The more the students do...

As teachers we all seem to agree that the more the students work the more learning that occurs.  Yet we seem to be prepared to lead them step-by-step through mathematical processes, we make them sit and listen to long periods of lecture, we read solutions to homework - we make them sedentary.

So I have been reflecting, planning and working hard to keep them doing math - utilizing the entire 44 minute class period.  Class time is our time for math, I couple that with smaller homework assignments and a constant barrage of "You have to study math" versus assigning problems to grade or check.  But making the class period a power packed period of doing math has been #1!  So no homework grading, lectures are broken into segments with students doing (trying to get to 6 minutes max of me talking).    The goal is to get most of the doing (which is learning) in the class period, where as an instructor I can guide them.

It means not being too helpful though, struggle is okay when guided - when I ride in on my white donkey (budget cuts) to save a student I am most often doing a disservice.  So I constantly remind myself to "be less helpful."

In the end - students need to work more, I need to guide more, "teach" less and I expect better student outcomes. yself to "be less helpful."

Math Meet!

Every year for the last six years Juda hosts a conference math meet (could say I do).  The first meet was a ton of work, and it is still quite a few hours - especially creating keys.   This post stared as just a break from the hours of making solutions three nights ago.  It is always a lot of work - but it always works out well.  I think this something every conference should do - it is a great way to do mathematics - to celebrate academics.

The meet ran yesterday and was a really nice time.  Our small school of about 95 students, had about 205 mathletes doing problems.  It is a fun math day.

The hardest part is creating the tests.  With that knowledge I would offer anyone who wants help with getting tests made for their first year.  I am willing to help whoever get this running in their school and/or area.  It is a fun day for my students and the other conference schools. 

For me it is just chance to tie what we do in class, to something outside of class.

Does math homework work? (Really work?)

Practice is a key for learning math.  I don't believe there is much argument with that in the math world.  Some people need a little practice, some more - but how that practice is done, when, etc is a really big difference between math teachers.  The carrots and sticks we use, I wonder if we think about that often enough.  When is homework effective, how much should we give and on what topics?  To really discuss homework, we have to think about what our goal is mathematically.

My goal is not the Common Core, I run to its standards but my goal is to have students ready for college credit math, and have the ability to do math in a problem solving context for the world.  They need to a toolbox of skills but also the ability to handle problems including finance, research and justification.  So homework is for building the toolbox and using the tools for problem solving & revision. 

And since I accept that homework is to reinforce previous knowledge versus to learn new things or to work on projects - I use homework differently.  To start with I do not assign current material - because I need conceptual understanding before I let a student work on it alone.  And if that is the case why take precious class time reviewing it?  Secondly the projects I assign, starting every October for the remaining part of the year, are big multiple revision, multiple solution exercises.  This two prong approach meets my philosophy and the goal I have for my students.

My class periods are for working and gaining understanding on topics that may too difficult for homework.  And remember everyone once struggled with 2*6, meaning there is time where it is hard, a time where it can be practice with guidance and time it can simply be reviewed in homework.

That thought process leads me to provide all solutions to daily practice homework - they need to do the work. but the students need to know they are doing it correctly.  It has also lead me to using computer programs for practice - I use Khan mostly - because it is free.  It is also fights the number one problem - just doing anything to finish.

I was one of "those" students back in the day - I either copied, wrote just answers, used old homework assignments (just change the section number on the top), or just did not do the homework.  It may have slowed my progress but like most 16 year old students I did not  care.  How many students that age really think that math is important?  Especially the context-less math that usually gets assigned.

So as we assign the homework - that you know the A/B students will do it just for the assessments (the tests) and that the C students are copying and that the rest are not doing - is it really working?  What is it for?  Are those low B students on-down really ready for the world and college?

Does your math homework make sense?  It is a question I continually ask myself.

Time outside class - Figuring how to Flip

So as I reflect on how we are going to do homework in the coming school year, It's 2013 shouldn't HS HW look different, I am really trying to figure out how to use a flipped classroom to help deliver content.  I know there is value in doing practice and problem solving during class when I can help guide the students.  I also know a lot of the low level practice can be done outside of the class.  But how much is enough?  What I mean is how much time besides the 220 in-class minutes do I need per week? 

In the past I have asked for 15-20 minutes of outside work 5 days per week, for projects, homework, etc.  - though students tend to procrastinate the projects into 2-3 hour sprints.  And it should be noted that I had already taken daily practice to 4-8 problems that are complete review for practice (I don't assign new content for homework).  So my thought going forward is to keep the 100 minutes per week of outside time (with study halls that is not too much), somewhat tough to pick a number because everyone works at different speeds, but it is a target.

That would allow me to assign about 20-30 minutes of "online" practice per week, 15 minutes of pencil/paper homework per week, 25-40 minutes of project work per week leaving 15-40 minutes for flipped instruction.  That would be about 2-3 videos per week (seems like a lot).  My goal would be 1 video per week, perhaps 2.

The problem is how do you know whether a student watched the video, it would be awfully hard to do practice in class without an idea of the content (students will try to though - asking to be taught the video info in class).  How do you know they watched?  Reflections (google docs)? Notes?  A worked sample problem?  And what do you do with the students who don't watch the videos, is it the same problem as homework?   Remember most students are minimalists, at 16 who cares if you understand, they are just trying to get it done (at least that was how I was).

Currently I make students stay after school to do the work on the same day (see HW FAQ), I treat assigned work like deadline work in the world, and I suppose I could do the same with flipped videos but I still need something to check (a problem, note sheet, reflection, a quiz).  My temptation is to do notes for upper level courses and perhaps a google doc reflection in the trilogy courses (Alg 1, Geom, Alg 2).  I plan to start making some Physics videos soon -- that would be a high level course in my school.  So I would expect to see notes (because the course is open note for all quizzes, tests and exams).  In the trilogy courses I think I will start with the google doc reflection (thanks to Brian Steffen). 

Either way the commitment is made -- math is gonna be different.

National Board Certifiacation - Is it worth it?

Recently I have been reading and deciding whether to do National Board Certification for Teachers (NBCT).  I really want to be the best educator I can be but is it possible in a small school with 8 preps to accomplish the work for the NBCT?  (and not have your family regret it...)

Is this a goal that is worth chasing -- I am not sure anyone in my little area cares whether I have NBCT, I think I would like to do it for myself though.  There is a financial reward - a 10 yr grant $2500 per year, and the cost is $2500 and there may be or may not be scholarships to help with that initial cost.  But the money really does not motivate me on this question of whether to pursue NCBT. It is the idea that this will make me a better educator and will give my students more opportunity.

I think the question I want to know is - Does it really make me a better teacher?  Can I really accomplish it with so many preps? and Can I accomplish it using the ancient materials we have at my school in math?  All my materials are over 10 years old (but as I posted before I don't think after seeing new books that something "better" is around).

This is a big question for me that I need to really think about.  If there was a local network of teachers working on it I may be more willing, but the thought of doing this NBCT work with on-line support and no local support is really an unappealing thought.

This is not a question I will answer today or tomorrow but I will decide prior to month's end -- I either give it my all or nothin at all.....