Teach 15 Reflect 4

So how do we make students really reinforce concepts and ideas we spend our precious class time showing, leading and/or guiding?  How do we make sure they are reflecting on the lesson objective, using the practices  - that they are making connections?  It is an interesting question - I often ask how do I make sure my students understand the concept and embrace their learning - but perhaps I should be asking how do I make students reflect?

Thinking about student reflection was part of a speech from Naomi Harms at a professional event I recently attended - she spoke about the need to only do 15 minutes of teaching, lecturing, practicing, working, etc and then 4 minutes where the students reflect.  That reflection can happen any number of ways - but the key is to allow that time.    And I am now working hard to set up my daily teaching to make sure students are reflecting, and that they are really embracing their learning.

It may seem like a modest change, but after reflecting on it I am hopeful that it can have a large impact in my students.  I think this reflection can have a large payback - the investment is small, about 8 minutes per period - but if students can make their connections in those few minutes then the impact will be much greater than 8 minutes of more lecture, or more practice, or more anything,

Seriously only 4 minutes reflection for 15 minutes of attention, seems too easy.  But when I think about myself - even now as an adult I struggle to pay attention and connect ideas when a lecture or speech is more than 15 minutes straight.  I am shifting my classroom, I had provided time to make connections but never said "Reflect on this," or "Discuss this with a partner," etc.

So I am going to add it and see how the first month goes.  Nothing ventured.....
Finally I just want to thank Juda, JAM'M, WTI and Morgridge Family for making the conference possible - hearing Naomi is making me think about my teaching and work on making it better.  So it was a good day.

Getting a little help to make change!

I am excited that the Morgridge Family Foundation awarded a matching grant to my school to purchase and use 10 chromebooks in my classroom.  My school backed the plan finding funds to match the grant.  It started with Khan Academy sending an email about this grant as a way to use Khan more (more devices);  really what this has done is get my mind running about how I would divide up the time in my math room.  How I could differentiate more, I could use technology in place of pencil and paper practice.

My plan is to split the classroom into time sections and groups using Khan as a practice device - using the mastery challenges and target practice sections to help with skills.  This will be a way to target instruction to groups more, it will allow to review a concept and then have the targeted practice where the student has to be correct.  (The problem with worksheets is that students can learn incorrectly.)

This grant seems timely because I had made some leaps in my desire to use technology more efficiently - but had not done much differently in the past couple of months.   This grant will allow me to try some things as the year winds down, try somethings and see if we can make how I am reaching students more effective.  (Also - I push curriculum hard Sep - April, because my phrase is what I teach in May goes away.)

So thanks to Morgridge Family!

Homework amount? The real question is its value.

I have read many articles lately on the amount of homework students are getting today, is it more or less, etc.  Are students over-worked, under-worked?  I don't know the answer to the questions of amount - whether it is more or less, or if it is too much, but the question of the value of homework keeps popping up in my head.

A lot of what I am reading is connecting rigor and homework amount together, more homework is more rigor.  And the question I have is this: does homework make better learners, better students who are more prepared for college and career?  This is the question that I try and remember to ask with each assignment I give.

Is the homework creating a student more prepared for the future, not for the next big power test, but does it support my vision of a person who can problem solve, learn and understand/deal with situations.

I feel like when I started teaching my first instinct was to assign homework because that is what you did, how else can students learn.  But the longer I teach the less homework I assign and it is simply because now I ask myself - how does work make the student stronger, better.

Assigning the homework to be "forward-moving" for the student, making him/her more ready for the next step beyond high school is my only goal.  For me that means a blend of practice, problem solving and justifying - perhaps not every assign gets all three of those things, but when I think about what I assign over the course of month or quarter I think I am getting a decent blend of the three.

In the end - I do my best not to assign busy work, I try real hard to assign work of value.  And my plan is not to stop asking "Is this of value?" when making homework assignments.

Summer School Math - Passion makes it fun.

So today was the first day of our school's summer Math class - a skill practice class.  I like the idea, coming in 12 days total scattered over 5 weeks for 90 minutes a session.  Just hitting up the things we had already worked on, it is a way to help them recall skills (build on some concepts) and just make sure the students don't backslide.  I did a little recruitment by saying it would be different than the school year (wasn't sure how though when I said it) and got a 1/3 of the 9,10 & 11th graders.
 
So I started with a "scavenger" hunt -- where the clues lead to practice problems that they completed in teams.  I ran the 2 classes with passion, I was really pumped up - and that in turn pumped them up!  They practiced math, ran the halls and overall had a relaxed first day.  I am following up with some relay games coupled to practice problems, then I want to do some sort of "math lab."  (That is the part I have not figured out yet - I have to create/find/steal some sort of math lab.  The lab needs to make sense to supporting/growing skills.)

But first things first, today went well.  Math was fun...

AP Calculus - Crunch Time

So prepping seniors for AP Calculus is no easy feat.  The second semester is here, all of them know their grades are no longer that important, and most therefore don't care so long as they pass (which is all true).  They also start losing focus on the goal of passing the AP test, nothing really matters (I can hear Queen playing), but the AP does matter - it is college credit!

So every year I try to finish the Calculus AB curriculum by early March, leaving nearly 2 months of review.  I continue with homework, but senior-irus keeps a large chuck from doing any real quality work, so we use the class time to hammer home the prep.  But this year due to a variety of factors we did not get thru the curriculum until April 1, and that is leading to unprepared students for the first Wednesday in May.

I take pride in the fact that a student that has received a D or better in my AP Calc course has gotten a passing score on the AP the last 3 years. The way we do that is the prep time from March 1st, it is what solidifies the concepts and understanding.  This year we simply have run out of time for the lazy stricken seniors, I find myself pushing down the path and not sure they will all make it this year.

AP problems are a beast of their own.  Even though I include the free response type questions as soon as I can on my tests (usually around early December because of the base knowledge required), they simply need practice applying all their knowledge onto one problem.  They also see a ton of multiple choice AP questions through-out the year - so the students are set on those.  They cannot pass my course if they cannot do the AP multiple choice, and understand it.  Yet if you get a D why would you think you should pass the AP?

But in previous years we were able to make it, so the lesson is to double up, do extra sessions, simply do whatever it takes to be done by March 1.  Crunch time needs to be 8 weeks!

Math Team Season

So I am really excited, the first (and only in this area) math meet is happening at UW-Platteville in a couple of weeks.  I am big believer that everyone can be part and this year over 1/2 of the High School has signed up.  Right now it is 52 out of 92 about 56%.

We practice during lunch as a group and support each other on the team; all the while setting individual expectations and experiencing a great, fun, off-site math day.  Some students are there to do their best and hope to get 1 out of 10, while others are going for a perfect score.  We all go -- I have a "lead" team but everyone works and plays together and we celebrate the day together.

And this works, I am actually able to use the math meet as a carrot for students not completing work or struggling.  (Can't take a student on math team that cannot finish homework, etc.)

Students will follow their leaders, so I get the student leaders on my side.  It is slow process that has taken years...  But I really feel we are reaping the rewards now.