7.25.2016

INB Goodies

Every year I change my table of contents for my INB so you'll be glad to know this year is no different. See past versions here.

I really liked the box split in half for page numbers. I did not like the boxes underneath each concept title. I did not like that I called it a skill and a concept on the same page....like what?



I simplified it and added more rows. {Fonts are ChunkFive Roman and Running for a cause} Another change I made came from a great PD strategy. I put a circle in front of each skill. I'm going to ask students to shade in the circle based on how confident they feel about doing it. I figure I'll ask three times, using a different color each time: the day after they learn it, after they take a quiz over it, and on study guide day. It's powerful to watch the circles fill up.

I'm really trying to build in regular reflection so that's one small way.

Another larger way is to have a reflection page for the whole unit. We always start a new unit with a table of contents page on the RHP, leaving the LHP empty. Seems like a great place to summarize the previous unit.

I stole all of this from Sarah Carter {see here and here} but I would still love your feedback. I used her reflection post to make changes.



Next on my reflection agenda is to steal Kathryn Belmonte's idea of student nominations. Please check out her presentation here and my summary here.

Does this count as a close? {Two birds. One stone.} I want to end class with reflection time but also use the idea of nominations as positive peer pressure to take it home and make it better. I obviously gave up on homework again but I really did like the idea of a reflection question. Maybe I will switch it up between asking on Google Classroom or Remind and the INB reflection assignment.

Feedback?

7.24.2016

31 Days of Reflection Calendar


I have to begin by explaining how this post proves Sara Vanderwerf wrong. She presented this to us on Monday afternoon and told us to make our list in the next 24 hours or we wouldn't do it.

It took me 24x4 hours to actually do it but I did so na na boo boo on you.

I had already favorited this tweet from earlier in the week, not really knowing what it pertained to, just literally liking it.




I ended TMC with Sara's session on reflection. She recommended at least 1-5 minutes of daily reflection. She also recommended reflecting with another teacher. She and a colleague take a walk around the building each day after school. One of Sara's methods was to make a customizable calendar of 31 pictures she likes that reminds her of things she wants to be intentional about in her classroom. {There's that pesky i-word again,} She printed hers out and hung them on a binder clip in her classroom to flip through each day.

Well I jumped ALL over that. I mean think about my trigger words here.... "customizable", "make", "calendar", "printed", "binder clip".

For me, even stronger than pictures are quotes. I have always loved them. I filled up floppy disks with Notepad files of quotes pasted from the Internet. I have journals full of them. I screenshot them. They're my fave.

Please don't even be surprised that they are this color or chevron or that I made it pretty. {Font is Covered By Your Grace}



You. Already. Know.

Odd numbers are quotes and even numbers are things to do.

I CANNOT wait to print and laminate these {I can wait for the cutting part} and hang them up in my room. Most of them came from the book Unshakeable and my own blog post about baby steps I will take in the classroom this year. What better way to remind myself of all my grand plans than to literally look at them every day?

Here's to year 8: 8 is the number of new beginnings and 7 was my 7 year slump. I declare the best year yet with a newly reflective and intentional teacher!

Cheers!

7.23.2016

#TMC16 Underwhelming Myself

It's inevitable that you will be overwhelmed at some point at TMC.

Either you're overwhelmed by all the ideas and strategies and things you must change immediately, overstimulation, fan-girling, getting up early and going to bed late, wearing real clothes, going out to eat for every meal, and so on.

At some point in those four days, my perspective shifted. I love how God's timing makes everything converge. Before TMC I read Unshakeable by Angela Watson and Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler. One encouraged me, one overwhelmed me and upended what I thought I knew about teaching math.

Then when I go to TMC, I hear two specific things that echoed those books more than once:
  1. Time is not your most valuable resource, your energy is
  2. So be intentional with your time and your craft
So in an effort to underwhelm myself and be intentional, I'm going to share the big ideas that I'm overwhelmed inspired by and the baby steps that I will take this year, without feeling the need to change everything or change nothing.

#ExpandMTBoS
  • When I read blog posts, I will actually comment on them
  • When I get on Twitter, I will answer a question or encourage someone
  • I will share resources on Twitter in addition to just asking questions
Collaborate with Elementary Teachers
  • Use our early release time to sit in on elementary meetings and see how they plan or RTI
  • Ask elementary teachers some favorite teaching strategies
Intervention
  • Pick one course, probably Algebra I, and list pre-skills for each skill throughout the year
  • Use Kuta to create pre-assessments over the summer
  • Try to create intervention boards, if even just one board per unit
  • Number Talks
Explore Math
  • Try this on a small scale with my senior math class, especially great toward the end of the year
  • Also try The Mathematician Project!
Make It Stick
  • Actually read the book
  • Start the year by educating students on growth mindset and come back to it all year
  • Add self-assessment questions to quizzes and tests
  • Regularly incorporate reflection into our INBs or as homework through Google Classroom
  • Try an end of unit summary sheet for INB
  • Actually close the lesson
More Than Resources
  • Be more intentional with my blog posts...instead of just sharing resources, share how and why I created them 
  • Be deliberate in practicing my questioning skills and reflecting
Reflection
  • Keep running Google Docs for each course to reflect on lessons, formative feedback for myself, and also share with the world
  • Make a 31 day calendar of pictures that remind you of things to intentionally focus on on a daily basis.
  • Follow people on Twitter that don't look like me
  • Create a place for students to talk and get out of the way
  • Read and engage in #educolor chats
Mathematical Mindsets
  • Repeat growth mindset
  • Continue not giving homework
  • Ask students to look for a visual first
Teacher Moves

For the first time, I didn't leave feeling star struck, so overwhelmed that I wanted to cry, afraid that I'm a terrible teacher, or guilty that I'm not doing enough.

I feel supported. These are my people. They've got my back. 

I've decided that I will no longer be overwhelmed by TMC but I will be inspired by the great amount of good work to do and I will get started!

And to quote one of my favorites, "I'm committing myself to this work for years, not months- and it's okay to have miles left to go."

Minneapolis was a lovely city! The weather was gorgeous, there were parks and grass and water everywhere. I did a lot of walking, shopping, and eating. I visited at least five different towns and enjoyed Augsburg College campus. I truly enjoyed myself so I hope you enjoy some pictures!




And I would NEVER forget our annual song:

7.22.2016

#TMC16 Can't Turn Around

I've flown on a plane three times, TMC being two of those three. I'm still a little unfamiliar but mostly okay with how airports work.

Kind of like teaching.

I'm just walking around the airport following the crowd; I don't exactly know where I'm going but I'll read the signs and figure it out while I'm walking.

Kind of like teaching.

If I'm really lost, I could stand still and be upset. But that doesn't get me any closer to my destination. It's better for me to just stop and ask for help.

Kind of like teaching.

When the plane just sits on the ground for 30+ minutes, I can be upset that my time is being wasted, or I can do something productive with my time that is passing by anyway.

Kind of like teaching.

When I'm on the plane, I can do what I want to do like sleep or read a book and ignore everything around me. Or I can look out the window and enjoy and reflect on what's around me, what I see, and how I am part of an extraordinary, creative, very detailed, big picture.

Kind of like teaching.

When I'm driving on the Interstate, following the explicit GPS directions, and I miss a turn or make a wrong one, I could just pull over and give up. "Well. that's it guys, I'm just never going to get there." Or I just keep driving while the GPS gives me a new route to the same destination.

Kind of like teaching.

When I'm in a new city, I can go to all the same places like Wal-Mart, Target, Dollar Tree, and McDonalds. I'm comfortable with those. I know where everything is. I know how much things cost. Or I could go to new places like Lake Harriet, Lake Nokomis, Minnehaha Falls, Fat Lorenzo's, Noodle Company, Mesa Pizza, Davanni's, Broder's Pasta Bar, Mall of America, and Bubba Gump Shrimp and Co. I can see and enjoy things in moments that I can't get back, in moments that I'm not in my comfort zone.

You never know what you're going to get.

Kind of like teaching.

I can be overwhelmed by all the choices of streets, restaurants, and stores that I've never heard of, don't know how to get to, and don't know if I will like. Or I can pick one, plan a route, and try it. If I like it, I can go two nights in a row. If I don't like it, I can just not go there.

Kind of like teaching.

I can feel guilty about cost of traveling or I can be intentional about getting the most value out of the cost. I can feel guilty because I don't know how to fly a plane myself or I can be intentional about making the flight go as smoothly as possibly. I can worry about all the ways this plane could go down or I could focus on how amazing it is that this is my life and that traveling is so accessible and constantly improving. I can be afraid because I'm not in control of my own safety or the lives of everyone on the plane with me or I can choose to operate out of love instead of fear, to be the best passenger I can be, and to look on the bright side.

Kind of like teaching.

When I feel uncomfortable, afraid, guilty, upset, or lost, it kind of doesn't matter. I chose to drive to the airport. I chose to get on the plane. I chose to pick up a car and drive to a hotel.

All my choices led me here.

Why not choose the best? Why not choose to enjoy, to be grateful, to learn, to grow, to ask for help, to try something new, to take baby steps, to reflect, to plan new adventures year after year?

After all...

I can't turn around now.


7.21.2016

#TMC16 My Favorites


My favorites is probably the best PD strategy I've ever seen: let teacher's sign up to share something short or medium that is their favorite. It's great for people who can't think of a whole session to present.

{Hedge} SnagIt: 1) Capture student thinking (parent buy in) 2) How to videos 3) Editing tool
Fuse App: transfer your mobile content to full TechSmith products over the same wifi connection, document camera http://bit.ly/HedgesStuff

{Debbie Boden} Ms. Pac Man Transformations by Robert Kaplinsky

{Sam Shah} Explore (or have your Ss explore it) at explore-math.weebly.com

{David Wees} It takes time to create good questions. We ask over 2.5 million questions throughout our career. You've already asked a lot but you still have a lot of time and thousands of questions to left ask.

{Connie Haugneland} Mission Trips to Rawanda to share teaching strategies from #mtbos with schools who have limited to no resources.

{Jonathon Schoolcraft} Use Plickers for checks for understanding at the end of class and for WODB

{Anna Blinstein} Flipped Classroom (Feedback Meetings) Creating Cultures of Thinking book bit.ly/29Lf9hm 20 minutes meetings every two weeks; singles, pairs, or triads; you or student takes notes; discuss assignments of past two weeks; later sessions incorporate overall progress in the course and how they've incorporated past feedback

{Dave Slabol} Maps and Math Splitting up cities into NFL zones with perpendicular bisectors; Geogebra or pencil/paper

{Joel Bezaire} The Math Game With The Lame Name variable analysis.info

{Greg Taylor} Turn popular songs into math songs. 1. Videos exist already. 2. Have students write lyrics. 3. Do it yourself.

{Jonathon Claydon} Varsity Math- t-shirts, stickers, lazer tag

{Heather Kohn} Engineering Design Process; Doing math in an engineering framework;

{Edmund Harris} Second math coloring book comes out November 29th with two lesson plans

{Sara Vaughn} Plug in your sharpener out in the hallway. Students come in pre-sharpened. Students in other classes stop by to sharpen. The noise is no longer a distraction. Kids who mess with it get caught on camera.

{Brian Miller} Blog past by karimkai "On Purpose" 'conversations that matter- use math to understand concepts that make them better citizens

{Denis Sheeran} I See Math gigs is.com Make Google presentation, white background, default text
Slide 1. Title Slide 2. Picture Slide 3. Vague Guiding Questions We're used to seeing math. Shared folder tinyurl.com/ISeeMath

Smarty Pins Game smartypins.withgoogle.com Mixes maps and trivia
GeoGuessr

{Tom Hall} We do a disservice to our students when we don't admit we could do better. We expect students to admit failure but how often do we?

{Amy Zimmer} Culture Setting Icebreaker
1. Groups of 3
2. One piece of paper and one writing utensil
3. Determine oldest to youngest
4. Youngest- scribe, next-time keeper, next- make everyone introduce themselves, eldest- reporter
5. Collectively determine a favorite book, movie, game
6. Popcorn the list and massage the answers
7. Have reporter introduce group and favorite book, movie, game

{Max Ray-Riek} Triangle Congruence using Transformations
Games to work through triangle congruence shortcuts.

{Sue Van Huttum} book

{Jeremy Bloch} Learning about Coding in Math Class, Bootstrap algebraic video game programming, Bootstrap 1 builds on coding, Bootstrap 2 is coding from scratch

{Glenn Waddell} Make a decision to live outside your comfort zone and face your fears. You can't face your fears once and beat them; you have to keep facing them regularly. Fear is what keeps us separated.

{Kathryn Belmonte} Students use post-it's to write positive  notes in a gallery walk for INB assignments. Giving students a audience for their work increases the level of work they produce.

Nominations:
1. Ask students for nominations.
2. Display nominated work on the document camera.
3. The nomination must give a reason for the nomination.
*Any nominee can accept or decline.

{Megan Schmidt} we are all hard on ourselves and we need to be cognizant of that in people of all professions.

{Hannah Mesick} Write upcoming birthdays on a birthday board; give 5 bonus points for any assignment; use a Happy Birthday chair cover and write a dry erase message; use birthdays as an analogy for function mapping to determine the difference between functions and relations.