Blackboard Notes

Photo by Kristine Lewis via Flickr This year marks my first in long time of having a struggle class be THE struggle class. Normally I like to do an activity with them I got from NCTM in the first month called “A Matter of Survival,” and the students usually play it out prettty well. This class could not focus for more than 2 minutes! It took me at least 20 minutes to tally their data. (October). Now they have been struggling to focus enough to understand the concepts...it almost borderlines dyscalculia.  Dyscalculia, according to Wikipedia, is " is difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, and learning facts in mathematics. It is generally seen as a specific developmental disorder." Wikipedia reference They've been a distraction to themselves for so long, they missed capstone learning moments to solidify their number theory from the 6th grade before coming to the high

Oh my... I have operated under the radar for the last year . There are so many things that have happened. For one, my post from winter quarter disappeared. Can't remember everything, so here goes... The picture you see is of my daughter being ready for summer camp before I left her for the week.  I realize that I will yet again be teaching college now algebra (this was ladt fall). . Based on my last experience I was not excited to do what I had done the previous year. However when the school year started, I then realized how sweet a schedule I actually had.  Actually this year's college now class was very concerned about their learning. There were a few, of course, that tried to command my attention, and I reminded them of course, this was a college-level class which required college level expectations. There was also a question whether or not I would return the following year and if so what capacity would I be teaching. It made me look for other possibilities well still s