Who put dat dere, who moved dat?

February 17th, 2008 by

Well, for this week, the math dudes had to read chapter 5 from the Kenney book.  Discourse was the focus of the reading and I could find some possible applications to a real classroom.  For one, I liked the idea of students teaching one another.  This is done by having students talk through problems and allowing them to speak their minds.  Often, the teacher is actually in a desk and is quiet as the class does the work.  Secondly, it is beneficial find fun activities to get students involved in classroom discourse.  I like the game “I have, Who has?” and wonder how much interaction a class would have.  It is a great way to review and is a switch from typical worksheets or examples as a way to get ready for a big test.  Finally, I just wanted to mention the many ways to actually accomplish discourse in math or any subject for that matter.  Classroom arrangement and environment are crucial.  Have desks aligned so students can see eachother and interact when needed.  Also, ask student “thought provoking” questions.  It may be difficult at first, but after you get to know your students, you will have an idea of what types of questions will probe their minds the best.  And a final thought, use discourse to your advantage.  Rather than feel obligated to create discourse, feel as if discourse is essential for a productive class.  This entails student participation, student communication, and requires the class to work together to solve problems.  It is a great way to create a fun, effective math classroom.

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I’m Giving 164% and so Should You!

February 5th, 2008 by

This week, we all had to read from the 50 Strategies book.  Both chapters were closely related and I felt they were a commonly use technique in all math classrooms.  Chapter 2 discussed the strategy of using visual scaffolding to help better student understanding.  In my opinion, this is a natural process during math instruction.  While teaching in the math classroom, a lot of teachers (whether they are good at it or not!) draw what they are describing.  And when you think of it, a teacher tends to draw their pictures in pieces rather than one ellaborate piece of artwork before saying anything.  So I would say this strategies is done as math teachers say a sentence or two then draw what they are speaking of.  Then they go back to the text, and draw this piece.  When you rinse and repeat this process, you are preforming visual scaffolding!  The second chapter we read was chapter 21 also dealt with pictures, but put the pencil and paper infront of the student rather than the teacher.  As students read, it is helpful for them to think the image in their mind.  This happens in any classroom, including the math classroom.  As a teacher, we should encourage our students to get those pictures out of their mind and down on their paper.  I plan on spending time with my future classes to get them in the mindset that if they have a word problem or example where they can create a picture in their mind, then I want to see it on their paper.  It is beneficial to the student because they can see what they are working with and is beneficial for me when assessing their work because I can see how they are interpreting problems.

The other book for the math dudes tonight was chapter 4 in the Kenney book.  I liked how the 50 Strategies related so well with math, and I think Kenney touched on the finer points of visualizations.  In math, visualizations can be created for a majority of the topics covers (graphing, fractions, area/volume/perimeter, trigonometry…).  As a result, we must be able to master the details that go into all of these visual representations of terminology and conceptual topics.  One important consideration for images has to do with proportion of pictures.   If we take the time to draw a picture that compares two things (fractions or graphs) also take the time to draw ‘larger’ things larger than the ‘smaller’ things.  Secondly, some math language deals with images (delta, proofs, truth tables…).  As a result, we must introduce and teach our students the new language they are dealing with.  If not, a student(s) will be lost until they actually learn the symbols.  A third consideration from Kenney deals with graphing aspect of math.  Graphs are used quite extensively in math, so if teachers and students are going to be using them often, we must all master the ideals that go in graphing (types of graphs, axis, labels, plotting…).  Finally, I think it is important to be consistent when using visualizations.   As a teacher, students are modeling our habits and work.  So if a picture or symbol should be used in a situations, don’t be lazy; create the picture or symbol.  If not, you students will get lazy too.

 I liked this reading because I could relate to it so easily.  All the concepts were super easy to relate to math and should be in every classroom.

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Son, of a mother duck!

February 2nd, 2008 by

For this week, us math folk had to read out of the Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction book.  The main focus of chapters 1 and 2 were that math students simply cannot connect with word problems.  As explained, math word problems are not your typical paragraph; For one, they are short and compact and for two, they throw a lot of imformation at you.  If you remember or are still dealing with them, word problems are tricky descriptions of math concepts that require the reader pick the proper information out to work with.  It is very common for students to be completely able to do the arithmatic, but they simply pull the wrong information out of the text.  This is extremely frustrating for not only the student, but the teacher as well.  In a lot of classrooms, you hear students complaining that they cannot figure out what the word problem is asking.  As a result, the teacher is having to reword and talk the students through the problem, which takes a lot of time and effort.  If we expect our students to understand word problems, we need to teach them at younger ages how to actually read and decipher this crazy math writing.

From the 50 Strategies book, I learned of two techniques to better student understanding when it comes to reading.  The first was Academic Language Scaffolding which breaks large reading tasks into smaller pieces.  By doing so, the pace at which students work is consistant and their cognitive thinking levels are used.  It is important to have students become familiar with this scaffolding, so warn them of your intentions and don’t hesitate to put them in groups, especially at first.  The second technique was Sorting Activities.  In this technique, students are shown or given a list of terms, pictures, etc and are required to create groups for each piece of the list to into.  In math, this could be done by having a list of expressions and asking students to make groups (such as linear, exponential, inequality, and so on.).  I really see this working at a younger age where kids are eager and enthused to participate. 

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Yaninashi, don’t you move a molecule!

January 23rd, 2008 by

For this week, the math folk had a reading from Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction as well as from Countryman’s article, “Evaluation and Testing.”  As we read, we needed to think of a goal for the semester and come up with ideas to support accomplishing our goals based on the two readings.

My goal to accomplish is: Having students become comfortable with math as a whole (the book, homework, tests, and projects.)

From Countryman’s article, I found one very creative idea in testing students.  In his work, Countryman describes a teacher who told the class that they will have a test during the week.  When the test finally came, the students were stressed and anxious about their preformance.  However, the teacher put a spin on the test and instructed the students to each create their own version of the test.  They could work together and use their notes and book.  It was a relief to most and all were more confident about the test they created. 

I thought this idea can spill over into other aspects of math, such as projects where the students come up with topics, homework assignments where the student choose the questions, and so on.  This is good way to make a class of nervous student more relaxed and comfortable to work with math.

From the Literacy Strategies text, I also have more ideas for comforting my future classes.  One idea is to have students create journal entries to express their thoughts.  Historically, math is known for long problem sets, “impossible” tests, and never ending notes.  If I can connect with my classes and have them write down their feelings and thoughts about math in a journal entry, I will get direct feedback about how each student is keeping up with the material.  This may be a time consuming task, but once I get into a routine, reading and grading these entries will become second nature. 

I really feel that journals are a much more relaxed setting for students to deal with math.  They can be brutally honest and not be penalized for it (unless their writing is not “clean”).  I will have to take a good look to see how practical these journals will be in my classrooms, but it is a good option to have. 

 Both the journal entries and student input on assessments will create a more comfortable environment for my students.  I hope to be a “cool” math teacher, and I really feel these activities will be a start in the right direction to accomplish this.

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I swear this chalk is going up your nose and out your finger…and that’s IMPOSSIBLE.

January 21st, 2008 by

Well, it’s back to the grind, so what better way to start the semester than to write a blog. 

 From Beth Charlton’s Informal Assessment Strategies, there was quite a bit of information to help teachers be better at understanding their students.  One of the first steps of getting to know your students is to be a better listener.   Pay full attention, keep notes if you have to, or ask questions to be certain.  These steps will show the class that you care about them.  Once you have a idea of your class, find appropriate readings for the class.  As they read, you must also find ways to assess how “well” your students are progressing through their reading.  This can be accomplished by monitoring accuracy (90% or higher recommended), self corrections (1:4 ratio), fluency, and comprehension.  Over time, you will recognize student reading levels and begin to find assignments and assessments in written and group formats, to name a few.  Once you have a good base of reading in the classroom, it is important to show students the benefits of independent reading.  You can keep students honest in their independent reading by having student-teacher conferences, peer discussions, and daily journal entries.  Finally, with this variety of reading activites and assessment techniques, a teach can be creative in their lesson plans.  In most cases, a lot of these lessons will be uncharted territory for a teacher, so it is helpful to tell the class that you are trying a new activity. 

The other lengthy reading was from D & Z.  Chapter 11 touched on helping struggling readers.  As it explained, a lot of readers just can’t relate or picture the things they read.  As a result, they become discouraged and give up on paying attention.  This has led many writers to address this issue in a variety of books.  In the books, many ideas to help students are described, like think alouds, model reading and posted notes.  Also, teachers can avoid this frustration by offering a large variety of books for their students.  Finally, teachers could provide recorded readings on tapes for students. 
In chapter 12, reading research was summed up.  In the text, No Child Left Behind was hammered pretty good, as it often is.  The key points included: 1) students should read a wide variety of text 2) students should read for pleasure 3) read A LOT 4) read comfortably 5) have a choice of what to read 6) be a part of a reading community 7) develop thinking strategies 8) explore in your reading 9) read high-level readings 10) connect with different reading communities.  These points will build well-rounded readers which don’t exist in strong numbers today.

I must say I like the dictoglos activity in class.  I did really well with it and I engaged the entire time.  It is tough to do in math, but I can see how it would work in other classrooms.  The GIST activity is another way to sum up a reading.  It is a good way to engage students in group activities.

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Reflection #10

November 11th, 2007 by

In chapters 4 and 5 from Teaching and Learning Multiliteracies, the main ideas talked about picture books and the layout of text books. I think that picture books would be useful in a math classroom because a lot of learners are visual. If I could find pictures that supported my lessons, it would increase student understanding and interest. However, I wonder how many picture books are available to accomplish this. Also, if math picture books are available, it would be nice to find “challenging” books. Chapter 4 talked about how picture books, especially at high levels, are more thought provoking than one would think. If I could find books that give good visualizations of problems, but also leave room for student explanation, it would be the most effective way to use these types of text. From chapter 5, I can see how books are changing. In today’s world of text, people are exposed to books of left-to-right reading, cartoons, and a variety of text formats. New text today is more flashy than before and I think this is a good thing. In the educational arena, student interest is crucial. If there are texts out there that are breaking away from conventional text, this may get students involved. However, as times change, so do literacies. As a teacher, I must be aware of what my students know and how much they are able to expand their knowledge. If they are given text that they cannot work with because they are not literate, that would be my fault. I look forward to providing my classes with the latest technologies and text.

The newspaper article that I read for this week was “Attracting Valuable Coaches to the Priciest College Town .” In this article, it explained the price of being a division I coach in major university towns. In Stanford, coaches are recruited and praised for their dedication toward coaching. However, when the family in this story began looking for homes in the area to move into, they saw their dreams slipping away. Originally from Michigan, the family had a 4 bedroom home for about $240,000. When they looked at houses with the same size as back home, they would expect to pay about $1.5 million more. However, the Stanford has been buying homes for their new coaches. With a $2 million home and a job as a football coach, the family in this story couldn’t ask for more. And oh by the way, they also get $3000 a month for home spending, thanks to Stanford. It must be nice.

The 4 Freedoms week events that I attended were pretty interesting. I went to the one during our class time that discussed the history of Rochester. I grew up about 40 minutes south of Rochester and never heard of the past that this city has to offer. I was shocked to hear that Rochester was one of the best cities to live in in the US with a low unemployment rate. At the same time, I had never heard of the uprisings that took place in the 50s and 60s. It was very interesting to me I got a lot out of the video and talk. The other meetings was really cool to see. The students from School Without Walls did a great job with their murals. It was interesting to see how the students interpreted the world. They had great ideas and showed them in a very cool way.

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Reflection #9

November 4th, 2007 by

Well, I guess I will start with the newspaper article that I read for homework. In the NY Times, “New York Schools Brace to Be Scored, A to F” was an interesting article that explained how NYC schools are now being graded on a letter grading scale. In this grading, three major aspects of schooling are evaluated to determine the letter grade: 1) 30% on student achievement on state tests, 2) 15% on the school’s environment (student attendance and surveys), and 3) 55% on student improvement on state tests from one year to the next. For a lot of schools, including one mentioned in this article, they do not feel the third parameter, which accounts for the majority of the letter grade, is very “fair.” They argue that this parameter makes schools teach to a test, which is a trend often frowned upon in today’s classrooms. Also, for schools who have been a high ranking school in the past, they feel their letter grades could be a poor representation of their school’s performance. On the other hand, when these letter grades are seen by all, some schools may be enticed to work harder in the classroom to achieve goals or maintain their current work ethic to keep the grade that they have received. In the end, I personally don’t think that schools should be graded, necessarily. However, by doing something like this, it opens the eyes of the administration and public as to what schools are on the upswing and which are not.

During our class time last week, we went the Frankenstein Lives! presentation in the auditorium. I thought the six speakers did a very good job in presenting some cool ideas that one could get out of Frankenstein. It was interesting to see how you can feel sympathetic for both Frankenstein and his monster at the same time. Also, there were some scientific inquiries that were investigated that could tell the story of creating life as Frankenstein had done. It shows how advanced a science could become. Finally, I liked how one speaker discussed the idea of fear in the book. Not only did people fear the monster, but the monster feared things about people. It is a good point to be recognized because the monster wasn’t the only bad guy in the book, in my opinion.

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Reflection #8

October 28th, 2007 by

For this week’s assignment, we had to read chapters 8 and 9 in Subjects Matter. In chapter 8, D&Z talked about independent reading workshops. For me, I didn’t really see how practical this idea is for a classroom, especially math. I like the idea of getting students to read what they like, but it wouldn’t be too easy with the stacked curriculum. I do think it is a great way for students to get involved in the class and learn some interesting things. Also, the procedure seems really well thought out. With a lesson about the reading, a chance to help students, and a time for student to learn from each other, it is a solid design. As a teacher, it is sometimes tough to find activities for a classroom, but this one would be a good one to consider. But in my situation, I feel it would be tough to fit it into a full year. To lose an hour a week for student to read in class, that is an hour lost for students to be practicing their math. However, I may do a simular activity as a project for the students, but wouldn’t expect to do it week in and week out.

In chapter 9, D&Z discussed book clubs. To me, this is more practical for a math classroom. Unlike the workshops, a lot of the book club work can be done outside of class like a project, especially once students get the routine. I like the idea that students would choose from a list of readings that the teacher decides and must take notes during their reading. This ensure the students are really reading. Also, the jobs that every group member has shows they everyone has a responsibility to fulfill. This is a great way to see who did their job and who didn’t. Also, these jobs could get students to socialize work together with other students during their readings. As regards to assessment, I would have all students understand they need to participate using their jobs. As long as they can demonstrate they preformed their part of the project, that is satisfactory. Also, they must be able to participate in class discussions or interviews that I conduct. This shows me they have read and grasp the concept.

For my newspaper article this week, I have chosen “This Halloween, Unarmed Power Rangers and Devils Without Pitchforks .” Halloween is a time for kids to be kids, but I did agree with this article. The article basically said that schools are not letting students dress up with weapons (swords, guns, lasers, etc..). In today’s world, school violence is increasing and becoming worse and worse it seems. I think this policy is a step in the right direction and should be enforced. By allowing them to bring these types of things into a school, it is giving the wrong message about eliminating appropriate school items. There will be plenty of time for students to wear their costumes at home.

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Reflection #7

October 23rd, 2007 by

Well, the obvious reading for this week was the book we had to read for class.  I read The Einstein Paradox.  I was interested in reading this book because of the math involved, but as I found out, there seemed to be little math at all.  In this book, physics problems are solved by Sherlock Holmes and his side kick Dr. Watson.  I put this book off until this past weekend, but I was able to fly through the book in 3 days because it was so interesting.  I couldn’t wait to see how the problems were solved.  Also, but putting the spin of Sherlock and Watson into the process, I found it easy to read.  I could put myself in the situation and feel out the mystery.  In the end, I loved the book and would recommend it to a variety of readers. 

The newspaper article I read this week deals with the crazy weather we have had this October.  “How Warm Is It? For October, the Heat Is Certainly On” was in the NY Times and explained how the jetstream and La Nina are playing a key role in our strangley hot weather.  I have always been facinated with weather and this article was a cool read.  Also, it touched on the ideals of humans causing global warming, which is a major debate in our society. 

Finally, I would like to say that the paper we wrote was a good way to see where we are in the class.  It layed out what I have learned and plan on learning as the semester rolls on.

 P.S. go rockies 

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Reflection #6

October 13th, 2007 by

Wow, all sorts of reading for this week…. 

 I guess I will start with the largest reading: the Darling-Hammond reading about national achievement.  Last year, I did a presentation on international Mathematics achievement for one of my education classes.  This reading was almost a carbon copy of the research that I read and used.  It is a known fact that the United States is underachieving in the areas of math and science compared to other countries.  To be quite honest, we are getting our asses kicked.  There are many arguments for this fact including: teachers, race, curriculum, etc.  To me, this is a serious issue because I will be teaching math someday and I don’t want to be part of the blame.  In the past few decades, many actions have been taken to increase these test scores.  “Better” teachers, a national curriculum, and increased funding have made schools better than ever.  But have they?  National and international results of these standardized tests are still extremely low compared to other countries and to make matters worse, they are go lower and lower each year.  Although some brackets of tested students are increasing their test scores, some are not, like high level math for example.  The United States is putting all of their effort into making education better, but whatever we are doing isn’t working.  I hope that someday, soon, the United States will have the best educational system available.  But until then, I am convinced that the United States is far from that.  (I really liked seeing all of the graphs and tables.  As a math guy, these were really easy to read and understand.)   

The “I Stand Here Ironing” text kept me focused throughout.  It was a good little story about how families experience hardships.  For the mother, she worked as hard as she could to support the family and keep them happy.  However, with no husband to help, her children grew away from her.  This left her upset and feeling guilty.  However, many great examples can be pulled from this reading.  For one, you could see how much she loved and cared for her daughter from the start.  This caring stayed with her now matter what cirrcum stances faced her.  Also, you could see how much Emily depended on her mom when she was young.  She was always happy to be with her.  Finally, it shows how important it is to place a child in the right daycare or school.  When in daycare, Emily wanted to be home, not with the mean teachers.  And in school, it reveals the little competitions that students have.  I guess the reading was a little story about love and care.  For the most part, it was a break from reading the larger text.

 In the little article Rigor + Support = Success, I was able to see poverty plays a huge role on a students educational achievements.  It was alarming to here that 1/6 kids live in poverty.  I really like the idea of rigor for any type of classroom, not just a room of poverty.  Organization and routine get the kids working toward goals quickly and easily.  When you combine this with a challenging lesson, the students will use this organization to have a plan of attack for finishing an assignment.  Also, support is crucial for any type of class as well.  When students see that a teacher cares about them, it makes them feel good to be in class.  Simple compliments and praise can go a long way.  Finally, success is a time to reward your students.  Achievement can brighten up anyone’s day, so take the time to recognize a student’s hardwork.  They will be encouraged to have the feeling of success more often.  This was a quick read that was full of good information. 

My newspaper article this week was: “Mother of Boy Held in School Plot Is Arrested .”  In the past and present, we have seen some depressing accounts to school shootings.  This article took a step in the right direction by describing how a potential school shooting was avoided.  A mother of a 14 year old boy was supplying guns to her home schooled child.  Upon arresting the mother and seizing the weapons, authorities suspected they prevented a diasaster.  The three weapons, a 9mm, .22 caliber rifle, and .22 caliber handgun were all in the boys possession at his home.  The boy was in public school before being taken out because he was constantly bullied and harassed.  These are all tell-tale signs of a school shooting. 

The poverty video and quiz were eye-opening to me.  I have never really heard statistics about childhood poverty, so this was quite interesting to me.  It is tough to hear that so many children fall in this catagory and I wish there was way to avoid it.  

And finally, I just wanted to say that I didn’t mind the vocabulary tree.  It seemed a little childish at first, but it turned out to be a good way to get my thoughts down on paper.  I wouldn’t make it my first note-taking strategy for reading, but it wasn’t as bad as the sticky notes that I really don’t care for.

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