Vocab, Vocab, Vocab.

Trying to blog more frequently, and be less rambly while doing so.  Yay!

Lately, the three teachers that teach geometry in my department have been running into a problem with students getting lost in the vocabulary, theorems, postulates, and terms of geometry as of late.  On our quizzes, that's been the area where students have been losing the most points.  As the geometry fundamentals teacher (support guy), I wanted to try to find a way to help reinforce these ideas for our students, but in a little different way.

This led me to Attempt #1:  Term Puzzle



This is a puzzle that I have seen our Accelerated Algebra 2 and Pre-calculus teacher use for review in class.  In fact, it actually came from our Spanish teacher and he had written a little Flash program to create them for his students.  I ended up creating mine in SMART Notebook, and it worked just as easily (maybe moreso due to the equations and math notation needed).

I printed the sheet onto card stock, cut up the squares, and placed them into snack size baggies.  I paired the students up using playing cards, and handed them a baggie.  Their job was to match the term to its description, and complete the entire 4x4 grid.  I put some "unmatchable" terms on the corner pieces so as to not totally give away the corners.  It took about 10-15 minutes for the quickest students to complete, and about 30-35 minutes for the slowest.

Attempt #2:  Memory Tournament



With this, I took the same 24 pairs of terms/descriptions as I used in the puzzle, but then made 48 squares in SMART Notebook.  Each item got its own square.  Once again, I will cut into squares, put in baggies, and pair up kids.  This time, it's TOURNAMENT STYLE!

Students are paired up, and will match terms to their descriptions.  While they are playing (for the first 2 rounds), I will have the correct pairings projected on the screen, so they can check to see if they have a correct pair.  I feel that they are still thinking of what the correct pairing is, and this is just a way for them to self-check their work.  Starting with Round 3, the "key" will disappear as they will have already seen it twice.

I do realize that I should have gone with an odd number of pairings, and that can be left up to the teacher.  Just remove 1, 3, or 5 pairs to get an odd pairing and eliminate the possibility of ties.  Switch them out with other pairings in later rounds...whatever.  Have fun with it.

On page three of the attached file, you will see my SMARTBoard tournament grid.  I enter names into the brackets and Infinite Clone them to advance them in the tournament.  There is also another blank grid on another page of the Notebook file for the consolation bracket.

I'm in probably the most "creative" stretch of my teaching career right now due to us starting block scheduling, and even moreso, the Math Twitter Blogosphere of AWESOMENESS!!

Thank you to all of you out there doing amazing things in your classroom, inspiring students, and inspiring teachers!!

What a year so far...

This school thus far can be summed up in one word:  CHANGE.

Some change for the better, some change for the different. (I will not say worse, as I don't know if that's the case yet...I have an open mind).  Here is a snapshot of what I am talking about:

• new graduation credit requirements kick in this year for our class of 2017
• with this comes a requirement of 3 years of math
• all of our students are starting at least with Algebra 1
• our HS is now running an alternating block schedule for the first time in history
• there are no study halls; there is, however, a 40-minute enrichment/intervention period M, T, Th, F for students to use as a study hall, go see a teacher for help, or be requested by teachers for remediation/interventions

This week added to the "fun": it's standardized testing time again at our high school, which means our sophomores come in at 7:45 and test until 10:30 or 11:00 3 of the 5 days this week.  The rest of the students come in afterwards, and we run a shortened schedule the rest of the day.  We also had Parent-Teacher conferences on the other 2 days that we weren't testing, and then a faculty meeting tonight after school.  Whew.

What did some of all of this, for me, is a chance during the testing, to start creating some things inspired by the Math Twitter Blogosphere.  I've gotten a TON of great ideas from you guys, and I wanted to actually feel like I could contribute for a change.

I have taught geometry for the past six years, but this year, I am only teaching a geometry fundamentals class.  Think of it as a support class, strictly pass/fail, that students are in in addition to their regular geometry class.

I don't give homework.
I don't give quizzes.
I don't give tests.
We play with geometry whenever possible.

With that in mind, the course is entering congruent triangle phase, with proving triangles congruent coming soon thereafter.  I wanted to find a way to get students to investigate and discover why SSS, SAS, ASA, and AAS all work, but also explore they 'whys' of why the other situations don't necessarily work.

I bring you:  Geometry Hold 'Em

NOTE:  The real only connection to Texas Hold 'Em is the three cards face down in the middle.  There's no bidding, no scoring, no poker faces...yet.

In a nutshell, students will use patty paper and draw what comes up on each card one step at a time.  It could be an angle, it could be a side.  There are instances where triangles won't work due to angles not adding up correctly in an AAA setup, or sides not working due to the Triangle Inequality in a SSS setup.  I want students to run into these scenarios, catch them, and explain to me why a triangle can't be formed.

I've embedded the file below, so take what you want.  If you would like the editable Word document, just contact me.  I will be trying this with my students next week, and I will report back with results.


Please comment :)

Empty Boss

One of my goals this summer has been to become a bit more involved in the MathTwitterBlogoSphere and use it to try to get some new ideas for the classroom this upcoming year.  After 13 years in the classroom, I feel that I need a new spark, a kick in the pants...something to reenergize me.  Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and what I do; it's just that I feel that I can do it even better and reach more students that need it.

That's where #MTBoS comes in...the "empty boss". (get it?)

The reason I think of it as the Empty Boss is because that's the beauty of it:  no one person is in charge. It's kind of like that episode of The Office during this last season where no one knew where Andy was, and the office still functioned.  People still did their jobs.  People still hit deadlines.  The Office continued on without leadership.  That's the #MTBoS in a perfect nutshell.  We ALL are the boss, and because we all have a shared desire to see ourselves, our students, and each other do well, we keep the conversations going and sharing without a leader.

(Side note:  sometimes, don't you wonder what teaching would be like without a principal at the building?  I'm pretty sure I'd keep on keeping on...)

Another reason for the new start this year:  block scheduling.  Our high school is switching over to an alternating block schedule with 85-minute periods this year.  I'm going to be having to restructure everything for the most part this year anyways, so I am ready for a change.  New lessons, new strategies, new room layout--anything is fair game.

This year will be my 14th year with a teaching load of AP Calculus (14th year), AP Statistics (8th year), and Geometry Fundamentals (1st year).  Starting next week, I will write up my ideas for each of the classes, wrapping up with my new Geometry Fundamentals class.  I have some ideas for the fundamentals class, but would like some feedback on where it could go and how.

Keep on doin' what you're doin' #MTBoS!!

Technoverload

As I was sitting down this morning for breakfast, my wife and I began to talk about the uses of technology in our respective classrooms (me: HS math, she: HS science).  We covered a variety of issues, but the biggest topic we kept coming back to was this idea of using technology for the sake of using technology.  That got me to thinking...

I consider myself pretty astute in the ways of technology; I like to use the latest and greatest and get caught up in all the fun and cute little features.  In my own mathematics classroom, I try to incorporate a variety of things that would benefit the students.  I've been called "Techno Nerd", "Tech Geek", and other loving terms by colleagues, and that doesn't bother me.  Because of that mindset, I was the first person in our district to get a SMARTBoard about 6 years ago, the first to get a TI-Nspire Navigator system, and one of the first in the building to try out our new Gmail and Mac transition.  That's all fine and dandy with me (I get to play with new things!), but I feel a bigger picture is being missed by some of those in charge:

What truly is the purpose of technology in our classrooms?

SMARTBoards have been spreading like wildfire in our district, to the point that most (if not all) have one in their classroom this year, or in the very near future.  Now, with the switch to a Google Apps school, we're pushing Chromebooks everywhere, and also are rolling out iPads.

Hold on there a sec...

It's starting to seem to me that we're just shoving tech down teacher's throats with quick "training" or no training, and expecting it to be used.  We've had speakers come in and show us how to do flipcharts and timers on websites.  However, I don't recall much time being spent letting us develop and find technology that would be beneficial to us.

Teachers are getting SMARTBoards that don't want one, teachers that wanted a SMARTBoard are using them to show PowerPoints.  Why couldn't we use one, or two, or three of our mandated weekly 2-hour PLCs to spend time as a department to prioritize technology needs that we would use and that would greatly impact our instruction.  What i like best about my SMARTBoard in my room is the versatility it gives me in my classroom: I usually have my TI-Nspire Software up there to model how to use the handheld, send files to my students, go over class polls, etc.  I try to find a way to use it to do something I couldn't do either easily or at all before.

Somewhere, somehow, there has to be a way for us in the classroom to be able to determine what we need.  I feel that way, district dollars could be more properly spent and a more efficient use of funds could occur.

What do you think?  Am I alone in this thinking?

I think I'm getting a hang of these reassessments...

This year, I finally made the full-on SBG jump in all of my Advanced Placement classes (Calculus & Statistics).  I had experimented with it last year in one section of AP Calculus; the one that was tied in with AP Physics, i.e. "Physiculus".  It went okay, but I wasn't a fan of my grading method, my Excel spreadsheet I used to track said grades, and how I went about reassessing standards.

Enter, SBG v.2.0 (now, with more awesomeness!!)

Problem 1:  Tracking Grades:
Last year, I used a self-created Excel spreadsheet that went something like this:  Standards down the left side, assessments along the top, each student in a tab/sheet at the bottom.  I needed a 3-dimensional spreadsheet to make this all work; unfortunately, this was the best I could do.  Was it a pain?  YES!  But, I had to make it work...and it scared others away from trying SBG (sad).

THIS YEAR:  Using ActiveGrade (www.activegrade.com) which is my SAVIOR!  It, in effect, creates and handles the 3rd dimension I was looking for.  Lifesaver.

Problem 2:  Grading Method:
Grading worked as such:  I graded on a 3-point scale (how do you go 'above & beyond' successfully taking a derivative?).  I took the average of their last three attempts at a standard, because I wanted to see what they know now, and not totally penalize them for learning it 'late'.  However, that created the Excel Spreadsheet of Doom Formula of Doom.....oy.

THIS YEAR:  Using ActiveGrade's 75%-25% formula.  Still gives more weight to current knowledge, but does give a little bit of a bump for learning it sooner.  Example:  an assessment of a 1 and then a 3 on a standard average to a 2.5 whereas an assessment of a 2 and then a 3 averages to a 2.75.  Both showing that they've improved at the standard, but the person who learned it 'quicker' gets a little higher grade.

Conversion (because we still need to do so for reporting, and 70% is passing) is as follows:

• 3 = 100%
• 2 = 80%
• 1 = 60%
• 0 = 40%

Problem 3:  Retakes:

Last year, the "Cycle of 3" sort of acted as its own retake.  Earlier assessments could be eliminated after assessing more times.  However, there was no structure in place to assess individuals that wanted to show mastery.

THIS YEAR:  I finally got around to reorganizing my standards into units.  I just based my objectives off of the AP Standards, but didn't reorganize them until this year (why I didn't right away is beyond me).  So, this year, after every section in a unit, I assess on the standards covered in that unit.  In AP Calc, it's 2 15-minute quizzes a week.  In AP Stats, it's 1 or 2 quizzes a week.  Then at the end of each quarter (approximately every 2 units), I do a midterm that covers multiple standards that we have used that quarter.

As for the reassessment portion (here's the revelation on my end): at the end of each unit, I offer a retake opportunity.  I create an assessment with ALL the standards listed in order from the unit.  Each standard has 1-3 questions in it.  The students just then reassess the standards that they choose.  No setting up separate appointments, no coming in from study halls.  One time.  One test.

Today was my first attempt at this.  I ran my AP Calc and AP Statistics reassessments and 22 students came in to reassess with more coming tomorrow due to prior commitments.  I only have 57 total AP students, so this is a huge start in my mind to them wanting to do better.  They're focused on what specific topics they need to improve, and they're doing something about it!!

I have never been this happy with reassessments, but I think I may be on to something.  Now, about grading them.....

You gotta start somewhere....

Scott and I totally intended on starting this blog back at the beginning of the school year when we started this standards-based adventure.  However, creating standards, creating assessments, figuring out how it was all going to work, and making the Excel Spreadsheet of Doom seemed to get in the way (or take precedence).


So, almost three quarters into our new adventure, and we would have to say things are going well.  Just a little background, I guess, to get you up to speed.  Our adventure this year took on the name Physiculus.  We got permission from the Powers That Be to team-teach a combo AP Calculus / AP Physics block course covering two traditional 50-minute class periods.  Hence the name Physiculus.


Scott has a strong math background due to teaching physics for the past 7 years, and I have a minor and teaching certification in physics.  This gets me back into teaching and helping in physics after 12 years in the classroom.  We also were a couple of singletons with no one really to bounce ideas off of in our departments...now we do.


What we hope to do with this blog as time progresses (as it inevitably always does), is write about how we progressed through our journey this past year in SBG, pitfalls and ah-ha moments we had, as well as hopefully connect with others making the same journey.
I'm excited by the progress we've made just this year and cannot wait to try Year 2 actually having a clue as to where it will go as the year progresses.