On a more personal note, I wanted to use this paragraph to thank my colleagues and friends who support me so thoroughly in this adventure. And since there are so many, please forgive me if I should not list your name - there are SO MANY who are instrumental in keeping me rolling and teaching. First, I'd like to thank Randy and Stacy for their support - they do so much research and help me with the tech side of things. They're creative problem solvers - one discussion with them and its problem solved. M.J. always lets me talk out my ideas and puts aside whatever he's working on to talk to me. He helps me to find strategies to help every learner. Without Anne, I would have never stumbled upon a flipped classroom. It took me two months to realize that she had found a gold mine, and we get to share stories of our applied math in our classrooms. Finally, Bonnie and Kyle are indispensable members of my team (and have been for years). They give me honest advice and, since they are a couple of the best teachers I know, they drive me daily to be better. I couldn't do what I do, and I certainly couldn't get better, without their support, their skills, and their critiques. Finally, I am so very thankful for my wife Rachel. She's a middle school teacher, and she is so very understanding when I bring home work after a 12-hour day. That's what it takes when you're a dedicated educator. That's what it takes when you believe. Thank you, everyone, for believing.
In a change to past posts, here's a time-by-time indicator of what's happening today:
7:30 AM
My AP Calculus AB students are in my room and practicing. They have problems and questions, just like BC did yesterday. They were more teacher-centered, asking me the questions and not formulating their own ideas and experimenting/collaborating like BC had the day prior. No problem - with so many students supporting everyone, groups could support groups. It only took my suggestions. I answered the most questions, though, about factoring. My students now have a calculator which will factor an expression for them. I want them exposed to the technology, but I'm worried that they'll depend on it to do their factoring. On the AP exam (and on my chapter exams), they will have to know how to factor without calculator help. It's not major, but they won't get certain problems if they can't factor.8:00 AM
My wife sent me a math problem that will be on the 7th grade state examination. Our examinations have been made so difficult, many of my top AP students would have trouble getting a 100% on this middle school exam. I posed the question to them, and only about 50% could get it correct on their first try. We had the time to talk about this thinking question thanks to the flipped classroom. In the words of my colleague MJ, "The things we can do in a flipped class."They didn't work as quickly as I had thought (although they worked diligently). I decided to give them another day to finish their homework on section 1.1 (remember BC had to finish theirs at home). Again, something I can't do without the flipped classroom.
BTW - At this time, I realize that my lesson plan for AP statistics won't cover the entire 100 minutes. It's okay, I've already written my next lesson plan - I'll just use that. Issue - materials are not ready or typed for the latter lesson plan. Minor personal panic attack.
8:45 AM
AP Stats has been in my class for a while, and we're about to make be done with my initial lesson plan. I'm able to give them a reading assignment while I give out books. Today's class won't end up like I planned, but that's okay. Even Kyle managed to show up for a few minutes. We transitioned well and I managed to avoid the resource issues that worried me during first period.9:30 AM
These kids are BORED. They're bored like this is Math Class bored. We're doing notes and referring to activities, but I am seeing these kids just not care. They're AP kids though. If I write something on the board, it will be in their notebooks. If I say something, they will be scribbling. But there is a disconnect, and I am really worried. I am not the teacher who bores his students. I'm better than this - I'm the math teacher each upper-level math student cannot wait to get. Engage them!And then I wake from my dream - I'm not in a flipped classroom. I remember that this first year in AP Statistics will be a traditional classroom. They're bored because they don't know the answer. They're annoyed because they don't know where this lecture is headed. They take notes and answer the questions they know. Any question from the audience is from the lower part of Bloom's Taxonomy, and isn't as well thought out as it should be. Mark my words - if and when I teach AP Statistics next year, it will be flipped. Kyle told me I did a good job with my teaching - I've seen AP Calculus reach SO much higher...!
10:30 AM
Algebra 2 is in now, and they aren't happy. Huge surprise. No, they did the homework - I had 100% complete the WSQ, and they can't wait to discuss. They're unhappy because they have to take the PRETEST. Good luck trying to find a better waste of my time.I am teaching in the age of data. Principals and districts use this data to quantify the success of teachers. I am given a math pretest to give a baseline knowledge of my students. It amounts to a final exam - stuff you'll know after I teach it to you -given day two. Hint: They all failed.
Here's the explanation: you are my student. I give you the final exam. You fail miserably because you haven't been taught anything. I teach you for nine months. You take the final again. You now do much better because you actually know stuff on the test. Huge surprise. I then record the percentage that you do better and thus record how much you've learned. Awesome.
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