my final regular assessment in my Algebra 2 classes tomorrow. We are finishing up rational expressions and I pulled out the folder review (original post from Mrs. Graham is here) I had used last year and tweaked it to fit what they were reviewing for tomorrow's assessment. In all four of my classes, students worked. Not every student, but the vast majority of them. For it being a Monday and 8 days left in school, I felt that was great.
As my last class was working on the review and I was making the rounds, it hit me. When I design activities that "force" them to work, most students do what is needed to be done. When they actually practice, they do well. What I have been doing in the classroom this year has not done that well at all. The best students will practice the homework problems, but for the most part, since I am not grading the homework and I am not sitting there finding a way to make them do the problems, many do not practice as they should.
So, how do I restructure my class to make sure that my students practice their mathematics? How do I provide enough structure that they feel they can attempt the problems on their own without being the "sage on the stage?" I feel that the guided notes I have created to help them take notes has helped, however, there are still too many who don't even bother to fill them in. Without having a textbook right now for students to refer to for help, I still feel that giving some direct instruction with guided notes is important. I also realize that they need in class practice time without it being a social/free-for-all time. How do I blend it all together?
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Monday, May 20, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Please help by sharing your classroom practices
I had my evaluation today. It was not pretty, and this was not totally unexpected on my part. As I am stepping back and looking at this year, the more I reflect on it, the more I realize that with the changes in my Algebra 2 curriculum (moving to Common Core, not using a textbook), I reverted back to what I know - using direct instruction. And I did it way too much. I knew that going into my evaluation. My students are not very engaged in my class, something else I pretty much knew. My evaluation did not tell me anything that I did not already know. Was I upset? Yes. Even though I knew where I stood, I haven't figured out what to do about it and the reality of where I am at coupled with that I don't really know how to fix it made me upset. I'm not going to rehash everything. It's not productive and at this point, I need to move on. I need to figure out how to fix stuff.
So, I reach out to my teaching friends in the Math Twitterblogosphere for help. I don't know who else to ask. Please remember that I teach high school (primarily 10th graders, but I do have all grades) and understand that I see my students 50 minutes each day. If you could share what has worked in your classrooms in the comments, I would be greatly appreciative. I need to have somewhere to start.
The two main areas I want to and need to work on are student engagement and differentiation. What do you do in your classes to have students doing most of the "work" if you will and you, as teacher, not being the one up in front of the class? How do you structure your lessons to accomplish this? I realize that not every concept will lend itself to some of these strategies, but any guidance you can give will help. John Scammell shared what he did with multiplying radicals earlier and I am using that here in the near future. How do you create these kinds of materials? How do you set up the worksheet for them to discover the rules? What other strategies do you have to share?
As far as differentiation goes, I guess the biggest question I have at the moment is how do you structure and put into practice differentiated assessments while making sure that every student demonstrates they know the concept and without making your job a nightmare to grade them? Do you use tests or do you use something else (projects, assignment, etc.)? If you don't use tests, how do you structure the project or assignment to ensure that the student demonstrates their own knowledge (as opposed to his or her knowledge with help) or do you not worry about it so much?
If you don't want to respond in the comments and would rather email me, you are welcome to email me at lmhenry9 at gmail dot com. Thanks in advance for your help.
So, I reach out to my teaching friends in the Math Twitterblogosphere for help. I don't know who else to ask. Please remember that I teach high school (primarily 10th graders, but I do have all grades) and understand that I see my students 50 minutes each day. If you could share what has worked in your classrooms in the comments, I would be greatly appreciative. I need to have somewhere to start.
The two main areas I want to and need to work on are student engagement and differentiation. What do you do in your classes to have students doing most of the "work" if you will and you, as teacher, not being the one up in front of the class? How do you structure your lessons to accomplish this? I realize that not every concept will lend itself to some of these strategies, but any guidance you can give will help. John Scammell shared what he did with multiplying radicals earlier and I am using that here in the near future. How do you create these kinds of materials? How do you set up the worksheet for them to discover the rules? What other strategies do you have to share?
As far as differentiation goes, I guess the biggest question I have at the moment is how do you structure and put into practice differentiated assessments while making sure that every student demonstrates they know the concept and without making your job a nightmare to grade them? Do you use tests or do you use something else (projects, assignment, etc.)? If you don't use tests, how do you structure the project or assignment to ensure that the student demonstrates their own knowledge (as opposed to his or her knowledge with help) or do you not worry about it so much?
If you don't want to respond in the comments and would rather email me, you are welcome to email me at lmhenry9 at gmail dot com. Thanks in advance for your help.
Monday, February 25, 2013
When does "by hand" graphing or processes matter?
I am finishing up teaching polynomials to my Algebra 2 classes. We are discussing the Rational Root Theorem (i.e. p's and q's) right now. When I presented the material on Friday, I went through the whole process - finding the factors of p, finding the factors of q, finding the p/q values and testing using synthetic division. As much as I like doing synthetic division, I had forgotten how frustrating this process is for students - it is tedious and they know by now that they can find the zeros by finding the x-intercepts of the graph.
So, as I reflected over the weekend and into this morning, I decided when I assess them on this learning target, I am only going to ask them to identity the factors of p and q and the p/q values. I am not going to ask them to fully find the zeros of the polynomial from that list. The more I thought about it, the more it became clearer to me that if they were going to have to find zeros from a polynomial students would have access to technology (such as a graphing calculator or Desmos). As I was working with students today and reflecting on this learning target, I kept coming back to this question: How do we determine when it is important to have students do the processes by hand versus using technology instead? Is it really important to have students find all the zeros by hand? I had to (granted, the first easily available graphing calculators came out when I was a senior in high school) - so why shouldn't my students have to? (note - I know that's not a good reason why, just throwing my thoughts out there.)
This question is not new to me. I have wrestled with it on and off throughout my teaching career. When students have graphing calculators that can do things like graph and find zeros and maxima and minima, etc., this question returns often. However, this year, I have a mixed bag as far as who has a graphing calculator and who does not. With having (4) computers in the classroom, Desmos has been a nice addition and is far less clunky in identifying intercepts and extrema. From the bits and pieces I have caught from tweets, Desmos continues to improve and everything I have seen from them shows that they are incredibly responsive to its users (and teachers!) Bob Lochel addressed the TI vs. Desmos issue in his blog post this weekend "An Open Letter to My TI Friends." I have to say that even though I have not received quite the training and benefits that Bob has from TI, I found myself really agreeing with every point that he made in his Dear TI letter. (Go read it if you haven't already - it's worth it!) But once again, not everyone has access to the technology in my classes. We are not a 1-to-1 school, I don't have a class set of iPads or tablets or even graphing calculators. My classes range from about 30% to 50% of my students having a TI graphing calculator. I have students who do have smartphones, but they are not allowed to use them in school. I'm already starting to think about next year and how I'm going to deal with the whole technology issue. Do I have my students all get TI graphing calculators, full well knowing that many of them will not use them after my class? Do I skip the graphing calculators and find a way to work with Desmos, knowing that I have 4 computers in my class and that's it? Do I try to find funding for a class set of graphing calculators? Tablets?
But I digress from my original query. I have taught for 21 years and this is the same question that I had when I first started teaching with TI graphing calculators then. At what point do you push aside the by hand processes and let the technology take over? Are you shorting students mathematical learning by doing this or is it enhancing it? How do you structure lessons so that the technology enhances the mathematics rather than glosses over it? I'm curious to see what you all think. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
So, as I reflected over the weekend and into this morning, I decided when I assess them on this learning target, I am only going to ask them to identity the factors of p and q and the p/q values. I am not going to ask them to fully find the zeros of the polynomial from that list. The more I thought about it, the more it became clearer to me that if they were going to have to find zeros from a polynomial students would have access to technology (such as a graphing calculator or Desmos). As I was working with students today and reflecting on this learning target, I kept coming back to this question: How do we determine when it is important to have students do the processes by hand versus using technology instead? Is it really important to have students find all the zeros by hand? I had to (granted, the first easily available graphing calculators came out when I was a senior in high school) - so why shouldn't my students have to? (note - I know that's not a good reason why, just throwing my thoughts out there.)
This question is not new to me. I have wrestled with it on and off throughout my teaching career. When students have graphing calculators that can do things like graph and find zeros and maxima and minima, etc., this question returns often. However, this year, I have a mixed bag as far as who has a graphing calculator and who does not. With having (4) computers in the classroom, Desmos has been a nice addition and is far less clunky in identifying intercepts and extrema. From the bits and pieces I have caught from tweets, Desmos continues to improve and everything I have seen from them shows that they are incredibly responsive to its users (and teachers!) Bob Lochel addressed the TI vs. Desmos issue in his blog post this weekend "An Open Letter to My TI Friends." I have to say that even though I have not received quite the training and benefits that Bob has from TI, I found myself really agreeing with every point that he made in his Dear TI letter. (Go read it if you haven't already - it's worth it!) But once again, not everyone has access to the technology in my classes. We are not a 1-to-1 school, I don't have a class set of iPads or tablets or even graphing calculators. My classes range from about 30% to 50% of my students having a TI graphing calculator. I have students who do have smartphones, but they are not allowed to use them in school. I'm already starting to think about next year and how I'm going to deal with the whole technology issue. Do I have my students all get TI graphing calculators, full well knowing that many of them will not use them after my class? Do I skip the graphing calculators and find a way to work with Desmos, knowing that I have 4 computers in my class and that's it? Do I try to find funding for a class set of graphing calculators? Tablets?
But I digress from my original query. I have taught for 21 years and this is the same question that I had when I first started teaching with TI graphing calculators then. At what point do you push aside the by hand processes and let the technology take over? Are you shorting students mathematical learning by doing this or is it enhancing it? How do you structure lessons so that the technology enhances the mathematics rather than glosses over it? I'm curious to see what you all think. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Polynomial Questions
Normally, I post questions like this to Twitter, but I need to use more than 140 characters to ask it. Please feel free to tweet me (@lmhenry9) your answers or post them in the comments. Thanks!
We are starting the polynomial unit in Algebra 2. I have some students who have graphing calculators. We do not have BYOD and cell phones and i-devices are not permitted in school. I have four computers in my classroom. We do have a computer lab, but there are not enough computers for all of my students to have access at the same time. Some students have access to computers at home. My district has about 55-60% of its students on free or reduced lunches. I have students of many ability levels in my classroom.
So, given that background knowledge... how would you deal with the graphing polynomials (and eventually exponential and logarithmic equations as well as rational and radical equations) with these students? Common Core says (from here):
CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-IF.C.7 Graph functions expressed symbolically and show key features of the graph, by hand in simple cases and using technology for more complicated cases.★
So, how would you do it? In the past, I have always used the graphing calculator as a part of the process. I have asked my principal for permission to use other devices in and she is thinking about it, but I am not confident I am going to get a yes answer. What would you do? Thanks for your thoughtful answers.
We are starting the polynomial unit in Algebra 2. I have some students who have graphing calculators. We do not have BYOD and cell phones and i-devices are not permitted in school. I have four computers in my classroom. We do have a computer lab, but there are not enough computers for all of my students to have access at the same time. Some students have access to computers at home. My district has about 55-60% of its students on free or reduced lunches. I have students of many ability levels in my classroom.
So, given that background knowledge... how would you deal with the graphing polynomials (and eventually exponential and logarithmic equations as well as rational and radical equations) with these students? Common Core says (from here):
- CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-IF.C.7a Graph linear and quadratic functions and show intercepts, maxima, and minima.
- CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-IF.C.7b Graph square root, cube root, and piecewise-defined functions, including step functions and absolute value functions.
- CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-IF.C.7c Graph polynomial functions, identifying zeros when suitable factorizations are available, and showing end behavior.
- CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-IF.C.7d (+) Graph rational functions, identifying zeros and asymptotes when suitable factorizations are available, and showing end behavior.
- CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-IF.C.7e Graph exponential and logarithmic functions, showing intercepts and end behavior, and trigonometric functions, showing period, midline, and amplitude
So, how would you do it? In the past, I have always used the graphing calculator as a part of the process. I have asked my principal for permission to use other devices in and she is thinking about it, but I am not confident I am going to get a yes answer. What would you do? Thanks for your thoughtful answers.
Frustrated and Discouraged
I haven't posted in a while. To be honest, I have been rather busy trying to keep on top of school work and life in general. However, I am compelled to post about midterm exams.
**Blogger's Note: I know at the end of this I am posing a lot of questions. Right now, I have no answers. Please feel free to add your own answers and comments at the end. Thanks. --LMH
I generally feel that this year has gone well. I have been doing what I felt was a good job teaching, although I know there are a lot of things to improve on. Students have been doing well. Some have been reassessing. Grades for the grading period have looked pretty good this year. Generally, I feel that my students have been "getting" what I have taught. Then midterm exams hit.
In my 21 years teaching, this has to be the worst year yet for midterm exams for me. My students did so poorly. We were to give exams over two days and I did a multiple choice portion and a non multiple choice portion, both of which I made up. I went through as I have done in previous years and put together a review sheet that had one or two of each type of question on the review (although I did find out that I missed one). I gave two days in class time to work on the review so that 1) students would (hopefully) complete the problems and 2) students would have time to ask questions. I allowed students to compile an 8 1/2" by 11" sheet of notes and formulas (they could not have example problems on it).
Students did NOT do well on the non-multiple choice portion at all. I had some of my more motivated students ask me about a couple of the questions that were on the review that were a little different than questions they had seen before. I knew when I put them on there that they were not the exact type of question I had on an assessment before, but I also felt that they had the requisite knowledge of the mathematics involved to solve the problems. There were two word problems on there that students had seen before. The one question I had inadvertently left off the review was a question that involved algebraic manipulation and I felt that students should have had the requisite background knowledge to successfully solve the problem. They struggled and in some cases, didn't even attempt these problems.
What I cannot for the life of me figure out is that in spite of warning students that they needed to do all of the problems on the review, they did not listen. In spite of telling them they really should take the time to put together their own note page so they could review the material, I had many students come in without a note page and I had several students who had a copy of a note page that another student had compiled for himself and that he shared. I cannot figure out why students who had done decent or well on assessments over the course of the year did so poorly on the midterm exam. What in the world did I do wrong? How can their midterm exam grades not even come close to what their grades have been all along?
Is Standards Based Grading to blame? Are my students so focused on the short term that they truly don't focus on really learning and owning the material for the long term? I honestly think this last question is a good part of the reason. I am thinking of a few students who choose to reassess (and reassess often in some cases) and they earn 4's, 4 1/2's and 5's many times but then did not do well or attempt some of these other problems at all. Am I setting up a culture in my classroom (not intentionally) emphasizes short term learning? How do I change that?
**Blogger's Note: I know at the end of this I am posing a lot of questions. Right now, I have no answers. Please feel free to add your own answers and comments at the end. Thanks. --LMH
I generally feel that this year has gone well. I have been doing what I felt was a good job teaching, although I know there are a lot of things to improve on. Students have been doing well. Some have been reassessing. Grades for the grading period have looked pretty good this year. Generally, I feel that my students have been "getting" what I have taught. Then midterm exams hit.
In my 21 years teaching, this has to be the worst year yet for midterm exams for me. My students did so poorly. We were to give exams over two days and I did a multiple choice portion and a non multiple choice portion, both of which I made up. I went through as I have done in previous years and put together a review sheet that had one or two of each type of question on the review (although I did find out that I missed one). I gave two days in class time to work on the review so that 1) students would (hopefully) complete the problems and 2) students would have time to ask questions. I allowed students to compile an 8 1/2" by 11" sheet of notes and formulas (they could not have example problems on it).
Students did NOT do well on the non-multiple choice portion at all. I had some of my more motivated students ask me about a couple of the questions that were on the review that were a little different than questions they had seen before. I knew when I put them on there that they were not the exact type of question I had on an assessment before, but I also felt that they had the requisite knowledge of the mathematics involved to solve the problems. There were two word problems on there that students had seen before. The one question I had inadvertently left off the review was a question that involved algebraic manipulation and I felt that students should have had the requisite background knowledge to successfully solve the problem. They struggled and in some cases, didn't even attempt these problems.
What I cannot for the life of me figure out is that in spite of warning students that they needed to do all of the problems on the review, they did not listen. In spite of telling them they really should take the time to put together their own note page so they could review the material, I had many students come in without a note page and I had several students who had a copy of a note page that another student had compiled for himself and that he shared. I cannot figure out why students who had done decent or well on assessments over the course of the year did so poorly on the midterm exam. What in the world did I do wrong? How can their midterm exam grades not even come close to what their grades have been all along?
Is Standards Based Grading to blame? Are my students so focused on the short term that they truly don't focus on really learning and owning the material for the long term? I honestly think this last question is a good part of the reason. I am thinking of a few students who choose to reassess (and reassess often in some cases) and they earn 4's, 4 1/2's and 5's many times but then did not do well or attempt some of these other problems at all. Am I setting up a culture in my classroom (not intentionally) emphasizes short term learning? How do I change that?
Sunday, July 29, 2012
SBG Changes?
For the past two school years, I have done Standards Based Grading (SBG). I have done a 5 (6?) point scale:
I am not totally happy with the scale (I blogged about it here earlier this summer) and I got some great comments. But I'm not totally sold either. I am contemplating changes. I'm not totally certain which one(s) I am going to make, but this is what I am thinking:
1) If I keep the current scale, I think I am going to make the 0 a 0 in the gradebook (instead of 5/10). I had students who played the system and made no attempt on a skill but since it was a 50% going in the gradebook instead of a 0%, they were able to pass (when they really shouldn't have) because they did "just good enough" on enough other skills. I am thinking this may solve the problem I talked about earlier with students passing who really shouldn't have.
2) I am having second thoughts about using a 5 point scale. Our state test is on a 5 point (Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, Advanced), so staying with it wouldn't be all bad - it could correlate to that potentially. However, there are some things that appeal to me about a 4 point scale. There could be two levels of "not there yet" - students who have significant conceptual errors - and two levels of "more or less have it" - students who have the concept but have other errors not related to the concept or students who truly understand the concept. The 4 point scale may be easier for me in grading. However, I'm not sure how I would correlate it to percentages. It seems that, as I have looked at others scales, more tend to be on a 4-point scale rather than a 5-point scale (not that what everyone else is doing is going to sway me).
Anyone have some guiding thoughts to help me here? I'd like to get this issue straightened in my head sooner rather than later. We have about 4 weeks until school starts, so I guess I better figure this out...
I am not totally happy with the scale (I blogged about it here earlier this summer) and I got some great comments. But I'm not totally sold either. I am contemplating changes. I'm not totally certain which one(s) I am going to make, but this is what I am thinking:
1) If I keep the current scale, I think I am going to make the 0 a 0 in the gradebook (instead of 5/10). I had students who played the system and made no attempt on a skill but since it was a 50% going in the gradebook instead of a 0%, they were able to pass (when they really shouldn't have) because they did "just good enough" on enough other skills. I am thinking this may solve the problem I talked about earlier with students passing who really shouldn't have.
2) I am having second thoughts about using a 5 point scale. Our state test is on a 5 point (Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, Advanced), so staying with it wouldn't be all bad - it could correlate to that potentially. However, there are some things that appeal to me about a 4 point scale. There could be two levels of "not there yet" - students who have significant conceptual errors - and two levels of "more or less have it" - students who have the concept but have other errors not related to the concept or students who truly understand the concept. The 4 point scale may be easier for me in grading. However, I'm not sure how I would correlate it to percentages. It seems that, as I have looked at others scales, more tend to be on a 4-point scale rather than a 5-point scale (not that what everyone else is doing is going to sway me).
Anyone have some guiding thoughts to help me here? I'd like to get this issue straightened in my head sooner rather than later. We have about 4 weeks until school starts, so I guess I better figure this out...
Friday, April 06, 2012
How Much is Enough?
When I first started teaching 20 years ago, I was happy that my textbook had a guide to let me know what problems (and how many) to assign my students. I had no real idea how much was enough. Of course, at that point, most of the assignments were like #1-39 odd. I learned that it was a good idea to look at the problems before just assigning #1-39 odd carte blanche.
Fast forward to now, 20 years later. Assigning 20-30 problems a night doesn't work. I'm struggling to get my students to complete any outside assigned problems at times. So, as I was mowing the lawn today, I was wondering, how many problems is enough practice? Can you put a number on it? What practice do you assign on a regular basis? I look forward to reading your comments.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Common Core Concerns
I am starting to become concerned about teaching Common Core next year. After having done the Gap Analysis between what I currently teach and what I will be teaching, there is a lot that I haven't taught either in a few years, or ever. It's not that I am concerned about teaching it - I am pretty flexible, content-wise. I am concerned with how my students are going to adjust to the new expectations.
My Advanced Algebra 2 students had a quiz Wednesday. Rather than knockin' it out of the park, there were a lot of ground outs, and some pretty ugly ones too. These are supposed to be the best of my current students and lately, they've been pretty awful with their work ethic and drive. As we were working through the review colored folders, I could tell that they have not been putting forth the effort to really learn the material until before the test. They were asking questions and as I was listening to their questions, it was apparent to me that it was as if they were learning it for the first time. They did not seem to have much recollection of the lesson and even though they had their (guided) notes they had filled in, it seemed like some of them didn't know how to follow them. How is it that my "brightest" students can't figure it out for themselves?
And as far as my "regular" students - their work ethic isn't stellar either. I've been struggling with getting them to even practice what we're learning as of late. Even though there have been improvements, it still isn't where it needs to be and I'm finding I'm doing a lot of work to set up in class practice.
I understand that there are going to be a lot of changes with Common Core. I am going to be teaching different things and I am going to need to approach it differently. Having said that, I feel rather unprepared for this shift. I get that we will need to incorporate rich problems/tasks into our classes. I am not sure how to go about doing this. Do I just put the rich task in front of them and say "Here it is - have at it?" I'm pretty certain if I do that most of my students will give up within 3 minutes. When do I incorporate these kinds of problems and tasks into my classes?
I am used to teaching the material in a certain unit, preparing some sort of review and then testing them on what they have learned from the unit. From what I can tell, I am still supposed to think of my class as being comprised of units. How does my day-to-day business of teaching change? What is it that I will need to be doing differently? How will my assessments change? Will I be giving projects or tasks instead of traditional end of unit tests? Or will it be a combination of traditional unit tests infused with projects or tasks? How do you really determine if a student knows the material if he or she is working with other students? What about using resources to help them along (notes, the internet, etc.)? I've been mainly of the mindset that students have to be able to recall the information, but in the "real world," they'll use Google and others to help them figure out the solutions to whatever problems their work presents. How does that fit into how I assess? I know I've posed some of these questions before, but I still feel like they, and many more, are unanswered.
I can't say that these changes are necessarily bad. It will certainly step up the rigor and, given time, I think that our students may enter college more prepared than they are now. But there are going to be some growing pains, and I think they will be huge. When we changed currciula in Ohio 10-11 years ago, there was grumbling then that our students weren't going to be ready for the "rigors" of the new curriculum. I think what happened is that most of us continued to teach what we have been teaching and made the indicators fit what we were doing. (For those of you not familiar with our standards - we had indicators at every grade level and there was never any specification what got taught in what course.) Given that we are going to have assessments that reflect the course structure from the Common Core, we won't be able to do that again. We will have to adjust what and how we teach. I am really hoping for some guidance as we shift.
My Advanced Algebra 2 students had a quiz Wednesday. Rather than knockin' it out of the park, there were a lot of ground outs, and some pretty ugly ones too. These are supposed to be the best of my current students and lately, they've been pretty awful with their work ethic and drive. As we were working through the review colored folders, I could tell that they have not been putting forth the effort to really learn the material until before the test. They were asking questions and as I was listening to their questions, it was apparent to me that it was as if they were learning it for the first time. They did not seem to have much recollection of the lesson and even though they had their (guided) notes they had filled in, it seemed like some of them didn't know how to follow them. How is it that my "brightest" students can't figure it out for themselves?
And as far as my "regular" students - their work ethic isn't stellar either. I've been struggling with getting them to even practice what we're learning as of late. Even though there have been improvements, it still isn't where it needs to be and I'm finding I'm doing a lot of work to set up in class practice.
I understand that there are going to be a lot of changes with Common Core. I am going to be teaching different things and I am going to need to approach it differently. Having said that, I feel rather unprepared for this shift. I get that we will need to incorporate rich problems/tasks into our classes. I am not sure how to go about doing this. Do I just put the rich task in front of them and say "Here it is - have at it?" I'm pretty certain if I do that most of my students will give up within 3 minutes. When do I incorporate these kinds of problems and tasks into my classes?
I am used to teaching the material in a certain unit, preparing some sort of review and then testing them on what they have learned from the unit. From what I can tell, I am still supposed to think of my class as being comprised of units. How does my day-to-day business of teaching change? What is it that I will need to be doing differently? How will my assessments change? Will I be giving projects or tasks instead of traditional end of unit tests? Or will it be a combination of traditional unit tests infused with projects or tasks? How do you really determine if a student knows the material if he or she is working with other students? What about using resources to help them along (notes, the internet, etc.)? I've been mainly of the mindset that students have to be able to recall the information, but in the "real world," they'll use Google and others to help them figure out the solutions to whatever problems their work presents. How does that fit into how I assess? I know I've posed some of these questions before, but I still feel like they, and many more, are unanswered.
I can't say that these changes are necessarily bad. It will certainly step up the rigor and, given time, I think that our students may enter college more prepared than they are now. But there are going to be some growing pains, and I think they will be huge. When we changed currciula in Ohio 10-11 years ago, there was grumbling then that our students weren't going to be ready for the "rigors" of the new curriculum. I think what happened is that most of us continued to teach what we have been teaching and made the indicators fit what we were doing. (For those of you not familiar with our standards - we had indicators at every grade level and there was never any specification what got taught in what course.) Given that we are going to have assessments that reflect the course structure from the Common Core, we won't be able to do that again. We will have to adjust what and how we teach. I am really hoping for some guidance as we shift.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What does your math class look like?
During my (presently) weekly lawnmowing, I wondered, what do other math teachers' classes look like? I mean, if I were a fly on the wall in your class, how would it run? What's the basic structure/flow of your class? I thought about tweeting this, but then I couldn't answer it myself in 140 characters, so I thought I'd post it here and see what people said in the comments.
My class is what I would consider very typical. Bell rings and in some classes, I have an opening question for students to answer. This is something I have struggled with for a long time. In my Algebra 2 classes, I did a feedback problem for students to work on and turn in, which I would return with feedback on it. We would go over any questions from the previous day's problems. Then the lesson (mostly me talking) and then if there was time, start on the assigned problems.
I don't want my class to look like this next year. I don't feel I am best using my 50 minutes I have with my students daily and I want to incorporate much more problem solving, rich problems, etc. in my classes.
**Addendum - there was something else I meant to add intially as a part of this discussion. How many problems do you assign for practice? Are there certain types of problems you look for to assign? How much practice do you think is "enough?"
So what does your math class look like?
My class is what I would consider very typical. Bell rings and in some classes, I have an opening question for students to answer. This is something I have struggled with for a long time. In my Algebra 2 classes, I did a feedback problem for students to work on and turn in, which I would return with feedback on it. We would go over any questions from the previous day's problems. Then the lesson (mostly me talking) and then if there was time, start on the assigned problems.
I don't want my class to look like this next year. I don't feel I am best using my 50 minutes I have with my students daily and I want to incorporate much more problem solving, rich problems, etc. in my classes.
**Addendum - there was something else I meant to add intially as a part of this discussion. How many problems do you assign for practice? Are there certain types of problems you look for to assign? How much practice do you think is "enough?"
So what does your math class look like?
Saturday, May 07, 2011
PLCs
I am still not happy with how things are going - although after this week I am pleased with the direction I'm heading. I had a 5 minute conversation with one of our Social Studies teachers when I returned his projector (since the Wii didn't hook up in mine) and I shared with him the Wii Bowling activity. He shared with me that he had spent 2 days with some of his classes going through Obama's speech Sunday announcing that Osama bin Ladin was dead, looking at not only what was in the speech but why it was there. It got me thinking. That 5 minute conversation was invigorating to me - I enjoyed hearing what he was doing, it seemed like he enjoyed hearing what I was doing, and I felt a little validated with what I had done with the Wii (and I hope he felt the same about his activity). We just don't have that kind of discourse in my school.
And that got me thinking - could we have that kind of discourse in our school? Other people have PLCs - why couldn't I start one? Our school is kind of a dichotomy right now - about half to 2/3rds of our staff has 25 years or more experience and will be retiring in the next 5 years or so (especially because the retirement years and age will be changing in Ohio). There is a smaller group of teachers with less than 20 years experience (and I am one of the ones closest to 20) and we are getting more and more younger teachers. The culture of our school is rather negative still and our superintendent is trying to move us forward but in my opinion, that's rather hard when most people don't want to change or try anything new because they have the preconceived notion that what they are doing is fine and any new "edujargon" is just the phase of the moment and it will go away. I hate this culture and I have the tendency to stay to myself so that I don't get poisoned by the negativity.
So, I talked to my biology teacher friend about it. He's working on his masters and he shared with me he was looking at something similar. He's all for it and we're starting to generate ideas. I talked to the Social Studies teacher (same one mentioned at the beginning) and he's in. He also shared about not liking the negativity, so I know now I am not the only one who feels this way. We have 2 English teachers retiring at the end of this year, so next school year we will have two (hopefully younger) new English teachers and maybe we can bring in one or both.
After giving you all this background - here are my questions I am working through:
And that got me thinking - could we have that kind of discourse in our school? Other people have PLCs - why couldn't I start one? Our school is kind of a dichotomy right now - about half to 2/3rds of our staff has 25 years or more experience and will be retiring in the next 5 years or so (especially because the retirement years and age will be changing in Ohio). There is a smaller group of teachers with less than 20 years experience (and I am one of the ones closest to 20) and we are getting more and more younger teachers. The culture of our school is rather negative still and our superintendent is trying to move us forward but in my opinion, that's rather hard when most people don't want to change or try anything new because they have the preconceived notion that what they are doing is fine and any new "edujargon" is just the phase of the moment and it will go away. I hate this culture and I have the tendency to stay to myself so that I don't get poisoned by the negativity.
So, I talked to my biology teacher friend about it. He's working on his masters and he shared with me he was looking at something similar. He's all for it and we're starting to generate ideas. I talked to the Social Studies teacher (same one mentioned at the beginning) and he's in. He also shared about not liking the negativity, so I know now I am not the only one who feels this way. We have 2 English teachers retiring at the end of this year, so next school year we will have two (hopefully younger) new English teachers and maybe we can bring in one or both.
After giving you all this background - here are my questions I am working through:
- How many people is the "right size" for a PLC?
- What do you discuss? Do you do book studies, lesson reviews, just share ideas?
- How often do you meet?
- How do you keep people coming when it's not manditory?
- Do you set "ground rules?" What ground rules do you have?
Monday, April 25, 2011
How to incorporate WCYDWT (Rich Problems) into math class?
So, I have no idea how to bring in WCYDWT and/or Rich Problems into my math classes. I really was never taught in college how to do something like this. So I have been tweeting, asking how to start. Here are some responses I got today.
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 putting up a problem scenario (video, text,...) and asking students What do you Notice? What do you Wonder? in a think-pair-share
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 putting up a problem scenario (video, text,...) and asking students What do you Notice? What do you Wonder? in a think-pair-share
Me (@lmhenry9) @maxmathforum What if you are working with students who are unaccustomed to "wondering" about things mathematically?
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 on the one hand, that slows things down. On the other, I've never had a class without a wonderer or two. In LOTS of diff. schools.
@lmhenry9 I love problems that generate controversy, a yes/no answer, a chance for kids to "wager" on an answer. That's a way to wonder...
@maxmathforum This is something completely new to me - do I just put out the scenario and hope they wonder abt it? Just see where it goes?
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 some kids spend all yr wondering "why is the paper red?" but most start to generate questions and some start conjecturing well
@lmhenry9 the expectation that they write 5 noticings and wonderings on their paper, share with a buddy, and then share out seems to work.
Me @maxmathforum This is the situation I want to bring to them - http://bit.ly/dQVSud and I'm trying to figure out how to go with it.
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 calling early on kids who rarely contribute means they say obvious/important noticings and as you solve, you refer back to theirs
@maxmathforum That makes sense. Hadn't quite thought of it that way. That would also engage them (hopefully).
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 it builds their confidence and buy-in when you say, "remember that important thing Tasha noticed..."
Me @maxmathforum Part of what I am struggling with (esp since I'm very much a traditional teacher) is how the content fits in.
@maxmathforum Does the problem introduce the content or have students had the content previously?
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 since it's a real context, the kids' wondering might really flow. Like, "how can I get to this skill level?" or "why'd his go up?"
@lmhenry9 I believe that you don't learn without a question in your head. Like, "how does my score go up?" and then the content follows.
@lmhenry9 I'm agnostic about delivering the content after the ? is generated. If the ? is well understood, the kids will hear and make sense
Me @maxmathforum When I first looked at it, I wondered whether there was an equation to determine how your score went up.
@maxmathforum @lmhenry9 happy to get to think about helping kids become problem-solvers! I'll comment on your blog too if I think of anything else
@dandersod @lmhenry9 you can start off pretty small with the wcydwt stuff. how many jelly beans in a jar? that brings up volume.
@lmhenry9 getting the students to "buy in" is important. you can do this by writing down their guesses. everyone likes to try and be right.
@lmhenry9 maybe a doubling idea? http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=5394
@lmhenry9 maybe http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=4905 ?
Me @dandersod Am I correct in my assumption that wcydwt cannot be used with everything we are to cover in the HS math curriculum?
@dandersod How often do you use wcydwt in your classes?
Me @dandersod That's good to know. I wasn't sure whether people who did wcydwt/rich probs. did them all the time or just every so often.
@KaminskiTerry @lmhenry9 definitely cannot use WCYDWT with everything in curriculum. @ddmeyer Only uses it about once every week or two
@KaminskiTerry @lmhenry9 @druinok On non wcydwt days the class may look very similar to what it does right now.
So... I have some answers from a couple of people. What about others? How do you start with WCYDWT and/or rich problems in your classroom? How does it work? Do you do it every day? If not, how do the rest of the days go in your classroom? At NCTM, several people ("experts" if you will) expressed that we should be doing rich problems in our classrooms daily. Do we try to accomplish this iin our classrooms?. How do we get closer to that ideal?
Please take a few moments and respond to any and all of these questions in the comments. I'd love to see some good discussion about it - there are other teachers who have the same questions and they would benefit also. Thanks!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wake Up Call
Well, half the year is down. We just finished semester exams today. I am very down at the moment and I need some help/suggestions. I have been so swamped with trying to keep up with lesson planning and putting lessons together for the SMART Board, plus with Christmas and all the craziness there. I have gotten away from Twitter and I miss it. I need to be blogging more but I don't know what to blog about. I just don't feel things are going well, and semester exams pretty much confirmed it and hit me smack in the face.
So, here's the recap of how things are going:
The Classes SBG is pseudo-working:
My two advanced courses (Advanced Algebra 2 and Calculus) seem to be going fairily well. I got hit with a rash of retakes during the last week of the semester - Calculus in particular is my own fault since I gave them their last test on Thursday the week before, Friday was a half day and then they got their tests back on Tuesday (long story as to why). Both classes seem to be point-grubbing with it - however, they are going back and doing reassessments. I feel this is really crucial in Calculus because their skills are SO low compared to other groups I've had in the past. They are still telling me that if you substitute 3 into -x^2 that it is 9 (instead of -9) and they are still giving me "points" with the y-values from deriviatives or second derivatives when doing max/mins. I can really tell that their Algebra skills are incredibly weak. But, at least about half of them have done/are doing reassessments. That's a positive. I wish it were for the right reasons (to learn the material), but right now, I'll take it.
My Advanced Algebra 2 kids are also doing reassessments - not anywhere near as high of a percentage as Calculus, but some are doing them. I do see them helping each other out and working on learning the material. They'll be fine with this in the long run. This group, although still point-grubbing, also seem to still have some desire to reassess to learn it. We'll see how that continues.
The middle ground:
My Math I students (lower level freshmen - think low Algebra 1) are not reassessing hardly at all. I did have 2 students reassess for the first time at the end of last week, but that's been about it. Homework is not getting done and with what we just finished, it wasn't as much of an issue. However, we are starting inequalities next week and they have got to use their class time WAY better than they are. Part of this is my fault - but I am also looking for a little help here, dear reader. These kids are not motivated. I can record that it's being done or not, but in reality, that doesn't have any teeth for them. It still doesn't factor into their grade. How do I get these kids to do the practice? If they don't practice what we're coming up on in the second half of the year, they will not get the material and many wil fail. How do you get them to do what they should be doing? Those of you who are doing SBG now and not grading homework - how do you get those lower level / discipline issue kids to do what you need them to do to be successful?
On a side note, I do have to say that I was a little worried after the first nine weeks that there would be no kids who fail. I know that may sound weird, but even my lowest kids were passing (granted, with low D's, but passing). I am seeing some kids failing this nine weeks (and they should be), so that fear has been allayed.
The really ugly
My Algebra 2 semester exams were atrocious. I curve my semester exams anyway - the kids never do as well as they should, it's a lot for them to deal with, and most of their scores would be D's and F's if I left them. I curve the same way every time anymore - all correct is a 100, half correct is the lowest D (66), use a best-fit line with those two points and score accordingly. Even with that curve, 16 of the 43 students who took the exam (that's 37%) earned a 60 or lower. I have never had that kind of failure percentage, and certainly not anywhere near that many in that range. I am upset, frustrated and feeling like a failure of a teacher right now. I went to talk to my friend the Biology teacher (who, by the way is dipping his toes into the SBG waters with one class and possibly more this semester - YAY!!!!!) this afternoon. I miss being able to catch up with him and I realized that this afternoon after our chat. He passed along some comments my students have made - mainly that they don't like that homework isn't being graded and that their grades are based only on tests. He has a very good handle on where I am at (which was a huge surprise given how little we've been able to talk about it this year) and talked with them about how important it is to do the homework anyway. But in spite of this (and I have no idea when the conversations took place), my students still aren't doing well.
So, I am sitting here Friday evening trying to decide what to do.
1) Do I recurve the exam scores so that the grades don't look so darn bad? At least try to get the 50s to 60s (but still not passing)? This was the last thought that popped into my head on the way home about the whole thing, but the one that has to be dealt with first. Thoughts?
2) What in the world to tell my Algebra 2 students on Monday? I don't want to make it a negative thing. However, I need them to understand that a) they are not doing what they need to do, b) they need to take some ownership now and get their acts together, and c) this not grading homework bit is not going away. My Bio teacher friend suggested going back over the SBG system in detail with them (like day one), which I am probably going to do. He also suggested having them write 3-5 things that could be done to help them do better. I am considering that but trying to figure out how to do it without it turning into a b!tch at the teacher session. As far as I am concerned, they need to take some ownership in this. I know I have not done as good of a job as I could have on continuing to get them to "buy" into this or "selling" it - however you want to look at it. Part of it is, that's not really who I am. I need to find a way to get it across to them so they understand they have control of their learning.
3) I have similar homework issues in this class to Math 1. They aren't putting forth the effort they should be in homework. More of them will use the time in class to get started, but again, many will not (and these are the students who need to the most). I don't usually have much time left in Algebra 2 for them to start too much of the homework, but there is usually 5-10 minutes. For those of you who have done exit cards - how do those work? I mean, I know you give them a problem or two to do and they hand it in to you as they leave (or at least I think that's how it goes) - but what do you do with it? Do you grade every one and put comments on them? I have 47 students between those two classes (and that doesn't count my other 4 classes) - how do you meaningfully do something with them? How often do you do them?
4) When we did the Robyn Jackson book in #sbarbook chat, she talked about having a remediation plan in place. When we read that section, it was right at the end of the first nine weeks. I had considered implementing something in Algebra 2 at that point, but didn't get to it for many reasons. I probably need to do that here (or at least try it). What kind of things do you put in place for students to get help after they have not done well on the assessment? I am only one person - I can't sit down with every kid that needs it for individual tutoring. Jackson even said that the remediation plan should not always involve you sitting with the student. How do you find internet resources to help on the topic? Our book doesn't have a website. Any thoughts on this one? I kind of know where the threshold should be for them to be in the remediation plan, I just don't know how to have it execute in an effective manner.
I am sure I have other questions running around my brain, but these are the most pressing ones. All I know at this point is I need to get it together and fast. As much as I prefer SBG, semester exams have served as a huge wake up call that there are things that are not right in my classroom. I hate to always be asking for help rather than contributing something to help you all, but I hope that some of you will be so generous in helping a fellow teacher in need. I do appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to respond. One of these days, I'll get my act together enough to help others out.
So, here's the recap of how things are going:
The Classes SBG is pseudo-working:
My two advanced courses (Advanced Algebra 2 and Calculus) seem to be going fairily well. I got hit with a rash of retakes during the last week of the semester - Calculus in particular is my own fault since I gave them their last test on Thursday the week before, Friday was a half day and then they got their tests back on Tuesday (long story as to why). Both classes seem to be point-grubbing with it - however, they are going back and doing reassessments. I feel this is really crucial in Calculus because their skills are SO low compared to other groups I've had in the past. They are still telling me that if you substitute 3 into -x^2 that it is 9 (instead of -9) and they are still giving me "points" with the y-values from deriviatives or second derivatives when doing max/mins. I can really tell that their Algebra skills are incredibly weak. But, at least about half of them have done/are doing reassessments. That's a positive. I wish it were for the right reasons (to learn the material), but right now, I'll take it.
My Advanced Algebra 2 kids are also doing reassessments - not anywhere near as high of a percentage as Calculus, but some are doing them. I do see them helping each other out and working on learning the material. They'll be fine with this in the long run. This group, although still point-grubbing, also seem to still have some desire to reassess to learn it. We'll see how that continues.
The middle ground:
My Math I students (lower level freshmen - think low Algebra 1) are not reassessing hardly at all. I did have 2 students reassess for the first time at the end of last week, but that's been about it. Homework is not getting done and with what we just finished, it wasn't as much of an issue. However, we are starting inequalities next week and they have got to use their class time WAY better than they are. Part of this is my fault - but I am also looking for a little help here, dear reader. These kids are not motivated. I can record that it's being done or not, but in reality, that doesn't have any teeth for them. It still doesn't factor into their grade. How do I get these kids to do the practice? If they don't practice what we're coming up on in the second half of the year, they will not get the material and many wil fail. How do you get them to do what they should be doing? Those of you who are doing SBG now and not grading homework - how do you get those lower level / discipline issue kids to do what you need them to do to be successful?
On a side note, I do have to say that I was a little worried after the first nine weeks that there would be no kids who fail. I know that may sound weird, but even my lowest kids were passing (granted, with low D's, but passing). I am seeing some kids failing this nine weeks (and they should be), so that fear has been allayed.
The really ugly
My Algebra 2 semester exams were atrocious. I curve my semester exams anyway - the kids never do as well as they should, it's a lot for them to deal with, and most of their scores would be D's and F's if I left them. I curve the same way every time anymore - all correct is a 100, half correct is the lowest D (66), use a best-fit line with those two points and score accordingly. Even with that curve, 16 of the 43 students who took the exam (that's 37%) earned a 60 or lower. I have never had that kind of failure percentage, and certainly not anywhere near that many in that range. I am upset, frustrated and feeling like a failure of a teacher right now. I went to talk to my friend the Biology teacher (who, by the way is dipping his toes into the SBG waters with one class and possibly more this semester - YAY!!!!!) this afternoon. I miss being able to catch up with him and I realized that this afternoon after our chat. He passed along some comments my students have made - mainly that they don't like that homework isn't being graded and that their grades are based only on tests. He has a very good handle on where I am at (which was a huge surprise given how little we've been able to talk about it this year) and talked with them about how important it is to do the homework anyway. But in spite of this (and I have no idea when the conversations took place), my students still aren't doing well.
So, I am sitting here Friday evening trying to decide what to do.
1) Do I recurve the exam scores so that the grades don't look so darn bad? At least try to get the 50s to 60s (but still not passing)? This was the last thought that popped into my head on the way home about the whole thing, but the one that has to be dealt with first. Thoughts?
2) What in the world to tell my Algebra 2 students on Monday? I don't want to make it a negative thing. However, I need them to understand that a) they are not doing what they need to do, b) they need to take some ownership now and get their acts together, and c) this not grading homework bit is not going away. My Bio teacher friend suggested going back over the SBG system in detail with them (like day one), which I am probably going to do. He also suggested having them write 3-5 things that could be done to help them do better. I am considering that but trying to figure out how to do it without it turning into a b!tch at the teacher session. As far as I am concerned, they need to take some ownership in this. I know I have not done as good of a job as I could have on continuing to get them to "buy" into this or "selling" it - however you want to look at it. Part of it is, that's not really who I am. I need to find a way to get it across to them so they understand they have control of their learning.
3) I have similar homework issues in this class to Math 1. They aren't putting forth the effort they should be in homework. More of them will use the time in class to get started, but again, many will not (and these are the students who need to the most). I don't usually have much time left in Algebra 2 for them to start too much of the homework, but there is usually 5-10 minutes. For those of you who have done exit cards - how do those work? I mean, I know you give them a problem or two to do and they hand it in to you as they leave (or at least I think that's how it goes) - but what do you do with it? Do you grade every one and put comments on them? I have 47 students between those two classes (and that doesn't count my other 4 classes) - how do you meaningfully do something with them? How often do you do them?
4) When we did the Robyn Jackson book in #sbarbook chat, she talked about having a remediation plan in place. When we read that section, it was right at the end of the first nine weeks. I had considered implementing something in Algebra 2 at that point, but didn't get to it for many reasons. I probably need to do that here (or at least try it). What kind of things do you put in place for students to get help after they have not done well on the assessment? I am only one person - I can't sit down with every kid that needs it for individual tutoring. Jackson even said that the remediation plan should not always involve you sitting with the student. How do you find internet resources to help on the topic? Our book doesn't have a website. Any thoughts on this one? I kind of know where the threshold should be for them to be in the remediation plan, I just don't know how to have it execute in an effective manner.
I am sure I have other questions running around my brain, but these are the most pressing ones. All I know at this point is I need to get it together and fast. As much as I prefer SBG, semester exams have served as a huge wake up call that there are things that are not right in my classroom. I hate to always be asking for help rather than contributing something to help you all, but I hope that some of you will be so generous in helping a fellow teacher in need. I do appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to respond. One of these days, I'll get my act together enough to help others out.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
One Quarter Down
Tomorrow is the end of the first nine weeks. Today was my cut off day for reassessments, except for Calculus who just had their test today on limits and continuity. Their cut off is Monday (no school Tuesday and grades are due first thing Wednesday morning).
Some random thoughts:
I like how SBG gives confidence to my Math 1 students. Students who have not passed math or passed with D's are doing better (grade-wise) than they have in the past and I think that has kept them paying attention at least. Problem is, the first nine weeks up until this week was pretty easy content-wise for them - all things they have seen before. Not doing homework (or much of it) probably didn't hurt them too much. We got into solving equations this week and now it's becoming more difficult. They need to do practice in order to be successful. My classes were fairly engaged today as we went over equations with variables on both sides - my 3rd period in particular asked some good questions which really impressed me. However, I am still struggling with the "how do I get them to do practice (i.e. homework) outside of class" issue. For that matter, it is still a struggle with some of my kids to get them to do practice in class in the last 10-15 minutes of class. It's like they have used up any restraint they have paying attention to the lesson and participating in that and they have nothing left to work through any problems in class. Anyone have any suggestions for me here? Do I go back to checking homework and recording that it's done, partially done, or not done? I like not having to walk around and check it and I don't know if that will carry any weight with them. Anyway - any and all comments and suggestions are welcome here.
Calculus is, well, the same struggle it's been all nine weeks. I have kids coming in for reassessments to "pull up grades" I'm sure - not to learn it. A couple of them have asked some really good questions as we have worked through the limit and continuity concepts, but it is obvious to me from their questions that this group is so incredibly low for a Calculus group. There are so many pieces of things they should understand that they have not understood until I explained it to them. Things they should have gotten in Algebra 2. Usually by now I have been doing derivatives for about 2 weeks and we haven't even gotten to the definition of derivative. We'll start that tomorrow.
Algebra 2 and Advanced Algebra 2 are working through systems of equations. With their quizzes this week it is becoming apparent to me that homework is an issue here, too (like in my Math 1 classes). The quiz was on graphing, substitution, and elimination methods for solving systems of equations. In my Advanced Alg 2 class, they did not do well on graphing and substitution but did fine on elimination (which we had covered last). In my regular Alg 2 classes, they didn't do well on all 3 but did especially poorly on graphing and substitution. I was especially disappointed iin my Advanced Alg 2 kids because I expect them to work to learn the concept and I feel they were not practicing my class as much as they should have since I wasn't checking the homework. Again, it's the end of the grading period and these are the kids who want to have all As (and Bs), so you know they are concentrating on making sure they have done what they need to. I think my regular Algebra 2 kids have similar problems to my Math 1 kids - they aren't using their time in class well at all.
The State of Reassessments
As far as reassessments go, my Advanced Algebra 2 kids and my Calc kids are the main ones coming in. I have some Algebra 2 kids coming in as well but as far as Math 1 kids go, very few (if any) have been in. I know I am not doing the best job of reminding them to come in for reassessments and help. This is something I am struggling with at the moment. Part of the problem is that I have been out of class 5 times in the last 3 weeks between meetings, my own personal day, and a sick day since my kids were sick. (I probably should have taken a sick day Wednesday for myself but with having kids coming in for reassessments plus with Calc having a test Thursday, I didn't want to miss yet another day). Since I've been out of class so many times, it's hard to restart teaching and remembering what all I wanted to go over. Plus, with SBG being so new to me, I'm not quite in that groove I need to be to "sell the system." (I don't know what other phrase to use - but I guess I mean the getting students to buy in to come back and get help on what they haven't mastered and then reassess.) I want students to take responsibility themselves and come in. After parent-teacher conferences, I had a couple of students ask about reassessing but then they never followed up. I'm not their mom - I don't want to have to keep haranguing them about it. But, I do want them to learn the material. So, now what?
Overlying Questions
So, here's what's floating around my head at the moment:
1) How do I deal with the homework issue? That is, how do I get my students to buy in that they need to do outside of class practice even though I am not grading it?
2) What do I need to be telling my students about reassessing and coming in for help? How often do I need to mention it? How do I get them away from playing the grading game and get them to want to do it to learn? I know I can keep saying it but at some point, they are going to shut me off. Do I just let it be?
3) In the current #sbarbook we're reading (Never Work Harder than Your Students by Robyn Jackson), she suggests having a remediation system set up with red flags. For example, if a student's grade falls below 75%, they have to do (something). If a student scores less than a 3 on 3 or more concepts on a test, they have to do (something). Etc. Has anyone tried this? What did you set up? Does anyone think this is worthwhile? What are some good interventions for students without making my life crazy (in other words, forcing them all to come see me for help)?
4) The other suggestion that is floatiing in my head from Jackson's book is about modeling. I don't think some of my Algebra 2 students and most of my Math 1 students know how to take good math notes or how to work through homework. Today, when I told my Algebra 2 kids to keep their quizzes out and write down the right way to do the problems, they actually did. When I've gone over their quizzes in the past, I don't think they've done that. I don't think they have any clue how to take notes or even how to organize homework. Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to help them take good notes and do better homework? How about sample "problems" with good examples/good non-examples of what to do? Or any other suggestions on how to help them in these areas?
An Apology
If you've made it this far, thank you. I apologize for asking so many questions and offering little suggestions of great things I'm doing in my classroom that you can use. Right now I am just at the point where I need some guidance and I know the twitter-blog-o-sphere is a great place for that. Any and all suggestions are welcome at this point and hopefully in the future, I can give you something useable. Thanks.
Some random thoughts:
I like how SBG gives confidence to my Math 1 students. Students who have not passed math or passed with D's are doing better (grade-wise) than they have in the past and I think that has kept them paying attention at least. Problem is, the first nine weeks up until this week was pretty easy content-wise for them - all things they have seen before. Not doing homework (or much of it) probably didn't hurt them too much. We got into solving equations this week and now it's becoming more difficult. They need to do practice in order to be successful. My classes were fairly engaged today as we went over equations with variables on both sides - my 3rd period in particular asked some good questions which really impressed me. However, I am still struggling with the "how do I get them to do practice (i.e. homework) outside of class" issue. For that matter, it is still a struggle with some of my kids to get them to do practice in class in the last 10-15 minutes of class. It's like they have used up any restraint they have paying attention to the lesson and participating in that and they have nothing left to work through any problems in class. Anyone have any suggestions for me here? Do I go back to checking homework and recording that it's done, partially done, or not done? I like not having to walk around and check it and I don't know if that will carry any weight with them. Anyway - any and all comments and suggestions are welcome here.
Calculus is, well, the same struggle it's been all nine weeks. I have kids coming in for reassessments to "pull up grades" I'm sure - not to learn it. A couple of them have asked some really good questions as we have worked through the limit and continuity concepts, but it is obvious to me from their questions that this group is so incredibly low for a Calculus group. There are so many pieces of things they should understand that they have not understood until I explained it to them. Things they should have gotten in Algebra 2. Usually by now I have been doing derivatives for about 2 weeks and we haven't even gotten to the definition of derivative. We'll start that tomorrow.
Algebra 2 and Advanced Algebra 2 are working through systems of equations. With their quizzes this week it is becoming apparent to me that homework is an issue here, too (like in my Math 1 classes). The quiz was on graphing, substitution, and elimination methods for solving systems of equations. In my Advanced Alg 2 class, they did not do well on graphing and substitution but did fine on elimination (which we had covered last). In my regular Alg 2 classes, they didn't do well on all 3 but did especially poorly on graphing and substitution. I was especially disappointed iin my Advanced Alg 2 kids because I expect them to work to learn the concept and I feel they were not practicing my class as much as they should have since I wasn't checking the homework. Again, it's the end of the grading period and these are the kids who want to have all As (and Bs), so you know they are concentrating on making sure they have done what they need to. I think my regular Algebra 2 kids have similar problems to my Math 1 kids - they aren't using their time in class well at all.
The State of Reassessments
As far as reassessments go, my Advanced Algebra 2 kids and my Calc kids are the main ones coming in. I have some Algebra 2 kids coming in as well but as far as Math 1 kids go, very few (if any) have been in. I know I am not doing the best job of reminding them to come in for reassessments and help. This is something I am struggling with at the moment. Part of the problem is that I have been out of class 5 times in the last 3 weeks between meetings, my own personal day, and a sick day since my kids were sick. (I probably should have taken a sick day Wednesday for myself but with having kids coming in for reassessments plus with Calc having a test Thursday, I didn't want to miss yet another day). Since I've been out of class so many times, it's hard to restart teaching and remembering what all I wanted to go over. Plus, with SBG being so new to me, I'm not quite in that groove I need to be to "sell the system." (I don't know what other phrase to use - but I guess I mean the getting students to buy in to come back and get help on what they haven't mastered and then reassess.) I want students to take responsibility themselves and come in. After parent-teacher conferences, I had a couple of students ask about reassessing but then they never followed up. I'm not their mom - I don't want to have to keep haranguing them about it. But, I do want them to learn the material. So, now what?
Overlying Questions
So, here's what's floating around my head at the moment:
1) How do I deal with the homework issue? That is, how do I get my students to buy in that they need to do outside of class practice even though I am not grading it?
2) What do I need to be telling my students about reassessing and coming in for help? How often do I need to mention it? How do I get them away from playing the grading game and get them to want to do it to learn? I know I can keep saying it but at some point, they are going to shut me off. Do I just let it be?
3) In the current #sbarbook we're reading (Never Work Harder than Your Students by Robyn Jackson), she suggests having a remediation system set up with red flags. For example, if a student's grade falls below 75%, they have to do (something). If a student scores less than a 3 on 3 or more concepts on a test, they have to do (something). Etc. Has anyone tried this? What did you set up? Does anyone think this is worthwhile? What are some good interventions for students without making my life crazy (in other words, forcing them all to come see me for help)?
4) The other suggestion that is floatiing in my head from Jackson's book is about modeling. I don't think some of my Algebra 2 students and most of my Math 1 students know how to take good math notes or how to work through homework. Today, when I told my Algebra 2 kids to keep their quizzes out and write down the right way to do the problems, they actually did. When I've gone over their quizzes in the past, I don't think they've done that. I don't think they have any clue how to take notes or even how to organize homework. Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to help them take good notes and do better homework? How about sample "problems" with good examples/good non-examples of what to do? Or any other suggestions on how to help them in these areas?
An Apology
If you've made it this far, thank you. I apologize for asking so many questions and offering little suggestions of great things I'm doing in my classroom that you can use. Right now I am just at the point where I need some guidance and I know the twitter-blog-o-sphere is a great place for that. Any and all suggestions are welcome at this point and hopefully in the future, I can give you something useable. Thanks.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
SBG Questions
As I am working through this whole SBG thing - trying to understand it, trying to figure out how to make it work in my classroom/building/district, etc. - I'm reading as much as I can. I have spent time reading dy/dan and started through MeTA Musings but not gotten through as much as I would like. Part of it is it's summer and my brain can only take so much before it cries "uncle!" I'm also reading How to Grade for Learning - Linking Grades to Standards by Ken O'Connor and I've purchased Classroom Assessment and Grading That Works by Robert Marzano as the next read. Plus, I've been trying to ask questions on Twitter when I'm reading tweets that bring them up. I'm learning, which is a good thing.
So, here's where I'm at today: I buy into why SBG makes sense. I get that including homework and other practice (i.e. Formative Assessments) shouldn't be included in a student's grade. I get it. I understand that I need to start by coming up with my concept list. I'm working on that. First draft of Algebra 2 is here and is very much a work in progress. I started with Algebra 2 because it is the class I am the most familar with. I came up with an inital list of 102 concepts - WOW. After chatting with @erictownsley and seeing his Algebra 2 concept list (which had about 60), I am questioning how I've broken down my concept list. Did I break it down too far? Did I include too many items students should already know from Algebra 1? Am I spending too much time going back over Algebra 1 material?
Here's some background on my Algebra 2 kids: I have 2 different courses for Algebra 2 - Advanced Algebra 2 and Algebra 2. We moved our Algebra 2 course to after Algebra 1 (and before Geometry) because the State of Ohio Legislature decided that not only should all students beginning with the incoming freshmen should have 4 credits of math to graduate, one of those credits should be Algebra 2 or an Algebra 2 equivalent. Advanced Algebra 2 is our freshmen (primarily) - these students are supposed to be the best (a few students who are not freshman are in the class by Algebra 1 teacher recommendation) and generally headed towards Calculus. This course will be taught with TI Graphing Calculator (83 Plus/84/84 Plus). Algebra 2 is the freshmen who started with Algebra 1 in 8th grade and just aren't cutting it and everyone else. It is meant to fulfill the Algebra 2/Algebra 2 equivalent. Last school year (2009-2010) was the first year we did it this way. We are using a VERY simplified book - which somewhat works - but I still did quite a bit of supplementing.
One of the things I have decided that I will need to do is administer a pre-test to my Algebra 2 and Advanced Algebra 2 students. Last year I just decided to teach based on what I knew from the Algebra 1 teacher that they did previously. I assumed they knew little (which they did to some extent). I am not going to make assumptions this year. So - I need to figure out what to use as a pre-test. I know I will not be in school one day during the first week, so I am planning on having students do the pre-test that day. Anyone have any suggestions on where to look for a pre-test? Should I be looking for something along the lines of an end-of-the-year Algebra 1 test or something with Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 concepts? Suggestions?
As I am working through this, it seems like most people who have done SBG have started small and worked their way into it. I have 4 preps next year - the aforementioned Advanced Algebra 2 and Algebra 2, Calculus (not AP), and Math 1 (freshman course - students not ready to go into Algebra 1 but we are going to cover Algebra 1 concepts this year because that's the 9th grade State Standards). Do I try to do SBG in all 4 preps? Do I just start with Alg 2/Adv Alg 2 because I know that subject matter the best? I should add that both Calculus and Math 1 will have new textbooks next year - does that make a difference in your suggestions?
Other questions that have come up in the last few days that I am looking for input:
So, here's where I'm at today: I buy into why SBG makes sense. I get that including homework and other practice (i.e. Formative Assessments) shouldn't be included in a student's grade. I get it. I understand that I need to start by coming up with my concept list. I'm working on that. First draft of Algebra 2 is here and is very much a work in progress. I started with Algebra 2 because it is the class I am the most familar with. I came up with an inital list of 102 concepts - WOW. After chatting with @erictownsley and seeing his Algebra 2 concept list (which had about 60), I am questioning how I've broken down my concept list. Did I break it down too far? Did I include too many items students should already know from Algebra 1? Am I spending too much time going back over Algebra 1 material?
Here's some background on my Algebra 2 kids: I have 2 different courses for Algebra 2 - Advanced Algebra 2 and Algebra 2. We moved our Algebra 2 course to after Algebra 1 (and before Geometry) because the State of Ohio Legislature decided that not only should all students beginning with the incoming freshmen should have 4 credits of math to graduate, one of those credits should be Algebra 2 or an Algebra 2 equivalent. Advanced Algebra 2 is our freshmen (primarily) - these students are supposed to be the best (a few students who are not freshman are in the class by Algebra 1 teacher recommendation) and generally headed towards Calculus. This course will be taught with TI Graphing Calculator (83 Plus/84/84 Plus). Algebra 2 is the freshmen who started with Algebra 1 in 8th grade and just aren't cutting it and everyone else. It is meant to fulfill the Algebra 2/Algebra 2 equivalent. Last school year (2009-2010) was the first year we did it this way. We are using a VERY simplified book - which somewhat works - but I still did quite a bit of supplementing.
One of the things I have decided that I will need to do is administer a pre-test to my Algebra 2 and Advanced Algebra 2 students. Last year I just decided to teach based on what I knew from the Algebra 1 teacher that they did previously. I assumed they knew little (which they did to some extent). I am not going to make assumptions this year. So - I need to figure out what to use as a pre-test. I know I will not be in school one day during the first week, so I am planning on having students do the pre-test that day. Anyone have any suggestions on where to look for a pre-test? Should I be looking for something along the lines of an end-of-the-year Algebra 1 test or something with Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 concepts? Suggestions?
As I am working through this, it seems like most people who have done SBG have started small and worked their way into it. I have 4 preps next year - the aforementioned Advanced Algebra 2 and Algebra 2, Calculus (not AP), and Math 1 (freshman course - students not ready to go into Algebra 1 but we are going to cover Algebra 1 concepts this year because that's the 9th grade State Standards). Do I try to do SBG in all 4 preps? Do I just start with Alg 2/Adv Alg 2 because I know that subject matter the best? I should add that both Calculus and Math 1 will have new textbooks next year - does that make a difference in your suggestions?
Other questions that have come up in the last few days that I am looking for input:
- Which system to go with? I know this is a personal decision - I am waffling. Originally, this is the plan I came up with. I am not sure how many evaluations to go with - 1 or 2. I like Dan Meyer's system although I'm still working through the 4+4 = 5 bit (but I am getting closer to thinking about doing it that way). If I do the Dan Meyer system - how long is assessment going to take? Am I giving up a class day each week? What about review? Do I also review the day before each assessment?
- How do I determine what scale to use? 4 somehow doesn't sit with me well (not sure why, but it doesn't). I like the idea of it being out of 5 points. How do I adjust the scale accordingly? Do I use something like Kate Nowak?
- How is this going to change how I teach? The way I have done it - I teach, somettimes we work on problems in class, sometimes not. I have always given at least one day review and usually two before a "unit test." If I do something similar to what Dan Meyer, et al do and it doesn't take up the 50 minute class period, then what?
- Homework/Classwork or whatever you want to call it (i.e. practice). Do I now plan for practice time for each concept in class? What kind of "homework" do I plan on giving? I had already begun thinking about changing this before SBG and this will change because I don't like how I have been doing it. I get that I shouldn't assign points to it - how do I ensure students will practice? Here I am not as worried about my normal/advanced students but my lower level Math 1 students. I am planning on making homework changes across the board here. Do I still keep track of what homework was done? What classwork was done? Record keeping and time is the issue here.
- I think I follow how to deal with grade issue (this post by Matt Townsley was very helpful in clarifying it for me as far as the computer grading program at school). How do I deal with midterms and finals? I don't have any control over how those factor into my students' grades. I can choose to not give them - although in my district that is pretty much unheard of for math and other core subject areas. For our sophomores who have to take the Ohio Graduation Test - if have met certain proficiency criteria, they do not have to take their final exams in some/all classes. Do I do something similar, i.e. if you have all 3s and 4s then you don't have to take the midterm and/or final? In those cases, we average the 2 9 weeks grades for the semester grade. (We give percent grades on report cards, not letter grades).
- This is brand new in my district (as far as I know). We are to have handouts for parents on open house night - which is the night before school starts where students and parents pick up class schedules as well as these handouts. Do I put together a parent handout for open house on this? What should go into it?
- How do I deal with my principal on this? I am pretty sure he'll be fine with it - especially if it will benefit the students. He pretty much lets us do whatever we want to in the classroom with little interference. Suggestions on what to say/how to approach it with him? We are a smaller district (our HS has about 450 9-12) - do I also talk to the superintendent? Our superintendent is new to us - he's only been here a year - and seems to be "up" on things. Would it be beneficial to talk to him anyway to see what he knows about SBG from his other district or am I opening a can of worms?
- The last question at the moment is about discipline. Again, school policy (right or wrong here) is to deduct 1 percent point for each suspended day (don't start on the policy - I didn't make it, it was there before I came and I am stuck following it). How to deal with this?
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