LAST Reflection: Letter to the Newbies

The summer ARC teacher candidates met Thursday, April 22 for orientation. Their journey is beginning. What two or three pieces of advice would you share with them? You can address any or all of the following: core, methods, student teaching.

I will copy and paste your suggestions to a document to share with them - anonymity will be honored.

LAST Reflection: ARC Suggestion

The primary purpose of ARC is to prepare teacher candidates to be effective teachers. Choose the one area in methods you believe we can improve to help better prepare teacher candidates. Disregard any logistical constraints you think would hinder you idea. (You will have an opportunity to provide anonymous, official feedback as well.)

Please address the following:

• Explain the area and why you select it as needing improvement.
• Offer a suggestion if you have any.

Follow up on April 24

Here's the CCT document - the foundation for TEAM (link to CTTEAM website), your new teacher training information.

Reflection Assignment Week of April 12: Parent Phone Call

Summarize and analyze a parent phone call you've made. If you haven't made a call yet, make one during the next couple days you teach.

• What was the purpose of the call?
• How did you get the number?
• How did you introduce yourself?
• With whom did you speak, mother? Uncle?
• How did it go?
• What results, if any, did you witness?

Reflection Assignment Week of April 12: Effective Lesson

Give very concise summary of an effective lesson you taught:

• objective
• key activities
• assessment

Analyze the lesson:

• What stood out that made it effective?
• What suprised you?
• What went as planned or even better than planned?
• What previous experience prepared you to be effective?

Reflection Assignment Week of April 5: Classroom management

Evaluate your classroom management. What is working and what is not working? What have you learned? Summarize and analyze.

Reflection Assignment Week of April 5th: Impacting Young People

Bill shared a great story about getting through to a student with challenging behaviors. What positive experience have you had with a student, students, or class? Share a narrative and analysis. How did it make you feel?

Example of Scaffolding as an alternative presentation

Here is an example I cited in a response to Joe's comment about presenting a lesson on solving for y to get slope-intercept form:

Marty shared an example for the quadratic equation. In a lower level class, I would start with this approach. In a higher level class, I would use this as an intervention with students who struggle.

Prob and Stats Course: Advantages and Disadvantage

Easily the biggest challenge in this course the nature of the math, it is a different math course - a focus on analysis, which is open-ended. Students associate math with solving to get a single answer (sadly, this is true for linear functions).

What is great about statistics is that the real life applications are immediate and relevant. Following is a list:

• Line graphs: minimum wage in CT
• Dot plot: graph of cell phone prices for Verizon
• Histogram: graph of car prices for used Camrys
• Mean and median: cell phone prices - great to address outliers as shown in methods
• box plots (parallel): compare rents for apartments in New York vs Hartford
• scatterplot: used car prices and mileage
• correlation and regression: used car prices and mileage
• probability: lottery, determining car insurance premiums, determining how many passengers to book for a flight
• Two way tables and conditional probability: gender and t-shirt size
• inference: estimate mean height of all students at school using a sample mean

What I particularly like is the fact that most colleges and many or even most majors either require or recommend a stats course. I share this with seniors by explaining how the degree requirements work at a college. This gets their interest. The fact they need stats also gets their attention. Many of you can probably share where you saw stats used in your profession.

Here are links to a survey and data from the survey I used with my classes a couple years ago. You can easily use this in your classes. I used the data for many, even most of the topics listed above. E.g. height and shoe size for scatter plots (shoe size is not on this survey but I added it in a subsequent survey). The kids find the data interesting and intuitively understand it.

Reflection Assignment: First Week

Analyze your first week.

• What was most surprising (or caught you off guard)? Explain.
• What was most challenging? Explain.
• What went especially well for you? Explain.
• Identify one major adjustment you have or will need to make, if any. Explain.

Reflection Assignment: First Day

Please share some details about your placement and your first day.

• School
• Courses you will be teaching
• General characteristics of your cooperating teacher (whatever you are willing to share)
• What stands out about your first day. If you started your placement early, share what stands out so far.
• What are the biggest challenges you anticipate? Explain.

GOOD LUCK!

Extemporaneous lesson on exponential growth

My sharpest student was badgering me about paying his $44 phone bill. I gave him a penny. "Wow" he said. I then gave him another; "Now I've doubled it. Come back later and I'll double it again." He said that it would take for ever that way. BAM! Teachable moment: below is what I wrote on the board to explain what would happen.

He was intrigued. :) (It also involved log, which was painful.)

Reflection for weekend of March 20: Classroom management part 2

In all the information presented to you regarding classroom management, identify one strategy, idea, or concept that you find problematic. Perhaps you don't think it would work or you disagree with it philosophically. Identify it and explain your objection.

Reflection for weekend of March 20: Classroom Management

In methods activities and discussion, in Johnson's Every Minute Counts, and in core sessions you were presented information on classroom management. Identify three strategies, concepts, or ideas that you believe would be most helpful and explain why you think this. Please use one paragraph for each and do not worry about a thesis statement or introduction.

Methods Reflections: Milner, Classroom Management, Urban Schools

Notice that where kids sit is much more complex that sitting kids alphabetically:

• strategic seating for ability levels and for behavior levels
• groups
• time out locations
• I didn't mention this, but you want to have easy access to the various locations in the room

Johneye made a great point about his life experiences informing his subjectiveness and perspective. We may not have the same experiences and perspectives as our students but we can offer ours to them. We may be the academic role model for them.

The observations made about any group are generalizations, which can be valid if we remember that individuals may be totally different. For example, Yankee fans in general are misguided but Paul appears to be reasonable.

America pointed out that punishments can actually be a reward for some kids (a reinforcer).

"Divide and conquer" is not inherently bad. It is a means to differentiate which can allow you to provide extra academic assistance or to help students grow as a person (e.g. discussing their future).

James-James pointed out that when he walked into methods, there was no instructor present but everyone was on task with the do now. That will happen in most of your classes if you institute the do now effectively!

Many students many not know how to act. We may have to train them on how to do so.

Joe made an insightful observation that at Milner, getting some kids to simply show up for school is a big deal. Think about this, just getting the kid to show up to take and fail the CMT may be a very positive first step (yet the school will look worse based on the metrics).

In education, including classroom management, what doesn't work is valuable and important information. As Polya mentioned in the Guessing video, math as we know it is the result of many guesses and mistakes.

When kids return to the classroom, YOU set the tone for the relationship. YOU can make changes. For example, when I have trouble with a student and he received a punishment, I welcome him back to class and tell him that I hope we can focus on him being successful.

Saras made a great point, many students need us. School may be a sanctuary for kids with difficult family lives.

Core Reflection on Thinking Skills

Linda made a great point about memorizing less and learning to use resources to find answers (a skill in of itself).

Laura addressed the big picture. Prime time I is when I attempt to establish the big picture for the kids - how does the new lesson connect to what we've done, why is it important, and a holistic idea of the new concept. This addresses storage and therefore retrieval. The specific skills for the new topic follow and will likely be stored more effectively.

Learning

• The presented talked about PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - a major buzz word in methods.
• The presenter addressed Information Processing Theory which we covered in one of the first methods sessions.
• A person has effectively learned information when it can be retrieved. Information does not stay in short term memory for more than a few minutes. When information is forgotten, it is either lost permanently or cannot be retrieved. Connecting to prior knowledge allows for effective storage and therefore retrieval. I used the file folder analogy in which I stored a piece of paper in its proper file and can easily find it later (analygous to connecting to prior knowledge).

Teen brains are physiologically geared more towards emotion so behavior and learning are connected to emotion. This is part of the reaon we highlight the need for a positive learning environment.

Someone asked what to do if a student doesn't get the info. This is the purpose of Tiered intervention. You can pull aside the kids who don't get it and give them a group tutor session while other kids are on task. We'll cover the tiered intervention in April.

CLOSURE

• It is meant to extend learning, not merely summarize. The initiation connects the objective to prior knowledge. The closure can connect to the objective to future knowledge. For example, if the objective is to solve 3x+5=12 the closure can be used to preview 3x+5=12 +8x.
• I know summaries and KLW and exit tickets are used for closure but these only summarize. I avoid using the latter two as a closure becuase what if the student doesn't remember or remembers incorrectly what they are trying to summarize?

Several of you cited the need for self-help skills and critical thinking in your respective professions. This helps justify the use of higher Bloom's levels in our lessons! Greg called this "frontal lobes in training."

Remember, a quiet classroom doesn't mean kids are learning.

Methods Reflections on Thinking Skills, Stations, and Charlene

High level questions can be used in lower level classes. For example, in 7th grade math the following can be used. How are 3x+5 and 3x+5=11 different? (compare)

Charlene's information was overwhelming because she had a lot of information that was not immediately relevant for you. (This is an example of why we activate prior knowledge!) Her goal was simply to introduce you to these topics. We followed up with algebra tiles and will go back to tier I, II, III intervention.

Stations

• They take time so I wouldn't attempt these unless you have the time you need. They can be completed in 45 minute classes. Preview the stations the day before, write out all the directions and locations on a handout, and give them 10 minutes per station for 4 stations.
• Many of you made the connection between stations and brain based learning that involves moving around.
• I recommend that you start with simple versions of stations so they (and  you) learn the routine.

Only one person cited my American Gothic tie demonstration. In it, I pointed out how much information is relatively superficial and may be forgotten while the key points may be retained. Remember this when you decide to bombard your students with vast amounts of details.

All or even most learning does not need to be high Bloom's levels. Kids don't need to be constantly evaluating. In fact, most of the objectives are relatively low BUT you can challenge them to think critically at least a little each day (see compare question above as an easy example).

Many of you shared how you are learning and growing. Teachers, of all people, should be life long learners.

Classroom Management Intervention and Remediation

Here is the power point and handout for this session.

Task Analysis

What experience with and approaches for task analysis do you have?

Challenging behaviors in the classroom

real life applications for algebra 1

Here is the link to the document for the applications generated in class on Feb 20. In order to add your content, you need to have a google account.

You have to watch some of your students!

Notice the uncapped marker left by this group!

Final Chapter Plan

We'll use this thread for document links, discussion and Q&A for this plan.

Here is the link for the assignment document.

Here is the link to the example for the table cited in the assignment.

Algebra tiles

Below are a screen shot of algebra tiles on the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives and a photo of actual tiles in use (taken at Starbucks of course). Here is a link to an online pdf file with a template for printing your own tiles. Here is a link to the mat on which to place the tiles.

Example of special education revised curriculum or instruction

The topic of the day was an introduction to drawing conclusions from data in graphs. The Do Now was to create a bar graph. I had my students with autism create the graph on Excel as a medium more friendly for them and to help them develop a useful skill. Both the Do Now with a classmates artifact and the Excel graph are posted below.

Bloom's Taxonomy and Assessments

We have a quiz next week in our Special Ed class on managing challenging behaviors. The professor never discussed the format so one of my classmates and I asked him about this after class tonight. He said it was 25 multiple choice, true-false, and short answer questions. Immediately I understood that this quiz would focus on remembering and understanding. He then explained that there were alot of facts in the first three chapters and that we would get into essay questions by the end of the course when we had to create an intervention plan for a student with problem behaviors.

Bill's question about finding balance as a teacher

Bill asked how I am able to balance full time work, graduate school, ARC, and family. I've posted my response below. You'll see that I mention Starbucks often. I, like you, am in the middle of a career change. I'm taking classes and moving into special education. I'm also challenged by Gabriel's autism which at times weighs heavily on me and our family. I feel your pain in many ways and hope this provides a little clarity.

First of all, I am NOT able to do everything thoughtfully as I should. You HAVE to pay a price if you put in long hours. I drink lots of coffee, sleep only 6 hours almost every night (often 5), and I do not do as good of a job as I could in my all of my work. I do not go to the gym right now and eat too much comfort food. My wife and I don't get enough time together alone. She bears the brunt of watching the kids as a homemaker. This is very challenging because of Gabriel. Until I get my master's in sped, we'll often face this challenge. My mother comes up every other month and helps out a great deal. Our house often is cluttered but we finally found a balance between some clutter but not enough to drive us nuts.

What you see at Milner and ARC is the end result of an ability to perform efficiently and effectively because of many years of experience. I accumulated the stuff in my room at Milner over months worth of effort. I have to introduce graphing tables of data tomorrow. I have a lot of experience with this and thought about it at different points of the day - a little planning here and there.

At school, you sometimes have to get the kids on task then work on various duties or tasks. I have to be careful not to do this too because I have to monitor the kids.

Here is my schedule. I make sure to make time for the family. I do not have any me time aside from working and keeping up with sports and politics a little each day. I persevere because I feel I am pursuing my calling.

Mon, Tue:
6AM get up
6:30 out the door with a stop at Starbucks
7:00 arrive at school
7:45 start 1st period
2:15ish prep period starts (I am usually having to do other stuff aside from planning)
3:05 school ends (we have extended day)
I usually leave between 3:30 and 4 to go home
4-7:30 is family time: play with kids, take Gabriel to the mall for socialization, watch Sesame Street with the boys, feed them, help put them to bed
7:30-10:00 work (often I have to go to Starbucks because Lucas will cry which makes Gabriel cry)
10-12 iron clothes, clean a little, watch my liberal programs on MSNBC

Wed (changes only):
3:30 go to class at Saint Joseph College (approx 7 minutes from home)
6:30 go home
6:45-7:30 family time

Thu (changes only):
3:15 ish go home
3:30-6:15 family time
6:30-9:00 class
9-12 work, iron, TV

Fri with ARC the next day:
7:30-12ish work on ARC and iron clothes - maybe watch some TV

Fri without ARC:
I'll put in a couple hours of work MAYBE and might stay up later

Sat (with ARC):
6:00 up and getting ready
7:00 off to Starbucks and ARC
Family time from when I get home to 7:30
If I'm not exhausted from ARC I'll put in a couple hours of work after kids go to bed

Sat (no ARC)
6:30ish wake up and work on computer
between 7 and 7:30 get Lucas when he wakes, make him breakfast
8-8:30 get Gabriel, make breakfast for him and Michelle
Family time almost all day with some chores
I may go to Starbucks for 2 hours to work sometime during the day
I'll work a couple hours at night

Sun:
Same as Sat with no ARC and I work a couple hours at night

Johneye's question about cultural differences

At the meeting with Mr. Richardson, Johneye asked an important question how we can relate to kids given our cultural differences. I wanted to share some thoughts about this.

First, the kids notice race and cultural differences just as most people do. This may shape their perception early on but eventually what matters is who we are and what we do for them in our daily interactions. If they see that we care about and want to help them, our background is minimized as a factor.

We have many commonalities as it is. I talk to my kids about being prepared for high school, doing the right thing, and about simple things like clothes or food. If a kid yells at another kid, I'll ask him if he's having a bad day because we all have bad days. If an 8th grader is choosing a certain high school, I'll ask why and tell them a little about high school life - e.g. some kids drive to school and you have a lot more choices for your schedule. If a kid grabs a pencil from another student, I'll talk to her about alternative choices for the behavior. One of my students always knows the score of the Clemson basketball games and tells me. I tell him how evil the Yankees are.

In short, the kids care more about how we interact with them on a daily basis than about race or culture.

slope intercept form discovery

here's a document I am using for discovery into slope-intercept form

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQzUHlNKmTNxZDhxdnJ0bl80NWdzNDM5dmMy&hl=en

Hartford Symphony at Milner

We had a 1 hour assembly during which the symphony played and explained various pieces.

The students were GREAT!

Journals and Portfolios

Glen posed the following question: What do you require from your middle and high school students in terms of journals and portfolios and how do you implement them into the middle school and high school math class for students.

I'll be perfectly honest and admit that I have not made use of either of these. The main reason is that I have not taught a class for enough consecutive years to develop either as a component in my class.

Not to play my grandfather's role and tell his grandkids to "do as I say, not as I do" but both are an excellent idea. These are activities/products I need to make use of and likely will in special education. The following is my explanation of why they are very good ideas.

Words and language are means to communicate ideas. As I mentioned on Jan 23, by explaining a concept, a deeper understanding is required. By having students write explanations for concepts, they communicate by analyzing and justifying - higher Bloom's levels. A journal in math can be a collection of prompts requiring an explanation. For example, it could consist of different open-ended CAPT or CMT prompts in which students must write an explanation for their answer.

Similarly, a portfolio can be a collection of student artifacts like CAPT or CMT work. It can also include posters and other student generated work that you might post in your classroom. In AP Stats, there are a collection of experiments or investigations that involve a hypothesis, data collection, statistical calculations and graphs, discussion, and a conclusion. This collection of reports along with completed rubrics can be used as a portfolio.

This is more advanced stuff that is likely more long term activities for you.

Review Activity to Share

CMT strand 18 is on spatial relationships: symmetry and reflection, congruence and similarity, rotation and some others. To review, I am having students create a poster using the directions below. This allows them to be creative and to do something different while addressing the objectives. This is a beta version so I'll find out how it goes tomorrow. I'll reflect on this in a post in the near future but am anticipating problems following directions.

Spatial Relationship Poster

CMT Strand 18 Review

You are to create a poster using markers. You are to have the following shapes and pictures.

Choose a theme: a farm, a football game, astronomy: planets and stars in the sky, a classroom with students, or you can choose your own.

Write your name and CMT Strand 18 Review at the top.

A line of symmetry and reflection – 20 POINTS

• Fold your paper in half
• EVERYTHING should be the same on both sides of the fold
• Your name and CMT Strand 18 Review should be reflected also.
• Draw a dotted line on your fold and label it “line of symmetry”
• Show how you have a picture reflected – label it “reflection”

Rotation 90 degrees clockwise– 20 POINTS

• Copy one of your pictures and turn it 90 degrees to the right (clockwise)
• Label it “90 degrees clockwise”

Congruent– 20 POINTS

• You will copy a picture so it is exactly the same size and shape on the other side of the fold.
• Draw an arrow pointing to the picture and its copy. Label them “congruent.”
• Explain why they are congruent

Similar– 20 POINTS

• You will copy a picture so it is the same shape.
• Draw an arrow pointing to the picture and its copy. Label them “similar.”
• Write why they are similar.

Creativity and color– 20 POINTS

• Be creative with your theme
• Sketch your poster in pencil
• Add color

Jan 30 Documents to share

Here are links to documents discussed in methods on Jan 30, 2010.

Bloom's higher level questions clearinghouse: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgzUHlNKmTNxdFdRR3NzUXBpaUNWWEljaURXMzhzanc&hl=en

Link to Goog doc with stations handout: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQzUHlNKmTNxZDhxdnJ0bl8xZHF2bnR0Z2g&hl=en

Link to links provided by Charlene: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQzUHlNKmTNxZDhxdnJ0bl80NGZqY2MzOWZx&hl=en

Link to Charlene's PPT: http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AQzUHlNKmTNxZDhxdnJ0bl8zaGJ0N3FoZms&hl=en