Blackboard Notes

While I had quite an experience getting to get the students at Martin County West to see math in terms of problem solving, and not routine exercises, I will not be returning. My season there is done, and I can only hope students gained a better understanding, and that he mission God sent me there was completed. (Maybe more for the struggling students than the “good” ones?)  It seems my method of productive struggle was not well received. This is understandable if they have been hand-fed from elementary on up. It’s not their fault, nor is it necessarily the teachers’ who had them previously. This is an industry standard which companies look for in potential employees. I can attest to this given my years of experience in (and leading in) the manufacturing and farming industries. Therefore when I implemented it in terms of games and intuition, it was initially accepted; however, when I threw in Algebra vocabulary, they acted like it was completely different! (It doesn’t help if the...

I decided to try the beard again, especially since we have gotten cold weather this last month. I used this picture to create a composite pic that Richard Byrne recommended (look up Practical Ed Tech). I used the Hawaii beach background to create it after running the pic through remove.bg. Then put it into a Google slide over a background of your choice, and depending on the lighting, voila! However, that’s not the reason for this post. I’m trying new things, decreasing the amount of work students do (though I’m sure they’d tell you no), and increasing critical thinking. This seems to be (slowly) working, though some of the better students would rather have it back to traditional way of doing math.  It is given the students that don’t normally like math, or normally have a voice in their learning to express themselves better.  I’m working with sources like Jo Boaler (youcubed.com), Kyle Pierce and Jon Orr (makemathmoments.com), and Jennifer Gonzalez (cultofpedagogy.com)...

I am working like a 1st year teacher, having a new district to work at. As challenging it is re-establish my set of curriculum, procedures, and communication habits, it’s refreshing to form new ideas. It just takes time to hammer out the new things I’m trying....and I am teaching subjects I have not looked at for six years (Algebra 1 and Geometry). The students are excited to try new things (at least until the honeymoon phase wears off). Update: for some reason this never posted, so will post now and put in a new post.

Coming back to the classroom is always a refreshing challenge. As a new teacher to Martin County West, I had to rebuild the tools I will use in the classroom.  After saying goodbye to Heron Lake-Okabena, I also said goodbye to the materials I developed, NOT because they weren’t any good, but because they catered to HLO, not MCW. Each culture deserves material that suits them, and I’m going to make curriculum work for my new assignments, Intermediate Algebra and Geometry. I am not sure why the district wants to focus strictly on the standards, but I think I can get what I want, weaving them into the lessons I’ll give.  The students have given feedback already what they feel would work for them, and I’ll try to incorporate these ideas as I lead them. They (my students at MCW) are definitely hungry for ways of learning.  Many have not had consistent instruction, not due to any fault of their own (or the district's).  Can't really go down that road without divulgi...

“Digital leadership requires connectedness as an essential component to cultivate innovative practices and lead sustainable change.” from Digital Leadership , Eric Sheninger @E_Sheninger. That IS my new challenge: connectedness. I’ll be in a new environment, I’ll have new (& more) students than I’ve had in five years. Not with the content, though I can always improve on that. I have yet to know what they are like, but I already know they yearn for stability and creativity.  I have done minimal to share my ideas, but now have a fresh slate to record them and use this platform as my reflection. I’ll also have new books, new classroom managemnt system, and new way of requesting time off. I realize I cannot replace the exiting teacher, nor can I imitate her. I do know by perusing through the old materials she kept that we share the same philosophies about math, regardless of technology. I also know I’m not the sharpest tool in the math department, and I’m okay with that, as...

In all that I have studied, the "science" of math has driven the technology industry, especially in education.  I like to also use technology (apps like Desmos, devices like iPads, SMART boards, etc.) to relay conceptual foundations for the math topics. I also like to frequent Richard Byrnes' site for ideas on teaching mathematics to middle and high school students ( Free Technology 4 Teachers -see Math Games and Resources) I have seen many on #Twitter and other social media provide their own recommendations for some of their favorite things they used in the last year.  In my own reflection for 2017, I would say Desmos definitely rocked.  It also helped me find different ways to teach, especially smaller groups. Fezzik: Well, I haven't fought one person for so long. I've been specialised in groups, battling gangs for local charities, that kind of thing. Westley: Why should that make such a [squashed painfully] Westley: difference? Fezzik: You use dif...

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...