Best Algebra 2 course

So I have been putting a lot of thought into what makes a great Algebra 2 course (or maybe just a better course than we currently offer).  How it aligns to standards but more importantly how it makes sure students are ready for secondary math and career.

My school has the sequence of Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 -- an important fact when reading what I am considering/debating/generally thinking about.  Also they may be named by the "college admission's math Triforce names" but it really is more of a Math 1, 2, 3 - integrating Algebra and Geometry in each course.

My courses proceed more slowly and have a greater emphasis on understanding than a lot of syllabuses I have reviewed.  That coupled with high expectations of learning material once and using often means my year begins with very little review ---- cause what they have done they know and relearning (re reviewing) does not need to happen.

And this year after 6 weeks - I am already about ~40% completed with our Algebra 2 text (because it simply has so much review).  This pace did not happen all at once, it happened slowly.  This process has taken 6 years (when I started nine years ago - this material took nearly 6 months).  Now when we do a topic/subject in Algebra 1 or Geometry we commit to learning it deeply (and thus slowly).  We learn, understand something once and then use it recursively.  And now I don't re-teach Algebra 1 or basic Geometry or Trig in Algebra 2 and that raises the question - what should I be doing now?

Hind sight is always 20/20 -- and I could have easily done the material covered in Algebra 2 in less time - but now I am getting the exciting thoughts of other things I can do.  Now in the past my Math 1,2,3 sequence has just covered the basics of statistics and probability.  Which my text does a poor job with too.

Like a lot of Algebra 2 texts there is review of exponents, elimination/substitution/graphing -- what I really want to add is real life stats and probability (more than the odds of pulling a red ball out of a urn).   So now I am searching for materials to integrate....

And as I find materials - I will start making changes, because it is just part of the long term mission to improve each course each year - by just a little (2% better every year is my mantra).  Because true improvement in curriculum takes years not months.

Homework - How much does it matter?

So it is final exam time at my school, we are coming into summer, so it is summative assessment time!  So I will start grading finals shortly (or my student teacher will) and it will indicate how Juda is doing with respect to math education - according to the world (I measure myself and my students by a whole different set of metrics - basically performance following HS.)

When I started teaching eight years ago, I taught how I was taught.  We reviewed homework, graded homework, introduced a concept and started homework.  I was the boss, it was their job.  And what they could recall for final was typically not good.  But that was teaching, then - now.... 

Now I never take homework problems in class, no grading, no chasing - homework has minimal value.  And if I gave 2014 finals to my students of yesteryear only a few would pass.

I get over 7000 minutes per year to teach math to a student (42 minutes/class * 170 classes).  How much time is needed to teach Algebra or Geometry?  Some practice must occur outside of class but how much?  Is 10% enough - that would be only 5 minutes per class period of homework, maybe 30% - that is only 15 minutes.  So when I hear of an hour of homework I think about how brilliant of students they must be.

But it is the summer that shows what the student has really learned, what they really know.  The first assessment on "old skills" in September with little to no review shows what they truly know and understand.

And what do they know after a summer off?

My old students doing lots of homework needed lots of review -- basically an entire quarter.  The students where I started bell-to-bell teaching, extremely limited homework and time outside of class is doing projects (essays, powerpoints, etc) - get just a couple of weeks.   And they perform well.

So I am sitting at the end of year and the start of summer of curriculum planning where I must reflect on the question "How much does homework help students?"

What Great Teachers Do Differently -- Thoughts on Whitaker's Book

So I just finished reading Todd Whitaker's book What Great Teachers Do Differently (here is a link to a  document with some of the book ideas).  It was a pleasant book to read, it was kind of a gathering of ideas that supported the basic idea that great teachers care about kids; they form a relationships, they do what is best for kids, etc.

But I took away a couple of things for me, that I did not find "common."  First, the idea that great teachers don't make rules based on one to two students or parents.  This meaning deal with trouble directly, not with the entire class but those who need the attention, which I already did.  But more importantly ask yourself what would my best students think - that is a great phrase because that is what the world does with employees too.  If my best students/parents find a note that comes home about a rule insulting - don't send it!   Deal with the 2 of 30 students who are causing an issue.

I already did not have a lot of rules and I preach "fair-ness over equal-ness," meaning each person is treated fairly - that does mean people are treated slightly differently depending on the situation and needs of the student. And that is okay, that is how the world works.  If one student needs attention for behavior, I deal with that one student.  If one student has an issue and cannot do homework for a couple of days, I excuse that student.  The teacher must make the decision and must do his or her best to be fair (NOT EQUAL).

The second thing I took from the book was the reminder that I only control me.  I am the variable in the classroom that I can control.  The teacher can really only change his or her performance!   It is my job to reach out, prod and push these students - to make sure they are doing math each day in my room at least.  And if we (the student and I) can get 45 minutes per day of effort on math - then we can almost always progress through the math requirements for a HS diploma.  Cause that diploma is the ticket to nearly everything in the workplace.  And we don't let 15 year olds make life alternating decisions without pushing them hard, at a minimum, in a positive direction.

Again it is nice read, short -- and makes you reflect on what you are doing in your classroom.

New books, old books - they sure look the same

Lately I have looked at a lot of 6-12 textbooks and websites.  And one thought keeps crossing my mind -- these are nearly the same as before.  The only difference is the order of some things.  So the CCSS has theoretically changed textbooks and teaching (or will) but in reality the books are the same.  They are so utterly close to the previous books that I am having a hard time justifying buying new books at $90 per pop and I am probably going to buy one edition back, used texts for $10 each.  Cause the books are not different enough to help a teacher who is unsure of himself/herself with math and the CCSS.

And isn't that the real statement - a book cannot lead a weak teacher; I don't care what book I have, I typically use 2-3 in each of my courses.  I teach conceptually using a combo of large projects, daily practice and non-negotiable skills -- the book is not my math bible, it is a nice guide.   But for teachers that use a textbook as a bible, the current selection will not change their teaching and won't make the CCSS anymore achieveable than the last edition.  I am not sure any textbook can.

As an ending comment lets just say publishers have not found the holy grail for the CCSS based on the books I have reviewed.