tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63996935204518751592024-03-12T23:43:23.502-05:00Lines of ReflectionI teach, I parent, I wife. I hope to master at least one of these.Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-47685398137889360622014-04-06T13:25:00.002-05:002014-04-06T13:25:51.948-05:00NCTM Conference 2014: My goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/314265/file-540618049-jpg/images/Events/NCTM_2014.jpg?t=1393427577000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/314265/file-540618049-jpg/images/Events/NCTM_2014.jpg?t=1393427577000" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nctm.org/neworleans/" target="_blank">NCTM New Orleans</a></div>
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My school is sending me to New Orleans this week for the National Council of Teachers of Math Annual Conference. I am beyond excited! I'm a nervous traveler, not because I'm afraid to fly or explore, but because I'm a planner worried about forgetting something and overwhelmed with all that has to be done before I leave.<br />
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I thought that, as a way to re-fire up this old blog, I would focus on my goals for this trip!<br />
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Goal 1: To learn from this first-time experience. I know I won't do everything right. I might not make it to every session I want to see. I might wear the wrong shoes or get lost. So with the inevitable things that go wrong, I will see them as learning opportunities for next time. Oh, how I hope there is a next time!<br />
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Goal 2: To bring back information for my friends to use. I have a list of requests from one teacher regarding exhibits. I will try to learn some things for my geometry team. My big goal is to possibly present my experience/new ideas at our state NDCTM conference next spring.<br />
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Goal 3: To blog about the sessions I attend. This will support Goal 2 and help me by summarizing the likely overload of information I'll encounter. I've also offered to share my recaps with Dan Meyer (see Goal 4), and he's given me some guidelines and focus on what to write.<br />
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Goal 4: To make some personal celebrity sightings. I follow a lot of math teachers on Twitter, and should probably have an autograph pen handy. If I can, I'll attend some planned gatherings of these fine people, although I feel more like a stalker than a part of the group.<br />
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Goal 5: To challenge my brain. I've never been disappointed in this respect at our state conference. I live for thinking about math in new ways. I'm hoping to learn something compelling and accessible enough to bring back to my math clubbers!<br />
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Goal 6: To use at least one new idea in the next few weeks back home. Sometimes all the great things I learn get stuffed in a binder and forgotten. If I get that new idea in the works immediately, it becomes part of my repertoire. If I have time to plan for my students at the conference, that will be a major bonus.<br />
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Of course, I hope to eat some fine foods of the South and enjoy a little vacation from family responsibilities. I'm lucky to be going with two colleagues who I consider friends. New Orleans, here we come!<br />
Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-77718533133735939882011-08-15T23:31:00.002-05:002011-08-15T23:33:30.118-05:00First Days of SchoolMost of the people close to the teacher side of me would probably agree that classroom management is my biggest struggle. Notice, I didn't say biggest "problem" because struggle is a better word for trials, failures, and successes I've found in my first 9 years of teaching.<br />
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In my ideal world, students respect me because they admire my content knowledge. They are studious students because they want to attain knowledge. Instead, I've learned that students respect me when I show concern and respect for them and build relationships. But building relationships is such a broad topic, that I'll focus first on the things I can do or avoid doing during the first days of school.<br />
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Do:<br />
Keep kids busy from bell to bell at the beginning. Show them that we've got things to accomplish. I saw great success with a class when, for the first week or two, they came in to find materials already on their desks. They knew I meant business.<br />
Use your personal sense of humor. If that includes sarcasm, go for it, as long as students aren't the target of the humor.<br />
Don't:<br />
Call out behaviors in front of the whole class. Kneel down to address them, or take them to the hall if necessary.<br />
Joke around with the jokesters. It blurs the line so that neither of you know when the relationship got out of hand.<br />
Poke fun at students. Instead, poke fun at yourself.<br />
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I was once told by a principal that I needed to sit down with the class and establish a list of norms. I tried and it failed miserably. As I tried to find out what "setting norms" looks like, most techniques seemed to elementary, too artificial, and (worst of all) could probably be taken to a level of manipulation and terrorizing by students inclined to do so. I did an opening activity with 8th graders once where they brainstormed what the teacher should/shouldn't do and what students should/shouldn't do. Possible reasons for the chaos and failure that ensued? Handing over power to 8th graders before any relationship had been established? Whatever the reason, I found the following article, and it sounded much more like my style.<br />
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<a href="http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/are-classroom-rules-needed/">Are Classroom Rules Needed?</a><br />
<ul><li>I love that the author spends the first <em>weeks</em> forming relationships and building a team atmosphere. He actually makes more headway on the curriculum than the teachers who raise an eyebrow at the beginning. A good class really does learn more and has fewer distractions.</li>
<li>He doesn't make a list of classroom rules. He tells his students "I only create rules if we need to have them. We only have them in my classes if students can’t respect one another and me."</li>
<li>Once you know your students, you can address problems with questions like "“I know you’re better than this” or “I know you aren’t really acting like yourself". You can't ask questions like that if you don't know your students.</li>
<li>When it is time for the "Come to Jesus" talk with a student, it may go like this:</li>
</ul>Me: Why are you here?<br />
Student: Because I have to take this class.<br />
Me: Why do you have to take this class?<br />
Student: ‘Cause it’s required to graduate.<br />
Me: Why do you want to graduate?<br />
Student: ‘Cause I want to get a good job.<br />
Me: Why do you want a good job?<br />
Student: ‘Cause I want to make money.<br />
Me: Why do you want to make money?<br />
Student: ‘Cause I want to buy stuff, and I want and to take care of my family.<br />
Me: That’s your goal. That’s the dream. This class is not what you’re after — it’s the family and money. This is just a step on the way. What happens if you don’t complete this step?<br />
Student: I don’t get to my goal.<br />
Me: That’s your motivation. Close your eyes and picture the dream and think about that while you’re here. You don’t have to like me or the class, but you do want to reach your dream. Let’s do it together. I’m here to help you reach your dream, but I need you to help me, too.<br />
<ul><li>I often have trouble finding the right wording during these talks, but this sounds like something that would fit in my comfort zone and be believable.</li>
</ul><br />
Part of our beginning-of-the-year PD is PBS (Positive Behavior Support). I'm really hoping that what I hear gives me more ideas for building relationships and handling misbehavior. I'm nervous that it will be another annoying acronym presented in a theoretical, feel-good way that doesn't transfer to teaching my students.Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-60244544922662326102011-08-06T01:05:00.001-05:002011-09-29T21:01:59.441-05:00Algebra 2 InterventionI have the exciting opportunity to be one of the first teachers at my HS to lead Algebra 2 Intervention this coming year. Another teacher is doing Algebra 1 intervention, and together, we will invent this new class which is designed to support students who have a likelihood of struggling in their math class. Students are enrolled in intervention before the main class even begins. I've decided to try to bring together all of my thoughts and ideas about the class here before I begin planning with my colleagues.<br />
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<em>Personalized Computer Instruction</em><br />
The district is shelling out a good chunk of money for a computer program called PLATO Learning that will be our resource for <a href="http://www.plato.com/solutions/remediation">remediation</a> on pre-requisite skills that individuals are lacking.<br />
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<em>Relationships</em><br />
Having taught many of the students on my class list in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, I know that building a relationship will be essential for having them buy in to the intervention class. I want them to know that I am their coach, cheerleader, and fan. And they are a team. This will likely be slightly easier with the Algebra 2 kids than the Alg 1, which is possibly why I'm so eager to experience this new support class.<br />
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<em>Variety</em><br />
I know this class CANNOT be students sitting in front of their computer clicking away (most likely disinterested, possibly angry) for 50 minutes a day, 5 days a week. In order to make sure I provide enough variety, I'd like to have a plan which is (necessarily) flexible based on the students needs. A sample weekly plan is included below.<br />
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<em>Weapons of Math Intervention</em><br />
<strong> Preteaching/Previewing</strong> I've always preached to my students to spend 5 minutes previewing an upcoming section from the textbook. I doubt anyone has taken my advice. I see using this idea in the form of a rapid-fire intro to several upcoming lessons in their main class, including actual example problems. The goal is not for them to come away from the session with any skills (an interesting concept for me!), but to build confidence and some vocabulary for the presentation of the "new" material in their main class. *They have an advantage for likely the first time in their math career.*<br />
<strong> Journaling</strong> Self-reflection is a main theme of many of the articles I've read on this topic. I see the journal being used in a once-a-week, prompted writing session combined with short entries throughout the week. Possible entries/prompts may include:<br />
<ul><li> Safe, opinion questions such as "Is it important in this day and age to be able to compute a 20% tip in your head?"</li>
<li>Reflection on homework, note-taking, or participation habits from the week</li>
<li>Reflection on what has helped in Intervention</li>
<li>One new thing you want to try next week, reflection on something new you tried since last time</li>
<li>Do this problem and explain your thinking step-by-step</li>
<li>Quickly jot down 3 things you caught during the Preview Lesson</li>
<li>Name one type of problem you feel confident about, one you need more practice on, and one you really don't understand.</li>
</ul><strong> Grouping</strong> Partners-of-the-week solve a warm-up problem from the curriculum together each day. Small groups (halfs or thirds of the class) solve problems at the board while talking through their thinking (as the rest of the class does PLATO).<br />
<strong> Celebrating </strong>Possibly a box where students can brag about successes, indicating whether they want their name shared or not. On Fridays, have a "brag party" to share and celebrate with the class. Noisemakers? Snacks? This is so stepping outside my box! <br />
<strong> Skill Building</strong> Explicit instruction on skills successful students possess (for use outside of math class too!). For example: note-taking, test-taking, test anxiety fighters, study skills, homework skills, self-advocacy, class participation.<br />
<strong> Sentence Sense-Making</strong> I prepare sentences such as "The discriminant of a quadratic function tells us how many real roots it has" and "Since 10 cubed is 1000, the common log of 1000 is 3". Students rate each sentence on how much sense it makes to them. I can pull small groups based on their answers to remediate.<br />
<strong> Correcting Errors</strong> I make up a homework assignment completed by some fictitious and goofy-named kid. Students must find the pre-determined number of errors on the paper. Bonus "Packer Pride Points" for finding extras.<br />
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<em>Weekly Sample Lesson Plan</em><br />
Each day, a warm-up problem from the current curriculum.<br />
<u>Mondays</u>: Review in the form of... "Tell me everything you know/remember about ________." Brainstorming as someone records ideas/examples on the board. PLATO for remaining time.<br />
<u>Tuesdays</u>: Preview/Preteach, Journal, then PLATO<br />
<u>Wednesdays</u>: PLATO, then Sentence Sense-Making<br />
<u>Thursdays</u>: Small groups presenting problems at the board/PLATO<br />
<u>Fridays</u>: Celebrations, Correcting Errors, Skill-Building, weekly Journal entry<br />
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<em>Other thoughts</em><br />
I have a student teacher for the first semester. This will make small groups so much easier!<br />
The schedule will depend on what I learn about PLATO. I have zero experience. If it's a pain to get into the program and get started, I'll likely have 2-3 days per week for just PLATO. I like that Friday is PLATO-free. They'll probably welcome the break.<br />
I don't want to give any time for homework from their main class. It sends the message that they'll have unlimited time to get homework done, and that I'm there to make sure they get everything right.<br />
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<em>Things I read that inspired my ideas</em><br />
<a href="http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/interventionista/interventionista_intv_list.php?prob_type=mathematics">Teacher Interventions-To-Go Series</a>, <a href="http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/intervention_strategies.phtml">Intervention Strategies for Mathematics Teachers</a>, <a href="http://www.voyagerlearning.com/ResearchStudyDocuments/Math%20Intervention%20at%20Cascade%20Middle%20School%20-%20Final.pdf">Math Intervention at Cascade MS</a>, <a href="http://samanthadouglas.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/give-100-percent/">Samantha Douglas - Give 100%?</a>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-76274943349885455652011-06-14T23:58:00.001-05:002011-07-02T23:02:26.045-05:00Developing a Plan for a Proof - An AnalogyWe begin by presenting a strategy game in which there is a key moment before winning where you have already won. For example, Tic-tac-toe.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0SwNjhOHQok/Tfg2YJTLieI/AAAAAAAAABc/H3qHlvxEqPA/s1600/tictactoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0SwNjhOHQok/Tfg2YJTLieI/AAAAAAAAABc/H3qHlvxEqPA/s320/tictactoe.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div>Get yourself set up with two possible wins. Your opponent can only defend one of them, so you win. <br />
But then we have to think of how to get yourself in that position. There is definitely more than one way to get there. One way might be more efficient in certain circumstances, but as long as the end goal is achieved, all methods are valid.<br />
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This type of thinking will (hopefully) get kids to think about intermediate steps on the way to the end of the proof, but always keeping the end in mind. And help them to see that you must start with some sort of plan of how you could get to "win".<br />
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Hmm, maybe I could even present the discussion with an #anyqs following a heated competition...<br />
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<em>I got this idea from a grad class discussion of what another grad student did in collaboration with a geometry teacher. Bottom line, it's not my own idea, but I can't be sure of where it originated either!</em>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-38957891364591399942011-06-14T23:05:00.000-05:002011-06-14T23:05:46.966-05:00A New Take on AssessmentConsider grading each problem on a test* on a scale from 0 to 4. Not with a point for each step like I normally do, but more as a rubric ranging from <br />
0 "blank or irrelevant" <br />
1 "did something legit, but far from solution"<br />
2 "going in the right direction, but didn't make it to target"<br />
3 "essentially correct"<br />
4 "completely correct"<br />
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I like it because it could be a quick way to assess students' work. The rubric would be known to them. They would know how far off from a correct solution they were without me having to necessarily indicate their mistake or misconception.<br />
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I don't like it because the overall test grade cannot be the total number of points earned out of total possible points. This is because some problems are of higher difficulty than others. So consider classifying the level of difficulty of each problem. Could I then calculate a weighted average? But would I weight a novel extension sort of problem twice as heavily as a standard knowledge/procedure-based problem? Is that what I want the percentage to represent? The jury is still out, but the ideas have me thinking!<br />
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*<em>This post is a reflection on the grading practices of my professor Dr. Bill Martin when he taught at an <a href="http://www.ibo.org/general/who.cfm">International Baccalaureate</a> school in India for a semester.</em>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-7057205846579812011-05-26T15:11:00.001-05:002011-06-09T21:42:02.540-05:00Spaghetti MeasurerAny Questions?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.legendcookshop.co.uk/images/detailed/10/lcspagmss.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.legendcookshop.co.uk/images/detailed/10/lcspagmss.gif" t8="true" width="278" /></a></div>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-27118985378826850922011-05-18T22:10:00.000-05:002011-05-18T22:10:04.348-05:00Instantaneous Rate of Change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ten days from the end of the school year, it is not only the students who have lost some focus. But a good lesson introducing derivatives to my precalculus students today got me pumped up like it was the first quarter again!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Although I didn't start the day with this idea, it's going to be a permanent addition to my instruction! I try introducing the idea of instantaneous rate of change by talking about police radar detectors and how they must be measuring split-second changes in distance and time to calculate speed. Inevitably, this leads not to thoughts of derivatives, but to police, speed traps, and how to argue one's way out of a ticket.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Apparently my explanation got through to some students. Student comments of speed being zero/zero sparked some interest since we just talked about limits and the indeterminate form. It was one student's comment about instantaneous speed being like a photograph that really led me to this new approach. Lately I've been following the <a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=10120">#anyqs</a> project on Twitter, and this was a natural extension. Here's how it works:</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comparecom.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/speeding-car.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="http://www.comparecom.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/speeding-car.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comparecom.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/07/16/how-speeding-conviction-affects-your-car-insurance/">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Present the above picture, and ask if anyone has any questions. The photo is supposed to be enticing enough that most students will have the same natural question. I plan to take a picture of a car driving past a speed limit sign to further encourage "How fast is the car going?" (Today, a <em>bad</em> drawing of a photo of a car on the board even did the trick.)<br />
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Some questions I'll ask to lead the question: How do we normally calculate speed? So what's the distance and the time in this picture? So the speed is 0 divided by 0? What is that... undefined? Zero? (A small discussion today of shutter-speed ensued, but nothing compared to the side conversations about getting pulled over.)<br />
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Then they get another picture of the same car taken a small period of time later. Again, any questions? What do you want to know? They answered today that they wanted some landmarks. One kid cut to the chase saying he just wanted the distance. Or a distance reference (like Mythbusters) in the background. I suggested that it'd be especially convenient if the cars were at mile-markers on the highway (not to scale!). So we agreed the distance would be useful. One boy wanted to know the time interval. I took that opportunity to introduce the "delta t" notation, which they seemed very comfortable with from science class.<br />
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The whole thing was such a nice, intriguing discussion that a senior even commented that it was really a great example. Of course, I gave credit to my student in the previous period who gave me the idea, and they were equally impressed with him. For a 7th period class in late May with senioritis spreading rampantly to the juniors, it was an amazing discussion with students showing clear, innate understanding. It brought me joy that they were excited to see elements of limits in an actual real-life concept. Great period to end the day with! On top of that, they even liked my Geometer's Sketchpad secant-turned-tangent line example I made.<br />
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So, a thank-you to <a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/">Dan Meyer</a> and the Twitter community for keeping my imagination fresh. I realize this probably isn't a monumentally new approach to this lesson, but it was the first time it occurred to me, and it was pure gold!!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-46158248647199921732011-01-10T20:39:00.000-06:002011-01-10T20:39:09.687-06:00State of the Department AddressOur math department has taken a beating this year. For the most part, it has been the individual battles that several of us have had to fight. Parents are more demanding, administration is more demanding, students are more needy. We all feel completely maxed out and can't imagine what more we can give, yet that's what is expected when students aren't doing well. I chalk it up to either students being coddled too much in previous years or our society where values are changing.<br />
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It's hard for us to focus on the good. The good students, the good lessons, the good parents. It's even harder to reflect on improvement when we're constantly thinking of what parent is going to call next or whether administration backs us and appreciates what we try to do.<br />
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My professional goal this year is to balance my sarcastic personality and laid-back style with respect and order in the classroom. I'm doing this by observing other teachers and making notes of specific things I take away. The first teacher I observed did a lot of SMILING. She let students tease her, but didn't tease back. She spoke quickly and got down to business, yet it felt un-intimidating because of her happy demeanor. I wonder if I can get to that point... When I'm always feeling a bit disorganized, behind, and over-worked, is it possible to keep a smile on my face? Maybe I just need practice!<br />
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The new semester starts in 2 weeks. Since my precalc class is only a semester course, I get a second round this year. I also did both geometries last year, so I have hope for feeling organized, prepared, and on top of things. I'm looking forward to the fresh start immensely. I'm also looking forward to the time I have during the review and final exam weeks.Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-22185979031850797192010-09-22T19:23:00.000-05:002010-09-22T19:23:17.022-05:00Down in the DumpsIt's amazing how fragile my self-worth is. I got called into the principal's office about "an incident". I made a joking comment to students I really like, which, out of context, sounded bad. In context, it was a joke scolding a student purposely being obnoxious. But this post isn't about the incident.<br />
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Since this meeting, all of the happiness from my previous post has been sucked out of my body. I get home and feel exhausted. I get to school and feel unprepared. In class, I feel just a little off. My patience is low, my morale is low, and I feel mentally exhausted.<br />
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I wish that my hard work preparing good lessons, my knowledge of math and my ability to make it accessible, and the good feelings my students have toward me were what I was known for as a teacher. Instead, it feels like I am being defined by the "naughty" letter in my HR file. It makes it hard to bring work home. I haven't been a pleasant mom or wife the last few days. I'm pouty, tired, and distracted.<br />
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I'm angry that the outcome of my comment (that is, no outcome - the students knew it was a ridiculous joke) couldn't have been taken into consideration and the issue dropped. The principal followed protocol, which I don't blame her for. But I do wish that the protocol would take into account the effect this has had on my teaching and enthusiasm for teaching.<br />
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My hope is that by venting my frustration, I can move past this and see it for what it is. My big mouth and the circumstances afterward becoming an issue that is probably much bigger in my mind than it is in anyone else's mind. Who thinks about it the least? The students who were there. Next? HR Next? The principal. The most? Me.<br />
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And why do I teach? For the kids and because it makes me feel good. So if I can somehow put the rest of this out of my head, I hope I can get back to happy Mrs. B - the one who smiled at every kid in the hall the first weeks of school. Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-14200404835847696212010-09-10T06:41:00.001-05:002010-09-10T06:42:30.315-05:00I am a TeacherI just wanted to post about a major event in my life. For the past 3 years, I really haven't enjoyed my job. There were moments of success, but on a day-to-day basis, I wasn't excited to go to work. I envied teachers that would rather have a teaching day than a workshop day. I knew I used to have that spark. I used to enjoy teaching.<br />
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The great-amazing-fantastic news I have to share is that I love teaching again!!!! I have fun every day with my students. I'm excited about my work. It is again more fun to implement than to plan. What changed? I managed to break out of the bubble where sophomore Geometry was my advanced class of the day. I gained two sections of Precalc that have revitalized me. I use a graphing calculator again. I use interval notation again. I say f(x) and they know what I'm talking about. They like math and they're good at it.<br />
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Yeah, I still teach Geometry and it's evil twin Informal Geometry. (I had a group last year that soured me on the course... trying to recover.) I think I go in with a different attitude each day, though. Stress is lifted because I have taught two of my three preps before. I have a smile on my face every day. I'm not drained from being a disciplinarian on a block schedule - my two most challenging classes last year were on block. I saw them as 1.5 hour torture sessions with the greatest reward being the bell at the end of class.<br />
<br />
No, the job isn't all rainbows and Hershey Kisses. I still put in many hours (contrary to the students who recently estimated I worked 26 hours a week). I still have challenging students. The copy machine, printer, my laptop, and Activboard cannot all work on the same day. I battle the system to get the information I need to teach effectively. But being in the classroom is once again the sunny side of the job.<br />
<br />
I was so afraid I had lost it. Lost my enthusiasm for teaching. Lost my love of math. Lost my love of kids. What a relief that it was just hiding behind unfortunate circumstances. I hope my story can inspire the ones that are trodding through overwhelming times.Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-85260334744077979722010-09-09T21:27:00.000-05:002010-09-09T21:27:58.095-05:00Homework Solved?Well, I must say that my new plan for homework is the best I've done so far! A recap:<br />
<br />
On Monday (ok, technical difficulties this week, but in theory...) they receive a cover sheet.<br />
Each day, they score their own homework on completion.<br />
The reverse side of the cover sheet is used for warm-up problems.<br />
On Friday, the assignments for the week are stapled with the cover sheet and snapped into a binder for each class.<br />
<br />
What I love:<br />
How easy it is to enter scores - students have been honest so far.<br />
I don't feel like I'm shuffling papers constantly! Lowers my stress level.<br />
Not as much keep-up with late work. Some over the Friday-Monday transition, but during the week, it takes care of itself.<br />
Students are getting into the routine fairly quickly.<br />
<br />
Not so great:<br />
If a student will be gone Friday, when should they turn in their packet? If Thursday, they'll leave out the assignment assigned that day. If Monday, it doesn't go in the Friday binder. Not a big deal, just reality.<br />
So many kids are missing already for sports and such, so I need to go over the procedure daily to catch the clueless ones.<br />
I have to have weekly binders ready on Fridays!<br />
<br />
Haven't implemented highlighting selected problems yet. I figure I'm throwing enough procedure at them right now and I can start that later. Overall, I'm really happy with the system. Only a couple of complaints that students have to keep track of their homework until Friday, but more so because of the change in habit. BRAINwork is to come once I can get my own routine in order. I'm still excited about the preview concept.Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-40277410068838867842010-09-02T14:17:00.002-05:002010-09-02T14:18:42.646-05:00Status Update<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From my big idea accountability list... after 3 days:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">Teach Integrity - a big task, but I'd like to make it an overarching theme. I hope to make them want to have integrity but to be able to take ownership when they stumble. Lofty. One of my parenting goals too. Heck, they're all my kids anyway.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">I really don't know how to get through to them. They know right from wrong in most cases. It's hard to teach them to want integrity for themselves.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Integrate previewing upcoming lessons. Like I've said, it will make instruction so much clearer for everyone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">I did this with precalc. Once. Need to get into the swing of things.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Homework handling - turning in end-of-week packets, self-scored for completion, teacher checks a selection for correctness/method. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Tomorrow's Friday - we'll see!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Modify interesting book problems to be less formula driven (example) and put together a sheet of 4-8 unconventional but doable problems to let students loose with... i.e. not give hints, direction, etc. Make them do their own thinking </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Not many interesting applications yet - still getting the basics down.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Use graphing videos in Precalculus (weekly?) Sweeney and Meyer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Oh yeah! Love my blog... I would have forgotten about these. Maybe I'll get it ready for Monday. If I put it on my lesson plan template, I'll always remember. :)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Keeping up with my reflection blog </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Not bad! And helpful!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Communicating learning objectives clearly </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">I have the objectives typed up for each class for the first chapter. Traveling to 4 different rooms makes it hard to get a habit/system started, but I've done okay.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Greeting students at the door, asking about their lives - will begin to actually care. :) Meyer and others </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">I'll try to start this once things settle down!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Use the Rule of 4 - representing topics verbally, algebraically, numerically, and graphically </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Will keep in mind. Still doing pretty basic stuff.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Use "clock partners" - each student has a clock with 12 possible partners - I tell them what hour for quick pairing </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Would be great for Informal Geometry. I'll try to fit it in.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Keep reading blogs for inspiration and motivation </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Has died down significantly. Maybe weekends...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Have a chapter outline ready at the beginning of each chapter for each class </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Done! The kids take notes on them. :)</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Including questions from previous tests on new tests </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Must remember this one!</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;"></span>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-84542013522910380852010-09-01T19:22:00.000-05:002010-09-01T19:22:30.371-05:00Back to School UpdateSo I did the cup exploration the first day of school with my Geometries and Precalcs. I didn't do the theatric hangman intro that I had dreamed up. It didn't seem like <em>me</em>. <br />
<br />
Pros:<br />
Kids wrote down great "I wonder" statements.<br />
-I wonder why the cup rolls in a circle.<br />
-I wonder how the shape of the cup affects the way it rolls.<br />
-I wonder if bigger cups roll in bigger circles.<br />
Some kids thought of cones and cylinders (extreme cases) right away.<br />
One kid came up with the idea of his cup being a truncated cone.<br />
Kids worked together.<br />
Kids had good intuition about how oddly shaped cups would roll.<br />
Kids thought about what was important to measure at the end when I was about to collect the cups.<br />
Kids came up with ideas of slant affecting the roll and the difference/ratio of the size of the top circle to the bottom circle.<br />
Kids wanted to "do this all year". (Maybe because it's low-pressure?)<br />
<br />
Cons:<br />
Even after I explained why we were doing a "pointless" exploration (foster curiosity, researching theories, growing the creative part of our brain) some kids complained.<br />
Some kids were off task unless I was with them asking probing questions.<br />
Toward the end of the day, I responded to apathy with entirely too much help and prodding. Not sure how to avoid this - most of my questions got bored looks in response.<br />
<br />
Improvements:<br />
I wish I had a greater variety of cups. I found some bowls which really promoted some ideas. More variety might make kids more curious too.<br />
<br />
Happy Dance:<br />
-A girl brought in some plastic martini/wine glass style cups the second day. The kids predicted which would roll a bigger circle. And they were right! And it made the biggest circle of any cup I had - they even knew why. :)<br />
-I got pretty excited when I started to wonder what the square bottom/circle top cups I left at Walmart would do. I wonder if they'd roll a polygon. If so, I wonder if I could figure out what type.<br />
<br />
I'm glad I was given permission from the online community to end class without having a nice tidy answer to all of our wonderings. I'll bring it back with similar triangles when the time comes in geometry. With precalc, who knows. I tried to drive home the point with the kids that it's the thinking process, not necessarily the solution, that is valuable.<br />
<br />
Letting them work freely and cooperatively gave me a quick look at which classes would benefit from a seating chart. Day 2 went pretty darn smoothly because of this!Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-32228635131635800712010-08-27T22:55:00.000-05:002010-08-27T22:55:59.790-05:00A gift from DanDan (my hero) has shared a rubric for writing an engaging application problem. Putting it here for inspiration and so I don't forget about it.<br />
<a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=7604">Rubric for Great Application Problems</a><br />
<br />
I realized today that it may take some time to get my endurance back. For the last two days of workshops, I've been completely exhausted by the end of the day. It makes me worry that I'm not cut out for this... I think I'm just expecting too many amazing things from myself immediately. It's okay if I gradually implement new ideas. One thing I learned today is that I need to take care of my own well-being first or I won't be at my best. That probably means scaling back my daydreams a bit.Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-30187025739723361282010-08-26T21:31:00.002-05:002010-08-26T21:33:49.385-05:00Table of ContentsThanks to my IRL inspiring teacher, Fiona Brendemuhl, I've created my own list of "Grand Ideas for the School Year". Gathered from Fiona and my blog readings of this summer, I thought it would be beneficial to get them listed on my blog - it somehow feels like I'm held accountable for implementing them!<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Teach Integrity - a big task, but I'd like to make it an overarching theme. I hope to make them want to have integrity but to be able to take ownership when they stumble. Lofty. One of my parenting goals too. Heck, they're all my kids anyway.</li>
<li>Integrate previewing upcoming lessons. Like I've said, it will make instruction so much clearer for everyone.</li>
<li>Homework handling - turning in end-of-week packets, self-scored for completion, teacher checks a selection for correctness/method.</li>
<li>Modify interesting book problems to be less formula driven <a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=5983">(example)</a> and put together a sheet of 4-8 unconventional but doable problems to let students loose with... i.e. not give hints, direction, etc. Make them do their own thinking</li>
<li>Use graphing videos in Precalculus (weekly?) <a href="http://sweeneymath.blogspot.com/search?q=stories">Sweeney</a> and <a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=213">Meyer</a></li>
<li>Keeping up with my reflection blog</li>
<li>Communicating learning objectives clearly</li>
<li>Greeting students at the door, asking about their lives - will begin to actually care. :) <a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=409">Meyer</a> and others</li>
<li>Use the Rule of 4 - representing topics verbally, algebraically, numerically, and graphically</li>
<li>Use "clock partners" - each student has a clock with 12 possible partners - I tell them what hour for quick pairing</li>
<li>Keep reading blogs for inspiration and motivation</li>
<li>Have a chapter outline ready at the beginning of each chapter for each class</li>
<li>Including questions from previous tests on new tests</li>
</ul>So much to remember - it'll have to be phased in. We'd all be overwhelmed if I did all of this right away!Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-3422004880558482392010-08-26T06:43:00.001-05:002010-08-26T20:47:51.813-05:00Back to SchoolWoke up early this morning and daydreamed about school starting and our new house (we move in October 29th). I wanted to get thos brilliant sleepy thoughts down before they disappear like the contents of a dream. Here's how it goes in my head...<br />
<br />
First Day:<br />
I write on the board, Wheel of Fortune style: __ __ __ __ __ __ __<br />
There's a part of your brain that I'm afraid doesn't get enough use, so I'd like to spend this year working on that. No, it's not the geometry part, it's not the algebra part, don't worry.<br />
__ __ __ N __ __ __<br />
It's the part of your brain that requires extended thought. It's the part that's responsible for figuring things out. Not like, "How many letters are in the capitol of South Dakota" figuring things out. That's too quick and there's really only one way to get the answer.<br />
__ __ __ N __ E __<br />
More like the part of your brain that could tell me whether states with a lot of letters tend to have capitols with fewer letters. (I may work on these questions...)<br />
__ __ O N __ E __<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">And my 2-year-old just woke up so this post is put on hold... oh, the suspense!! This is my life!!</span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;">After the ups and downs of the first day of workshop, I'm trying to regain my enthusiasm. Here goes!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Again, I'd really like to help you grow the part of your brain that figures stuff out when you're unsure.</span><br />
__ __ O N __ E R<br />
Even if you don't remember the formula for finding the slope between two points, with your new and improved brain, you won't feel stuck.<br />
I __ O N __ E R<br />
The problems you work on don't have to be math problems, they don't have to have a point, and you wouldn't even have to have a final answer to make the process valuable.<br />
I __ O N D E R<br />
I've often said that I don't care if my son turns out to be a math genius or a straight A student.<br />
I W O N D E R<br />
I just want him to have curiosity and an interest in figuring things out.<br />
<br />
Now that I type all of this out, I wonder if I will bore the children with all of the teacher-talk. But, it is the first day and most teachers are probably reading them a syllabus or something.<br />
<br />
Oh, did I mention that there is a cup sitting on each of their desks? :) We'll enter right into the cup rolling exploration courtesy of Dan Meyer. <a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=4018">dy/dan Glassware</a><br />
<br />
At first, I was only going to do this with Geometry, but I bet my Precalculus kids are also in need of an unconventional problem without an obvious solution technique. The best part is that I'm not giving them hints! Again, my inspiration comes from Dan and many others' blogs that helped get me enthused for this year. I want them to wonder, hypothesize, test, and if we get to it, come to a conclusion. If not, I love the idea of just moving on. Do we need an answer? Couldn't we let it mull around longer? It's the thinking process, not the answer that's important.<br />
<br />
Getting to be a long post. It almost sounds like I'm ready for Day 1. Deceiving, huh? :)Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-36794237667863756192010-07-09T09:46:00.000-05:002010-07-09T09:46:15.857-05:00A little teacher humor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aRUvLptWwk8/TDc2C1YNKrI/AAAAAAAAAA8/70pkp3qaoXk/s1600/interdisciplinary.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aRUvLptWwk8/TDc2C1YNKrI/AAAAAAAAAA8/70pkp3qaoXk/s320/interdisciplinary.png" /></a></div>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-12337271525430638782010-07-03T07:44:00.003-05:002010-07-03T08:45:02.594-05:00A Plan for Homework<span style="color: #0c343d;"><strong>What I want</strong>:</span><br />
To spend my time designing instruction and providing feedback rather than planning and dealing with homework.<br />
Students to choose to do problems that will build their brains and prepare them for assessment.<br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><strong>What I don't care about</strong>:</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Deadlines. I just want students to learn - however they accomplish it.</span><br />
Homework grades. I'd make homework completely optional if students had the maturity to make good choices.<br />
<strong>What I don't want:</strong><br />
Students cheating or taking other easy routes.<br />
An unmanageable system and stacks of papers that I tote around.<br />
<br />
The catchy acronym. <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Cuz</span> every sound educational practice has one.<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong>BRAIN</strong></span><span style="color: #0b5394;">work</span> instead of homework.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>B</strong></span> is for basic practice. A set of problems that every student does and can check themselves for correctness.<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>R</strong></span> is for reinforce. A set of similar problems for students who need more practice on basic skills.<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>A/I</strong></span> is for apply and investigate. A smaller set of deeper thinking questions for students who have the basics down.<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><strong>N</strong></span> is for next up. A brief preview exercise of upcoming material.<br />
<br />
I definitely got the idea for student-chosen problem sets from another teacher's blog*. I've always been a believer in previewing new material before the big show. Now, it's just a matter of finding out (a) if can I sustain this model all year in all three of my courses and (b) if will students buy into the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">BRAINwork</span> concept of investing time in their own brains.<br />
<br />
*Thank you to all you <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">bloggers</span> who helped me gather ideas to form this system. As I run across the specific influences, I'll link to your posts. We'll negotiate royalties once I hit my first million dollar deal.<br />
<a href="http://101studiostreet.com/wordpress/?p=583">Riled Up: Stop Grading Homework, Please</a><br />
<a href="http://samjshah.com/2010/01/15/binder-checks/">Binder Checks</a> and <a href="http://samjshah.com/2010/05/24/binder-checks-redux/">Binder Checks, Redux</a><br />
<a href="http://ispeakmath.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/the-homework-paradigm/">The Homework Paradigm</a> and <a href="http://ispeakmath.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/homework-paradigm-%e2%80%93-part-ii-or-wanna-be-happy-then-don%e2%80%99t-grade-homework/">Pardigm Part II</a>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-3993469359374248242010-07-02T23:39:00.005-05:002010-07-02T23:45:33.927-05:00Blogging as a Professional GoalAs a newcomer to the math teacher blog community, I have too many big ideas to try this coming school year. I say too many because I know myself too well to think that I'll follow through on all of the potentially valuable strategies I've collected from the blogging superstars.<br />
<br />
So, like most any district, I have to determine a goal at the beginning of the year, implement and document the heck out of it, and show amazing results at the end. You know, the one where regardless of whether it was a successful strategy, you have to scramble to put together some concrete "evidence" that it promoted student learning. I'd say most of us very subjectively determine the successes and failures of our strategies - I always have great intentions of recording student input and personal reflections, but again with the follow-through... <br />
<br />
I <em>really</em> want to use my reflection blog as my professional growth plan. In my mind, it's awesome because the teaching strategies can be fluid and varied <u>and</u> I'll be forced to document in my blog. Beautiful. Where I need help is:<br />
<strong>How do I document student achievement as it relates to my blogging goal?</strong><br />
<br />
Hmmm...Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-80543385521981458092010-06-28T13:18:00.003-05:002010-06-28T13:28:39.410-05:00Quote of the Day<span style="font-family:courier new;">Do not <span style="color:#339999;"><strong>train</strong> a child <strong>to learn</strong></span> by <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong>force</strong></span> or <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong>harshness</strong></span>; but direct them to it by <span style="color:#33cc00;"><strong>what amuses their minds</strong>,</span> so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the <em><span style="color:#00cccc;"><strong>genius of each</strong></span></em>.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff9900;"><em>-Plato</em></span>Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-33690071428932954712010-06-20T03:15:00.006-05:002010-06-20T17:52:20.901-05:00Our Best Advice......that students ignore:<br />1. Here's a trick. Before class, just quickly look over what we're going to learn. A couple of minutes of preview will make everything so much easier to understand!<br /><br />2. Check the odd problems as you go so you don't find out later you did all of the problems incorrectly.<br /><br />3. You say you can't study for math. Make a cheat sheet. [Can we use it on the test?] No, just make it, look at it, and throw it away before the test.<br /><br />Any more? Even better - and ideas on how to make them act on our nuggets of wisdom??Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399693520451875159.post-52121160992478390742010-06-20T02:05:00.000-05:002010-06-20T02:20:10.908-05:00I'm a blogger!Over the past few weeks, I've found so much inspiration from the community of math teachers online. I'm starting this blog without any hope of offering that same inspiration. Rather, I think I need a place to consistently reflect on my teaching. I also hope to get feedback and ideas from the many talented teachers our there!<br /><br />I'll be going into my 9th year of teaching this fall. How time flies! My career began at my Catholic school alma mater. I enjoyed 5 years of teaching advanced math courses, uniformed students, and low pay (but higher than I'd ever had before). Because I wanted to buy a house and start a family, I transferred to the lucrative public school system. The 35% pay raise resulted in a decrease in financial worries. The fact that I was teaching 8th graders put me into mental duress. I learned to foresee disaster, to repeat directions 7 times, and to hold adolescent attention for 85 minutes at a time. Okay, I didn't quite master the last one. <br /><br />Finally, while humming the Jeffersons' "Movin' on Up", I secured a transfer to the district's high school. My first year was rough - I think all new preps will do that to a teacher/mom/wife. I have a lot of hope for this coming year. More information on how I think is to come in case anyone decides to read this some day. :)Jill Backlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288580935791047237noreply@blogger.com0