I'm preparing a new math-conference-speaker-session for 2015 and would love your input.
This survey (found here) will take about 3-4 minutes and your input will prove extremely valuable with the direction I take in preparing my session. Thanks in advance for your participation.
Showing posts with label Presentations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Presentations. Show all posts
CMC 2014 Pregame
This weekend is CMC South. I'm looking forward to filling up my schedule book with sessions from your local SoCal MathTwitterBlogSphere agents. My schedule.
In addition, I'll be presenting two sessions at both CMC South and North:
CMC South:
CMC North (Saturday 12/6/2014):
In addition, I'll be presenting two sessions at both CMC South and North:
CMC South:
- Friday at 1:30 p.m., Primrose B
- Modeling Mathematics Using Problem-Solving Tasks
- I'll debut a new 3-Act task
- Saturday at 8:30 a.m., Catalina (Renaissance Hotel)
- Get Students Arguing in Math Class with Number Sense Activities
- Audience arguing (participation) is a must here.
CMC North (Saturday 12/6/2014):
- 8:00 a.m. Get Students to Argue Through Number Sense Activities
- 3:30 p.m. Modeling Mathematics Using Problem-Solving Tasks
CMC,
1023
Get Students to Argue in Math Class
I recently submitted my speaker proposals for both 2014 CMC conferences. One of my proposals is for the following session:
Title: "Get Students Arguing in Math Class with Number Sense Activities."
Description: Get students to productively argue about math situations. Participate in number sense activities requiring students to construct viable arguments, critique the reasoning of others, and use sense-making. Get ready to throw down.
I also had to answer a few questions justifying the session and connecting it to the CCSS and 8 Mathematical Practices. I provided the following connection:
The presenter will use number sense activities to get participants to construct viable arguments and share their reasoning like students. Using presenter-made tasks (Estimation 180) and other online resources appropriate for grades 3-8, attendees will be able to see the importance of student reasoning and creating productive discourse in the classroom. Teachers will also be provided with sentence frames and stems for all students, especially English language learners.
I'm really excited at the thought of this session getting accepted so I figured I would jot down a few ideas here and see what you all have to contribute. Even if I'm not accepted, I think every math class has to have students productively arguing at times. Doing estimation challenges with my students has been so beneficial for them to get better at the art of arguing. However, I know it could be better. I'm not sure if you've ever experienced it before, but it's a treat to stand off to the side or in back of a group of students arguing about a question in math. They have no idea you're nearby because they are so caught up in the argument. Don't get me wrong, it's not like they're swearing at each other and calling each other names. They are having a rich discussion, sharing conjectures, examples, counterexamples, etc. and I have the pleasure of spectating. I usually turn to an innocent bystander (nearby student) and whisper, "Awesome, look at them arguing. Isn't it great?" The student usually looks shocked that I'm happy their classmates are arguing. I love it!
I'd like this session to place a big emphasis on two mathematical practices:
MP 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
MP 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
I plan to break these two practices down more in my session. For now, I feel I need to focus on three major parts to arguments: having excellent content, capturing the arguments, and indirect facilitation.
Content: There's a wealth of content available, but I think the more controversial the point of contention, the better. One of my favorite moments in math class was when we did Mathalicious' Datelines lesson. Students were arguing about which celebrity shouldn't date another celebrity because of the age discrepancy. Some students disagreed about the rule of (n/2) + 7, especially since I was teaching 14 year-olds at the time. It was awesome.
Here's my current list of resources that have given my students great things to argue about:
My kids went nuts arguing about a similar question to this "Would You Rather" found here.
These don't have to be full-on lessons. They can be warm-ups, math talks, used during classroom transitions or to break up your direct instruction, etc. I'm really looking forward to using @MathCurmudgeon's site MathArguments180.com
Imagine your students arguing about which student should pack your parachute based on this data.
Another up and coming resource is Open Middle by Robert Kaplinsky and Nanette Johnson.
What resources would you add to my content list?
Capture: I need to capture these arguments for a few reasons. Students need to listen to other students argue, especially from different classes. My memory is very porous, and I can't remember what students say verbatim. Students can listen to the recordings and pick a side, or provide their own agreement or dissent. I'd also love to share student arguments with other teachers, especially at this session. How do I capture this?
I just downloaded Voice Memos for iPad onto my school iPad. I will test it out next week with students. Wish me luck. Here are the features I'm optimistic about:
Facilitation: Here's where I need to do a better job. For many of my students, English can get in the way of them articulating their point. I'd like for students to listen better to each other and respond accordingly. I want to hear what they have to say. I want them to be a contender in their disagreement, but I don't want them to be held back because of language deficiencies. Therefore, I need to provide them with sentence starters and stems. Fortunately, these can be used with any student. Here's a few:
Argue,
339
Title: "Get Students Arguing in Math Class with Number Sense Activities."
Description: Get students to productively argue about math situations. Participate in number sense activities requiring students to construct viable arguments, critique the reasoning of others, and use sense-making. Get ready to throw down.
I also had to answer a few questions justifying the session and connecting it to the CCSS and 8 Mathematical Practices. I provided the following connection:
The presenter will use number sense activities to get participants to construct viable arguments and share their reasoning like students. Using presenter-made tasks (Estimation 180) and other online resources appropriate for grades 3-8, attendees will be able to see the importance of student reasoning and creating productive discourse in the classroom. Teachers will also be provided with sentence frames and stems for all students, especially English language learners.
I'm really excited at the thought of this session getting accepted so I figured I would jot down a few ideas here and see what you all have to contribute. Even if I'm not accepted, I think every math class has to have students productively arguing at times. Doing estimation challenges with my students has been so beneficial for them to get better at the art of arguing. However, I know it could be better. I'm not sure if you've ever experienced it before, but it's a treat to stand off to the side or in back of a group of students arguing about a question in math. They have no idea you're nearby because they are so caught up in the argument. Don't get me wrong, it's not like they're swearing at each other and calling each other names. They are having a rich discussion, sharing conjectures, examples, counterexamples, etc. and I have the pleasure of spectating. I usually turn to an innocent bystander (nearby student) and whisper, "Awesome, look at them arguing. Isn't it great?" The student usually looks shocked that I'm happy their classmates are arguing. I love it!
I'd like this session to place a big emphasis on two mathematical practices:
MP 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
MP 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
I plan to break these two practices down more in my session. For now, I feel I need to focus on three major parts to arguments: having excellent content, capturing the arguments, and indirect facilitation.
Content: There's a wealth of content available, but I think the more controversial the point of contention, the better. One of my favorite moments in math class was when we did Mathalicious' Datelines lesson. Students were arguing about which celebrity shouldn't date another celebrity because of the age discrepancy. Some students disagreed about the rule of (n/2) + 7, especially since I was teaching 14 year-olds at the time. It was awesome.
Here's my current list of resources that have given my students great things to argue about:
My kids went nuts arguing about a similar question to this "Would You Rather" found here.
These don't have to be full-on lessons. They can be warm-ups, math talks, used during classroom transitions or to break up your direct instruction, etc. I'm really looking forward to using @MathCurmudgeon's site MathArguments180.com
Imagine your students arguing about which student should pack your parachute based on this data.
What resources would you add to my content list?
Capture: I need to capture these arguments for a few reasons. Students need to listen to other students argue, especially from different classes. My memory is very porous, and I can't remember what students say verbatim. Students can listen to the recordings and pick a side, or provide their own agreement or dissent. I'd also love to share student arguments with other teachers, especially at this session. How do I capture this?
I just downloaded Voice Memos for iPad onto my school iPad. I will test it out next week with students. Wish me luck. Here are the features I'm optimistic about:
- It will record in the background while another app is running.
- It was $1.
- I can pause the recording.
- I can trim audio clips.
- I can sync with Dropbox.
Have any tips for capturing student arguments?
- My opinion about this is _____________.
- I could argue that _____________.
- I disagree with your statement that _____________ because _____________.
Argue,
339
Presentations & Workshops
Last month I added the Lessons page to Estimation 180 so you can quickly access lessons I've made. I will continue to add lessons as I make them and host them in that space.
This month, I'm adding a Presentations & Workshops page to the site. Since last November, I've been fortunate to work with some amazing math teachers at conferences and workshops. I've learned a lot and have truly enjoyed doing math with teachers as we share instructional strategies and lessons. My goal is to help support math teachers in strengthening their instructional tool belt for the Common Core classroom.
I'm excited about this new chapter. Drop me a line if you're interested.
PD,
945
I'm excited about this new chapter. Drop me a line if you're interested.
PD,
945
CMC North 2013
Here's a recap of my CMC North experience from last weekend.
Later that night, we attended the opening keynote by Dr. David Dockterman where he discussed the importance of a growth mindset. Afterward, it was great to see and meet up with Fawn, Dan Meyer, Avery Pickford, and Breedeen Murray for some pizza. Good times. Good company.
Saturday:
Session 1:
The first session I attended was titled Using Formative Assessment to Create Equitable Practices by Karen Mayfield-Ingram. We diagnosed some student work and left with the following reminders:
1) Make a concerted effort to give students detailed feedback on any assessment.
2) Try and ask students questions that will encourage them to analyze their work better.
Session 2:
I showed up early at Larry Armstrong's session titled Flip Instruction to Transform Learning. I'm interested to know more about the flipped classroom. Not because I'm sold on the idea, but because my district is getting iPads the second semester and I have a feeling we will be encouraged to implement some type of flipped classroom model. Who knows? Again, I'm not sold on the idea, but I want more information just in case. Well, it's 5 minutes before the start of the session and the front of the room is empty: no computer plugged into the projector, no one is setting up, no Larry Armstrong. Nothing!
A CMC helper comes to the front to inform us Armstrong won't be presenting and we have time to catch another session if we want. I saw Brad Fulton come in at the back of the room and I got up to ask him if he'd present, but he said he was only coming to drop his stuff off for presenting at the following session. I turned to the CMC helper and offered to present my Number Sense session I gave at CMC South. She took me up on my offer and we had ourselves an impromptu Number Sense session. It was fun! For the forty to fifty attendees that stuck around, we had a blast doing estimation challenges and talking number sense for about 50 minutes. I will blog more about my presentation over the next few weeks. Stay tuned! I was honored when Rebecca Lewis, the Program Chair, gave me this token of appreciation for stepping in at this session. This proudly sits on my desk.
Session 3:
Shelly Lawson gave a great hands-on session titled Modeling Lessons Can Work for All Students - Yes, Even Yours. I was excited about this one because it was geared toward 7th grade curriculum. You know you're in for a good session when you see a bag full of PVC pipes, a stopwatch, a meter stick, a steel ball, and some string. There were 5 different length PVC pipes, and four connecters; two right angles and two at about 135 degrees.
We had to construct a pipe so that the ball, when dropped, would make its way through the pipe at the fastest rate possible. Here's our contraption. It was the fastest because of my teammate's design. Great job Bob!
Shelly also introduced us to the Incredible Egg, Float That Boat, and the Penny Lab. All of these activities allow students to make measurements, mistakes, and formulate conclusions based on observations and data collected. I left with a packet full of hands-on activities that I can incorporate into my curriculum. The structure of the packet gives students pretty detailed steps and instructions. Personally, I will probably revise the activities to leave them a little more open-ended and less structured. Overall, some great activities. Email Shelly for a copy. See the link attached to her name above. By this time, I think I ran into Dittmer about 50 times. Really cool guy!
Session 4:
Fawn and I presented Hotel Snap to the CMC attendees. Fawn is awesome! Tell you something you don't know, right? Okay, chances are good you've already read her blog post on Hotel Snap. If not, go now and read it here. Fawn did an amazing job coming up with this task. You might be surprised, but I have nothing but great things to say about Fawn. Her task is challenging and can be used at numerous grade levels. CHECK IT OUT!
Thanks to Brian and Dan for helping us with the calculations. Thanks John for helping us clean up!
Session 5:
My man, Max Ray, presented Becoming Better Reasoners: Supporting Students to Develop as Problem-Solvers. I was excited since this was my first time seeing Max present. See how calm he is in this picture?
I love how Max is so patient and allows his students (us CMC attendees) to formulate noticings, wonderings, and other thoughts as we worked through some Math Forum tasks. I enjoyed this last session of the conference because we worked in groups to problem-solve a task, we analyzed student work, and Max charged us with asking students questions that would help them further their problem-solving approach by becoming better reasoners. Well done Max!
Saturday night:
Ignite talks!!! I could write a whole other blog post on these. I was honored and privileged to present with the following mathletes!
The Math Forum organized, hosted, and took over the Ignite talks this year. Thanks Suzanne for all you did! Watch them in January or February 2014 when they post the 10 videos online. It was a lot of work preparing my 5 minute talk, but was great fun! Fawn stole the night! The energy and inspiration from these talks was a great way to cap Saturday night!
Sunday:
Dan Meyer gave the first keynote of the morning titled Fake-World Math. Dan is the man! His presentation was fantastic. I don't want to post any spoilers here, but he talked about the importance of modeling and how CCSS defines modeling. If I could summarize some important points, here's what I want to reflect on for future reference.
Although important to the math classroom at certain times, the following is NOT modeling:
*For the record, my initial estimate for Dan's Super Stairs task was over by fifty seconds. Bam!
Dr. Timothy Kanold gave the second keynote titled The Art of Teaching Mathematics: Inspiring Students to Learn. CMC North 2013 ended with Bill Withers' Lean on Me.
Before Fawn and I flew back to Los Angeles, we had brunch with some great math amigos (pictured below).
We also said hi to some fish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Thanks Dan, Avery, and Breedeen for driving us around too!
North,
819
Friday:
Fawn Nguyen and I flew up to Monterey Bay, checked in, and found the Fishwife restaurant for lunch. It was within walking distance of the conference grounds. Thank goodness because it was a little chilly outside. We enjoyed lunch so much we made a trip back there for the 4-6 p.m. Happy Hour so we could fine-tune our Saturday presentation. We checked in with the CMC people, and if you ever make it up to Pacific Grove for the conference, don't forget the badge they mail you. It'll cost you $5 if you forget it, right Fawn? Later that night, we attended the opening keynote by Dr. David Dockterman where he discussed the importance of a growth mindset. Afterward, it was great to see and meet up with Fawn, Dan Meyer, Avery Pickford, and Breedeen Murray for some pizza. Good times. Good company.
Saturday:
Session 1:
The first session I attended was titled Using Formative Assessment to Create Equitable Practices by Karen Mayfield-Ingram. We diagnosed some student work and left with the following reminders:
1) Make a concerted effort to give students detailed feedback on any assessment.
2) Try and ask students questions that will encourage them to analyze their work better.
Session 2:
I showed up early at Larry Armstrong's session titled Flip Instruction to Transform Learning. I'm interested to know more about the flipped classroom. Not because I'm sold on the idea, but because my district is getting iPads the second semester and I have a feeling we will be encouraged to implement some type of flipped classroom model. Who knows? Again, I'm not sold on the idea, but I want more information just in case. Well, it's 5 minutes before the start of the session and the front of the room is empty: no computer plugged into the projector, no one is setting up, no Larry Armstrong. Nothing!
A CMC helper comes to the front to inform us Armstrong won't be presenting and we have time to catch another session if we want. I saw Brad Fulton come in at the back of the room and I got up to ask him if he'd present, but he said he was only coming to drop his stuff off for presenting at the following session. I turned to the CMC helper and offered to present my Number Sense session I gave at CMC South. She took me up on my offer and we had ourselves an impromptu Number Sense session. It was fun! For the forty to fifty attendees that stuck around, we had a blast doing estimation challenges and talking number sense for about 50 minutes. I will blog more about my presentation over the next few weeks. Stay tuned! I was honored when Rebecca Lewis, the Program Chair, gave me this token of appreciation for stepping in at this session. This proudly sits on my desk.
Session 3:
Shelly Lawson gave a great hands-on session titled Modeling Lessons Can Work for All Students - Yes, Even Yours. I was excited about this one because it was geared toward 7th grade curriculum. You know you're in for a good session when you see a bag full of PVC pipes, a stopwatch, a meter stick, a steel ball, and some string. There were 5 different length PVC pipes, and four connecters; two right angles and two at about 135 degrees.
We had to construct a pipe so that the ball, when dropped, would make its way through the pipe at the fastest rate possible. Here's our contraption. It was the fastest because of my teammate's design. Great job Bob!
Shelly also introduced us to the Incredible Egg, Float That Boat, and the Penny Lab. All of these activities allow students to make measurements, mistakes, and formulate conclusions based on observations and data collected. I left with a packet full of hands-on activities that I can incorporate into my curriculum. The structure of the packet gives students pretty detailed steps and instructions. Personally, I will probably revise the activities to leave them a little more open-ended and less structured. Overall, some great activities. Email Shelly for a copy. See the link attached to her name above. By this time, I think I ran into Dittmer about 50 times. Really cool guy!
Session 4:
Fawn and I presented Hotel Snap to the CMC attendees. Fawn is awesome! Tell you something you don't know, right? Okay, chances are good you've already read her blog post on Hotel Snap. If not, go now and read it here. Fawn did an amazing job coming up with this task. You might be surprised, but I have nothing but great things to say about Fawn. Her task is challenging and can be used at numerous grade levels. CHECK IT OUT!
 |
| Photo by Dan Meyer |
Session 5:
My man, Max Ray, presented Becoming Better Reasoners: Supporting Students to Develop as Problem-Solvers. I was excited since this was my first time seeing Max present. See how calm he is in this picture?
I love how Max is so patient and allows his students (us CMC attendees) to formulate noticings, wonderings, and other thoughts as we worked through some Math Forum tasks. I enjoyed this last session of the conference because we worked in groups to problem-solve a task, we analyzed student work, and Max charged us with asking students questions that would help them further their problem-solving approach by becoming better reasoners. Well done Max!
Saturday night:
Ignite talks!!! I could write a whole other blog post on these. I was honored and privileged to present with the following mathletes!
The Math Forum organized, hosted, and took over the Ignite talks this year. Thanks Suzanne for all you did! Watch them in January or February 2014 when they post the 10 videos online. It was a lot of work preparing my 5 minute talk, but was great fun! Fawn stole the night! The energy and inspiration from these talks was a great way to cap Saturday night!
Sunday:
Dan Meyer gave the first keynote of the morning titled Fake-World Math. Dan is the man! His presentation was fantastic. I don't want to post any spoilers here, but he talked about the importance of modeling and how CCSS defines modeling. If I could summarize some important points, here's what I want to reflect on for future reference.
Although important to the math classroom at certain times, the following is NOT modeling:
- I do, we do, you do
- Using concrete manipulatives
- Graphs, equations, functions
Dr. Timothy Kanold gave the second keynote titled The Art of Teaching Mathematics: Inspiring Students to Learn. CMC North 2013 ended with Bill Withers' Lean on Me.
Before Fawn and I flew back to Los Angeles, we had brunch with some great math amigos (pictured below).
 |
| Left to Right: Stadel, Nguyen, Meyer, Murray, Pickford. |
Thanks Dan, Avery, and Breedeen for driving us around too!
North,
819
Global Math Department: Back to School Night; Ignite!
This Tuesday, August 13, 2013, stop by Global Math Department to find a few teachers testing out an Ignite presentation for their Back to School Night. Read more about the initial Ignite idea.
I received a wealth of feedback from many of you and I appreciate the honesty. I know you have my back! The Back to School Ignite idea might end up being a great way to deliver information to parents on that night, or it might end up being a complete catastrophe. That said, I'm extremely grateful for Chris Robinson to offer us a slot this Tuesday so we can give our presentations a trial run. The interested (brave) teachers are:
Hope you can make it!
9 p.m. EST
6 p.m. PST
A sneak peek?
Ignite,
1014
I received a wealth of feedback from many of you and I appreciate the honesty. I know you have my back! The Back to School Ignite idea might end up being a great way to deliver information to parents on that night, or it might end up being a complete catastrophe. That said, I'm extremely grateful for Chris Robinson to offer us a slot this Tuesday so we can give our presentations a trial run. The interested (brave) teachers are:
- Amy Zimmer (@zimmerdiamonds)
- Jessica (@algebrainiac1)
- Zack Patterson (@misterpatterson)
- Andrew Stadel (@mr_stadel)
Hope you can make it!
9 p.m. EST
6 p.m. PST
A sneak peek?
Ignite,
1014
Back to School Ignite Talk
Man, I love a good Ignite talk.
5 minutes. 15 seconds per slide. 20 slides.
Concise. Succinct. Compelling.
Why not do my own version of an Ignite talk at Back to School Night next year? I get 10 minutes with parents and would love to change it up a little this coming year. Trust me, after surviving last year, I think the parents deserve a better, improved, and more reassuring version of Mr. Stadel. I'll explain that last sentence in some upcoming blog posts that I'll use to debrief about the 2012-2013 school year. If you're not sure what an Ignite talk is, let me introduce you to my man, Steve Leinwand.
If you like that, check out more Ignite talks by Annie Fetter, Dan Meyer, Max Ray, and Phil Daro. These are my go-to talks when I need a math pick-me-up. Do the math, that will be a little over 20 minutes well spent, being inspired by some key people in our math community. Seriously, check out those four talks.
I'm brainstorming in this space, so feel free to share some input please. At Back to School Night, I'll start by giving a brief 30-60 second introduction of what an Ignite talk is and how they work. I'll give an Ignite talk for 5 minutes, covering any of the following things:
Who's with me? Does anyone else want to do a Back to School Ignite talk? There's already been some interest generated on Twitter and I started a Back to School Ignite list. Shout at me if you're in. Or is this a really foolish idea? Seth Leavitt, my new online colleague and EnCoMPASS Fellow asked if I'll post it online. I don't see why not. Maybe we can create a space for Back to School Ignite talks.
*UPDATE: Each item listed above does not correspond to its own slide. I simply listed ideas that could possibly work their way into the presentation. Some support each other. For example, when talking about the importance of problem solving, I would mention resources such as 3 Act lessons and The Math Forum's PoWs. Feel free to add to or subtract from the list.
Ignite,
930
5 minutes. 15 seconds per slide. 20 slides.
Concise. Succinct. Compelling.
Why not do my own version of an Ignite talk at Back to School Night next year? I get 10 minutes with parents and would love to change it up a little this coming year. Trust me, after surviving last year, I think the parents deserve a better, improved, and more reassuring version of Mr. Stadel. I'll explain that last sentence in some upcoming blog posts that I'll use to debrief about the 2012-2013 school year. If you're not sure what an Ignite talk is, let me introduce you to my man, Steve Leinwand.
If you like that, check out more Ignite talks by Annie Fetter, Dan Meyer, Max Ray, and Phil Daro. These are my go-to talks when I need a math pick-me-up. Do the math, that will be a little over 20 minutes well spent, being inspired by some key people in our math community. Seriously, check out those four talks.
I'm brainstorming in this space, so feel free to share some input please. At Back to School Night, I'll start by giving a brief 30-60 second introduction of what an Ignite talk is and how they work. I'll give an Ignite talk for 5 minutes, covering any of the following things:
- Standards Based Grading (SBG)
- Noticing and Wondering
- Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
- 8 Standards for Mathematical Practice (8 MPs)
- Problem Solving
- Homework (or No Homework)
- Find my Mistake
- High School Placement Tests
- Desmos
- A healthy balance of mathematical application with procedural and conceptual understanding
- Problems of the Week (PoWs)
- Quotes of the Week (QOTW)
- 3 Act lessons
- Reassessments
- Estimation (Number Sense)
- Tangram Tuesdays
- Whiteboarding
Who's with me? Does anyone else want to do a Back to School Ignite talk? There's already been some interest generated on Twitter and I started a Back to School Ignite list. Shout at me if you're in. Or is this a really foolish idea? Seth Leavitt, my new online colleague and EnCoMPASS Fellow asked if I'll post it online. I don't see why not. Maybe we can create a space for Back to School Ignite talks.
*UPDATE: Each item listed above does not correspond to its own slide. I simply listed ideas that could possibly work their way into the presentation. Some support each other. For example, when talking about the importance of problem solving, I would mention resources such as 3 Act lessons and The Math Forum's PoWs. Feel free to add to or subtract from the list.
Ignite,
930
CCSS Workshop 2013
I did my first workshop this past week (5-30-2013), discussing the transition to Common Core State Standards, with a focus on the 8 Standards for Mathematical Practice. I'm working with K-5 elementary teachers, a couple of middle school math teachers, some support teachers, and a couple of administrators in the room. I'll admit, I'm not as eloquent a speaker as Steve Leinwand, but there might be a few times where I actually make sense. I'm throwing this video out there for some feedback. I don't expect you to watch the whole thing so I've provided some chapter markers you might be interested in. At the end of the notes for each chapter, I reflect by creating a wish-list of moves I would've done differently. They come across as rhetorical questions, but feel free to chime in. However, here are a few angles I'd appreciate you considering:
What did I forget to talk about?
Where could I have been more explicitly clear?
Where coud I have used a better strategy? ...and so on.
Opener: 0:00-10:10
I use an estimation task (Day 127) to kick things off, providing teachers with the handout Michael Fenton created for estimation180.com and my students. The handout has been through many revisions and I think we have a final version that's a winner.
I use the whiteboard to write the "Too Low", "Too High", and "My Estimate" of a few teachers, asking for reasoning along the way. We watch the answer and discuss.
8:15 is a precious moment where a teacher asks, "Wait a minute! What was it (the song length answer) really?" I love how a teacher is demanding more information. I wish I spent more time expressing the importance of her question. I feel rushed because of all the workshop content I have prepared. I wish I had allowed the other teachers to address her question more. I do with my students, why didn't I do this here?
Active Notebook Part 1: 10:15-12:55
Teachers glue their Estimation 180 handout to the inside cover of their workshop Blue Book and the Table of Contents to the first sheet while listening to Can't Buy Me Love.
Preview of Workshop: 12:55-20:50
I attempt at working on the following question throughout the workshop,
Estimation Task #2: 20:50-26:45
We use Day 129 where teachers see that the song length is also the track length. Listen to their reasoning. I love this! Hearing this reasoning from teachers and students is one of the many joys I get from doing these daily estimation tasks. However, I wish I did a better job (23:50) of getting the teachers to justify their reasoning and "argue" a little more than I did. I wish I created a little more tension. Check out (25:00) the excitement of the teachers as they watch the answer.
I introduce the language of creating a task that has a low-entry point and could see that many teachers had no idea what I was referring to. Not their fault. However, I like their reaction when I translate "lower-entry point" to being easier. I wish I explained "low-entry point" better. I wish I had explained it as creating a task where most, if not all students have an equal opportunity to engage with the task, regardless of their mathematical proficiency. I wish I expressed the importance of providing students with a task where math vocabulary and thinking come as a natural result of solving the task.
Math Tools & Two Uses: 26:45-33:55
I ask teachers to glue a picture of a math tool to the front of their Blue Book and write down at least two uses for each tool. They have two minutes to complete this task. After We Will Rock You, I ask the teachers for their uses instead of telling them. This serves two purposes. Yes, I have a list of uses that I anticipate them to come up with, but I want to hear from them first, selfishly providing me with additional uses that I didn't anticipate. Secondly, I'm using this activity to illustrate how students need to provide the answers in the classroom. I wish I could have given this more time in the workshop where the teachers actually used the tools in the manners they suggested. I also should have had the teachers write down all the uses we came up with.
Introduction of 8 Mathematical Practices 33:55-1:04:00
Again, I'm feeling rushed for time! Yes, I said it, "Let me talk about these 8 Math Practices real quick." Real quick? How silly of me. These practices are not something to gloss over. Don't worry, we spend ample time doing a Jigsaw activity so teachers are out finding information about them. I provided the teachers with the handouts found at Jordan School District's site. The practices are presented in a manner representative of the grade level you might teach. Thanks Fawn for this link. I could have explained and facilitated this a lot better, but the redeeming value is hearing teachers that were appreciative of this specific activity because they were "forced" to explore the practices instead of just receiving a handout with the information embedded. If I were you, I'd skip the section (39:30-52:00) unless you want to hear some of the teachers talking in their groups as they rotate around the room to their four different stations. I'm proud of the rotation table I provided and how teachers travel together according to their "math tool." DON'T miss the "perfect high-five" at 38:10. I love that a teacher commented that "perfect" is subjective. I say this all the time to my students.
At 52:30 I give teachers time to regroup and complete the practices by receiving information from the other teachers in their group. I recap (1:00:00) and then show teachers how to create a pocket (1:01:00) inside their Blue Book so they can store a Quick Reference "teacher" version (I referred to as "adult") of the 8 Mathematical Practices.
I wish I gave more time for reflection. I wish I reviewed each practice with the whole group by having them share out loud something they learned. During the Jigsaw activity, I was told that my time with the teachers was cut short by about ten minutes so I had to hurry things along. Arghh!
Find My Mistake: 1:04:20-1:13:00
I made an executive decision to skip the model lesson I had prepared for the worksop. I'm glad I didn't skip the Find My Mistake segment of the workshop. I'm very adamant about teachers finding the mistake quietly here. I encourage them to share with each other before we review with the whole group. I give props to Michael Pershan for mathmistakes.org. You can hear kids in the hallway, alerting me that our workshop is coming to an end very soon. We listen to each other make corrections or talk about the misconception and why us teachers are good at knowing the content we teach. We're constantly telling students what their mistakes are and telling them how to fix it. Let's switch that role. Make the students find, correct, and tell each other what the mistakes are, especially items that use algorithms. Remember, most of the teachers here are elementary teachers. I also point out that I haven't been jumping for joy every time a teacher gets an answer correct. Instead, I try my best to throw it back on the class for what they think, allowing them to critique the reasoning of others. I love how estimation and number sense is addressed with teachers on how to help encourage students to avoid these mistakes.
I hit a nerve (1:10:45) when I was asked, "What about simplifying?"
I could very well be wrong here, but my current understanding is we (as teachers) are to allow for multiple representations of the correct answer, unless explicitly instructed otherwise. In other words, ten-eighths is just as acceptable as five-fourths.
I wish I reviewed with the teachers the importance of doing an activity like this quietly and individually first, before group discussion. I wish I expressed how much I love group work and collaboration, but need to remember both teachers and students need that quiet time FIRST. The worst is being in a group where one person dominates the conversation and you don't have time to think or worse, problem-solve. I wish I had covered this with the teachers.
Summary: 1:14:15-1:19:00
I provide teachers with a fill-in-the-blank handout to glue to the inside of the back cover. Again, watch their reaction when we get to "low-entry" point. I hope I drive it home when referencing the "Cent-ed Whiffle Ball" task I recently did in Geometry. I remind myself and the teachers to listen to the students. I'm constantly working on allowing students to finish their thoughts. Don't cut students off or finish their sentences for them. I ask teachers to create a couple of goals. I provide the teachers with a list of resources found here. I like how they (at least some of them) want another in-service/workshop.
I wish I emphasized the importance of knowing the 8 Mathematical Practices better and to use the summer to better prepare for next year. I wish I had more time to pump up these points in the summary. I wish I had more time!
Unleash yourself in the comments if you will.
Thanks!
729
What did I forget to talk about?
Where could I have been more explicitly clear?
Where coud I have used a better strategy? ...and so on.
Opener: 0:00-10:10
I use an estimation task (Day 127) to kick things off, providing teachers with the handout Michael Fenton created for estimation180.com and my students. The handout has been through many revisions and I think we have a final version that's a winner.
I use the whiteboard to write the "Too Low", "Too High", and "My Estimate" of a few teachers, asking for reasoning along the way. We watch the answer and discuss.
8:15 is a precious moment where a teacher asks, "Wait a minute! What was it (the song length answer) really?" I love how a teacher is demanding more information. I wish I spent more time expressing the importance of her question. I feel rushed because of all the workshop content I have prepared. I wish I had allowed the other teachers to address her question more. I do with my students, why didn't I do this here?
Active Notebook Part 1: 10:15-12:55
Teachers glue their Estimation 180 handout to the inside cover of their workshop Blue Book and the Table of Contents to the first sheet while listening to Can't Buy Me Love.
Preview of Workshop: 12:55-20:50
I attempt at working on the following question throughout the workshop,
What's our role as we reshape the classroom with the Common Core State Standards?I share with teachers what today will not be and what today will be. On a parallel universe I share with teachers what I perceive the CCSS to not be and what I perceive the CCSS to be. Then I share a few personal items from this past school year. Seeing that I'm doing a workshop with multiple grade level and content teachers, I'm expressing the focus of the day to be the 8 Mathematical Practices and what we do in the classroom. How do we help facilitate the learning?
Estimation Task #2: 20:50-26:45
We use Day 129 where teachers see that the song length is also the track length. Listen to their reasoning. I love this! Hearing this reasoning from teachers and students is one of the many joys I get from doing these daily estimation tasks. However, I wish I did a better job (23:50) of getting the teachers to justify their reasoning and "argue" a little more than I did. I wish I created a little more tension. Check out (25:00) the excitement of the teachers as they watch the answer.
I introduce the language of creating a task that has a low-entry point and could see that many teachers had no idea what I was referring to. Not their fault. However, I like their reaction when I translate "lower-entry point" to being easier. I wish I explained "low-entry point" better. I wish I had explained it as creating a task where most, if not all students have an equal opportunity to engage with the task, regardless of their mathematical proficiency. I wish I expressed the importance of providing students with a task where math vocabulary and thinking come as a natural result of solving the task.
Math Tools & Two Uses: 26:45-33:55
I ask teachers to glue a picture of a math tool to the front of their Blue Book and write down at least two uses for each tool. They have two minutes to complete this task. After We Will Rock You, I ask the teachers for their uses instead of telling them. This serves two purposes. Yes, I have a list of uses that I anticipate them to come up with, but I want to hear from them first, selfishly providing me with additional uses that I didn't anticipate. Secondly, I'm using this activity to illustrate how students need to provide the answers in the classroom. I wish I could have given this more time in the workshop where the teachers actually used the tools in the manners they suggested. I also should have had the teachers write down all the uses we came up with.
Introduction of 8 Mathematical Practices 33:55-1:04:00
Again, I'm feeling rushed for time! Yes, I said it, "Let me talk about these 8 Math Practices real quick." Real quick? How silly of me. These practices are not something to gloss over. Don't worry, we spend ample time doing a Jigsaw activity so teachers are out finding information about them. I provided the teachers with the handouts found at Jordan School District's site. The practices are presented in a manner representative of the grade level you might teach. Thanks Fawn for this link. I could have explained and facilitated this a lot better, but the redeeming value is hearing teachers that were appreciative of this specific activity because they were "forced" to explore the practices instead of just receiving a handout with the information embedded. If I were you, I'd skip the section (39:30-52:00) unless you want to hear some of the teachers talking in their groups as they rotate around the room to their four different stations. I'm proud of the rotation table I provided and how teachers travel together according to their "math tool." DON'T miss the "perfect high-five" at 38:10. I love that a teacher commented that "perfect" is subjective. I say this all the time to my students.
At 52:30 I give teachers time to regroup and complete the practices by receiving information from the other teachers in their group. I recap (1:00:00) and then show teachers how to create a pocket (1:01:00) inside their Blue Book so they can store a Quick Reference "teacher" version (I referred to as "adult") of the 8 Mathematical Practices.
I wish I gave more time for reflection. I wish I reviewed each practice with the whole group by having them share out loud something they learned. During the Jigsaw activity, I was told that my time with the teachers was cut short by about ten minutes so I had to hurry things along. Arghh!
Find My Mistake: 1:04:20-1:13:00
I made an executive decision to skip the model lesson I had prepared for the worksop. I'm glad I didn't skip the Find My Mistake segment of the workshop. I'm very adamant about teachers finding the mistake quietly here. I encourage them to share with each other before we review with the whole group. I give props to Michael Pershan for mathmistakes.org. You can hear kids in the hallway, alerting me that our workshop is coming to an end very soon. We listen to each other make corrections or talk about the misconception and why us teachers are good at knowing the content we teach. We're constantly telling students what their mistakes are and telling them how to fix it. Let's switch that role. Make the students find, correct, and tell each other what the mistakes are, especially items that use algorithms. Remember, most of the teachers here are elementary teachers. I also point out that I haven't been jumping for joy every time a teacher gets an answer correct. Instead, I try my best to throw it back on the class for what they think, allowing them to critique the reasoning of others. I love how estimation and number sense is addressed with teachers on how to help encourage students to avoid these mistakes.
I hit a nerve (1:10:45) when I was asked, "What about simplifying?"
I could very well be wrong here, but my current understanding is we (as teachers) are to allow for multiple representations of the correct answer, unless explicitly instructed otherwise. In other words, ten-eighths is just as acceptable as five-fourths.
I wish I reviewed with the teachers the importance of doing an activity like this quietly and individually first, before group discussion. I wish I expressed how much I love group work and collaboration, but need to remember both teachers and students need that quiet time FIRST. The worst is being in a group where one person dominates the conversation and you don't have time to think or worse, problem-solve. I wish I had covered this with the teachers.
Summary: 1:14:15-1:19:00
I provide teachers with a fill-in-the-blank handout to glue to the inside of the back cover. Again, watch their reaction when we get to "low-entry" point. I hope I drive it home when referencing the "Cent-ed Whiffle Ball" task I recently did in Geometry. I remind myself and the teachers to listen to the students. I'm constantly working on allowing students to finish their thoughts. Don't cut students off or finish their sentences for them. I ask teachers to create a couple of goals. I provide the teachers with a list of resources found here. I like how they (at least some of them) want another in-service/workshop.
I wish I emphasized the importance of knowing the 8 Mathematical Practices better and to use the summer to better prepare for next year. I wish I had more time to pump up these points in the summary. I wish I had more time!
Unleash yourself in the comments if you will.
Thanks!
729
CMC - South: What could be?
November 2 and CMC South are only a few days away! I'm excited for a few reasons:
I'll admit, there are parts of me that would get a kick out of the following:
CMC to be,
930
- World of Nathan Kraft is flying in (if Hurricane Sandy isn't too absurd this week) from PA to attend. I'll pick him up and we'll carpool to Palm Springs for the conference.
- Fantastic Fawn is literally missing her favorite football 'game of the year' to attend and cause some trouble with Nathan and me.
- Mullet King Matt Vaudrey is both attending and presenting.
- Recent doctorate and newly appointed Mathalicious brain Matt Lane is making the trip.
- The infamous Dan Meyer is presenting (need I say more?).
- ... and there will be a Tweetup on Friday with all these fab people, hopefully with John Berray too.
I'll admit, there are parts of me that would get a kick out of the following:
- Nathan checks his tuba at the airport, pays the outrageous fee, and carries it around CMC testing out the echos. Heck, we are in the desert, but there is a small mountainside nearby and we could test the echo off of that sucker. Tuba Echo from Nathan Kraft on Vimeo.
- Matt Vaudrey needs to sport a mullet the entire CMC (if he hasn't grown one out by now) and have his camera ready to take pictures of some locals with mullets. I'll bet Matt a beer that by the end of Friday, we spot at least 3 mullet-y locals worthy of your ratio lesson for this year.
- Fawn, better bring me that box full of avocados she owes me from File Cabinet. I'm tempted to pack my OG Nintendo and Tetris so we can have a little Tetris showdown. That way, she can't cheat on her Xbox (Okay, she might still kick my butt). At least I'll stand a better chance, right? If she doesn't bring me the avocados, maybe she'll bring me all her Brad Fulton books so I can steal, I mean copy them.
- As for Dan Meyer, I'm looking forward to meeting him and actually looking up at someone for a change. I'm speaking of height here people. I look up to everyone mentioned in this post! However, wouldn't it be fun if our Twitter group heckled him during his entire presentation?
CMC to be,
930
3 Act Presentation to K-8 staff
Last week I presented to the K-8 staff at my school about using Dan Meyer's 3 Act Lesson format with their students next year. My principal requested I do this about a week prior.
The initial sit-down with my principal went something like this:
Principal: I'd like for you to present to the staff about the 3 Act lesson format you've been using this year.
Me: Really?
Principal: I think our school can get a lot of mileage out of it.
Me: Sure, I'd be honored to. When? (please don't say tomorrow)
Principal: Next week at our staff meeting.
Me: Okay (gulp)
In between countless other responsibilities, I spent about a week putting the Keynote presentation together and practicing. The last thing I wanted to do was bore, scare, or upset anyone on staff. Especially if I plan to show something as lovely as this to them.
I really wanted to do the 3 Act lesson format justice. Besides the fact I said, "umm" a hundred times, I feel the presentation went rather well. I captured it on video so check out the video presentation.
With blogging, I've found it easier and more constructive (I think) to stick to 3 solid points/goals/objectives. For the presentation, my goals were to:
Justice. I hope from the video that my work does Dan's work justice. This can only be determined by the viewer or attendee. There were some strong points. The message was conveyed. I'm not a professional speaker (hence all the 'umms'), and I mainly recorded this to make improvements in the classroom or in case I ever find myself doing presentations in the future. I had to email Dan and ask for some feedback. It felt like the right thing to do. He was spot on! Dan recommended I place the basketball clips before the iPad answers during the Act 3 payoff segments. Great tip! This really did generate a sense of understanding and closure.
Interest. Generating interest can be tough, especially when presenting at the end of the year to both multiple-subject teachers and non-math single subject teachers. Furthermore, it's a staff meeting, enough said, right?
Many teachers left the meeting quickly, which is to be expected. I wasn't sure if I hit my mark, generated any interest, or bothered them. However, the next morning about eight teachers emailed me with interest. Furthermore, many of them noted how passionate I am about this and for some, even inspiring. That made my day! I also had some teachers in English and Social Sciences expressing interest. Cross-curriclar 3 Act lessons? Woah! This week I'm meeting with those teachers who are interested to see how we can possibly incorporate 3 Act lessons into their curriculum next year.
Lastly, the highlight of the presentation was from a kindergarten teacher. She showed her class File Cabinet - Act 3 and her student asked, "What about the bottom?" The kindergartner teacher continued to say that they actually tried to calculate (estimate) the stickies on the bottom. I find this amazing for two reasons: First, the level of abstract thinking by a kindergartner is astounding. Secondly, the teacher allowed her class to explore this question with her students, applying Geometry standards with her kindergarten class.
Interested,
1152
The initial sit-down with my principal went something like this:
Principal: I'd like for you to present to the staff about the 3 Act lesson format you've been using this year.
Me: Really?
Principal: I think our school can get a lot of mileage out of it.
Me: Sure, I'd be honored to. When? (please don't say tomorrow)
Principal: Next week at our staff meeting.
Me: Okay (gulp)
In between countless other responsibilities, I spent about a week putting the Keynote presentation together and practicing. The last thing I wanted to do was bore, scare, or upset anyone on staff. Especially if I plan to show something as lovely as this to them.
 |
| From McDougal Littell Algebra 2 (2007) |
With blogging, I've found it easier and more constructive (I think) to stick to 3 solid points/goals/objectives. For the presentation, my goals were to:
- Convey my enthusiasm, passion, and excitement for 3 Act lessons
- Do Dan Meyer's 3 Act lesson format justice via applicable examples
- Generate some interest
Justice. I hope from the video that my work does Dan's work justice. This can only be determined by the viewer or attendee. There were some strong points. The message was conveyed. I'm not a professional speaker (hence all the 'umms'), and I mainly recorded this to make improvements in the classroom or in case I ever find myself doing presentations in the future. I had to email Dan and ask for some feedback. It felt like the right thing to do. He was spot on! Dan recommended I place the basketball clips before the iPad answers during the Act 3 payoff segments. Great tip! This really did generate a sense of understanding and closure.
Interest. Generating interest can be tough, especially when presenting at the end of the year to both multiple-subject teachers and non-math single subject teachers. Furthermore, it's a staff meeting, enough said, right?
Many teachers left the meeting quickly, which is to be expected. I wasn't sure if I hit my mark, generated any interest, or bothered them. However, the next morning about eight teachers emailed me with interest. Furthermore, many of them noted how passionate I am about this and for some, even inspiring. That made my day! I also had some teachers in English and Social Sciences expressing interest. Cross-curriclar 3 Act lessons? Woah! This week I'm meeting with those teachers who are interested to see how we can possibly incorporate 3 Act lessons into their curriculum next year.
Lastly, the highlight of the presentation was from a kindergarten teacher. She showed her class File Cabinet - Act 3 and her student asked, "What about the bottom?" The kindergartner teacher continued to say that they actually tried to calculate (estimate) the stickies on the bottom. I find this amazing for two reasons: First, the level of abstract thinking by a kindergartner is astounding. Secondly, the teacher allowed her class to explore this question with her students, applying Geometry standards with her kindergarten class.
Interested,
1152
FIle Cabinet
By far, File Cabinet has got to be my favorite 3 Act lesson to date!
Here's the story:
In previous years, a Mr. Stadel Geometry class sounded something like this during the surface area unit, "If we covered this object in wrapping paper, we'd need to figure out the total surface area of the solid so we know how much paper to use. Let's use this formula. Blah, blah, blah!"
Cue the sigh, the yawn, the head tilting back, and eyes closing. The class would use a bland formula to trudge through a static textbook question so that they could arrive at some theoretical answer that meant absolutely nothing to everyone, including me at times.
Not this year... Dan Meyer's 3 Act lesson format is here to breathe life into applied math. I was staring at this file cabinet at the back of my room, saw a stack of Post-Its on my desk and thought, how many Post-Its would it take to cover this rectangular son-of-a-prism... and so it began.
I filmed File Cabinet - Act 1 (watch video here before Act 3) last Monday, posted it to 101qs.com and every day I chipped away at sticking Post-Its for about 40-60 minutes after school. Yes, it was a lot of work, but totally worth it! This math lesson/project instantly became a huge conversation piece in my classroom. Students came in completely intrigued by what was going on in the back of my room. They stared at it. They did weird finger, arm, and eyeball measurements. They walked around it numerous times before I finally said, "Make an estimate. It's free! Write it on the board." My whiteboard at the front of the class had about 30 kids' names on it with their estimates. It was so invigorating to hear them discuss or argue their estimate. One student made an estimate within 1 Post-It of the actual result.
Going beyond estimates, students wanted to help and the only thing I felt comfortable having them do was write numbers on the Post-Its and tape down Post-Its that were sticking out. My students were a HUGE HELP! Thanks guys! Knowing I will post my math videos online, I will not include my students in my videos for what I think are obvious reasons.
The math lesson went extremely well. My students calculated the theoretical answer for homework after we watched Act 1, made estimates, and discussed the necessary information in order to answer the question, "How many Post-Its will cover the file cabinet?" The next day we discussed the differnt ways my students calculated. NONE of them used any formula from the textbook. I love it! Students either:
I was impressed by their ingenuity, resourcefulness, and independent thinking process. Bottom line: I didn't help. I didn't force-feed them a formula that means nothing to them. Instead, I allowed them to derive the answer. Little voice in my head says, "Derive the answer or formula on your own!" We also discussed potential problems with the theoretical answer as they walked around the cabinet. Check out Act 3 to get a 'handle' on the potential problem. Here's a hint:
I asked my new online math teacher friend Fawn Nguyen if she had done surface area with her Geometry kiddos and I was glad to share File Cabinet - Act 1 with her. Check out Fawn Nguyen's blog here for an exciting read about how her kids responded, their inquisitiveness, ingenuity, and the depth in which Fawn took the lesson. One of my favorite parts was seeing the kids come up to her board and measuring the video display in order to make estimates. They also estimated my height while they were at it... classic! I was flattered and happy that the lesson sparked such a great interest with her and her students. They were so kind to send me a 'thank you' picture. I love it! I shared the story with my class.
Another new online math teacher friend Nathan Kraft simply said, "I'm using this."
I'm glad! I hope you do too! and send me some feedback.
I also sent out the video link to family and friends and got a healthy amount of intriguing responses. My brother, who has great insight regarding the furniture business, was able to eyeball two-thirds of the file cabinet dimensions and had a blast calculating the number of Post-Its. It was fun to go back and forth with him about this. When asking friends what their first question was after watching Act 1, one family friend shared a perspective I wouldn't have thought of in a milion years. Her husband underwent chemotherapy years back and they used Post-Its to count down the days left. They had a pack of Post-Its in the car and counted down each of the 33 days of radiation treatment. This was an extremely touching email as I learned a life-impacting fact, all because of a math video about Post-Its.
As I was busy sticking Post-Its on the cabinet all week, staging the next camera angle, stop motion setup, or editing the video, I was honored to see Dan Meyer's blog post of his weekly Five Favorites - 101Questions [4/28/12]. Yes, Dan is correct that I'm 'Crazy bananas.' I am proud of that title and fully embrace it. I also got this tweet from him:
I don't think I'll be using a Post-It for awhile... and every time I use a Post-It I will think of this math lesson. Enjoy File Cabinet - Act 3.
File Cabinet - Act 3 from Mr.Stadel on Vimeo.
If you'd like the information for Act 2, email me or post a comment. I'm working on making Act 2 files more accessible or downloadable. Until then, drop me a line!
[UPDATE] Check my 3 Act catalog for Act 2 information and more!
Best,
1131
I am proud of my newfound passion for 3 Act lessons and the final product for my File Cabinet lesson. However, I am even more proud of:
- My students for their interest, critical thinking, and assistance with Post-Its and filming
- My family, friends, and colleagues who took an interest in the project/lesson
- Fawn Nguyen for using the lesson, providing feedback, and sharing her dynamic results, classroom and students with us
- Dan Meyer for calling me 'Crazy Bananas.' I deserve it. I own it proudly!
Here's the story:
In previous years, a Mr. Stadel Geometry class sounded something like this during the surface area unit, "If we covered this object in wrapping paper, we'd need to figure out the total surface area of the solid so we know how much paper to use. Let's use this formula. Blah, blah, blah!"
Cue the sigh, the yawn, the head tilting back, and eyes closing. The class would use a bland formula to trudge through a static textbook question so that they could arrive at some theoretical answer that meant absolutely nothing to everyone, including me at times.
Not this year... Dan Meyer's 3 Act lesson format is here to breathe life into applied math. I was staring at this file cabinet at the back of my room, saw a stack of Post-Its on my desk and thought, how many Post-Its would it take to cover this rectangular son-of-a-prism... and so it began.
 |
| Forget wrapping paper, Post-its FTW! |
Going beyond estimates, students wanted to help and the only thing I felt comfortable having them do was write numbers on the Post-Its and tape down Post-Its that were sticking out. My students were a HUGE HELP! Thanks guys! Knowing I will post my math videos online, I will not include my students in my videos for what I think are obvious reasons.
The math lesson went extremely well. My students calculated the theoretical answer for homework after we watched Act 1, made estimates, and discussed the necessary information in order to answer the question, "How many Post-Its will cover the file cabinet?" The next day we discussed the differnt ways my students calculated. NONE of them used any formula from the textbook. I love it! Students either:
- Found the total amount of Post-Its on each face and found the total sum or
- Found the sum of the areas of each face and divided it by 9 square inches.
I was impressed by their ingenuity, resourcefulness, and independent thinking process. Bottom line: I didn't help. I didn't force-feed them a formula that means nothing to them. Instead, I allowed them to derive the answer. Little voice in my head says, "Derive the answer or formula on your own!" We also discussed potential problems with the theoretical answer as they walked around the cabinet. Check out Act 3 to get a 'handle' on the potential problem. Here's a hint:
 |
| Get a handle on the potential problem. |
I asked my new online math teacher friend Fawn Nguyen if she had done surface area with her Geometry kiddos and I was glad to share File Cabinet - Act 1 with her. Check out Fawn Nguyen's blog here for an exciting read about how her kids responded, their inquisitiveness, ingenuity, and the depth in which Fawn took the lesson. One of my favorite parts was seeing the kids come up to her board and measuring the video display in order to make estimates. They also estimated my height while they were at it... classic! I was flattered and happy that the lesson sparked such a great interest with her and her students. They were so kind to send me a 'thank you' picture. I love it! I shared the story with my class.
Another new online math teacher friend Nathan Kraft simply said, "I'm using this."
I'm glad! I hope you do too! and send me some feedback.
I also sent out the video link to family and friends and got a healthy amount of intriguing responses. My brother, who has great insight regarding the furniture business, was able to eyeball two-thirds of the file cabinet dimensions and had a blast calculating the number of Post-Its. It was fun to go back and forth with him about this. When asking friends what their first question was after watching Act 1, one family friend shared a perspective I wouldn't have thought of in a milion years. Her husband underwent chemotherapy years back and they used Post-Its to count down the days left. They had a pack of Post-Its in the car and counted down each of the 33 days of radiation treatment. This was an extremely touching email as I learned a life-impacting fact, all because of a math video about Post-Its.
As I was busy sticking Post-Its on the cabinet all week, staging the next camera angle, stop motion setup, or editing the video, I was honored to see Dan Meyer's blog post of his weekly Five Favorites - 101Questions [4/28/12]. Yes, Dan is correct that I'm 'Crazy bananas.' I am proud of that title and fully embrace it. I also got this tweet from him:
I don't think I'll be using a Post-It for awhile... and every time I use a Post-It I will think of this math lesson. Enjoy File Cabinet - Act 3.
File Cabinet - Act 3 from Mr.Stadel on Vimeo.
If you'd like the information for Act 2, email me or post a comment. I'm working on making Act 2 files more accessible or downloadable. Until then, drop me a line!
[UPDATE] Check my 3 Act catalog for Act 2 information and more!
Best,
1131
Infographics
I want to investigate Infographics.
Are you using them? If you are, how? What's effective about them? Do they help create discussion in your class? Do they create 'perplexity' as Dan Meyer would want. From the little I have seen of infographics tonight, I see some strong potential, especially with 3Acts and discussion based learning.
One of my RSS feeds, Mr. G Online was talking about Infographics and I thought I'd see if there's any gems. I clicked on Cool Infographics, immediately finding a picture of an iPad and usage. Continuously trying to better train my brain to look for potential math lessons, I quickly:
What's the first question that comes to mind?
Is your question, "What percentage is each activity on the iPad?"
Additionally, I want to know if each colored area actually represents that percentage of the iPad screen?
Off to explore some infographics.
Best,
12% (that's one of the percentages)
Are you using them? If you are, how? What's effective about them? Do they help create discussion in your class? Do they create 'perplexity' as Dan Meyer would want. From the little I have seen of infographics tonight, I see some strong potential, especially with 3Acts and discussion based learning.
One of my RSS feeds, Mr. G Online was talking about Infographics and I thought I'd see if there's any gems. I clicked on Cool Infographics, immediately finding a picture of an iPad and usage. Continuously trying to better train my brain to look for potential math lessons, I quickly:
- Snagged the graphic
- Added some lovely black boxes and...
- Poof! A potential math lesson?
- Uploaded link to 101qs.com
What's the first question that comes to mind?
Additionally, I want to know if each colored area actually represents that percentage of the iPad screen?
Off to explore some infographics.
Best,
12% (that's one of the percentages)
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