Keep on Knocking!

This week has been an emotional week for me. I have a former softball player who is battling drug addiction to the point that she failed a drug test IN REHAB. She called me this past Tuesday and I tried to encourage her but I felt very ineffective. There are times that I feel like an ineffective teacher too. And I don't mean just trying to get them to learn the math! I mean getting them to be serious about setting goals and working to reach them. I mean getting them to be concerned about being people of character who can go out into our community and can encourage and have an impact. I mean motivating them to take pride in our school and most importantly themselves!!

I told one of my classes this week that I HAVE to believe that my words of encouragement (sometimes it may seem more like admonishment than encouragement to them!) will make a difference...but to be honest I really wasn't feeling very positive about my ability to make a difference. I spent 4 years with my former player encouraging and even pleading with her to break the cycle of addiction in her family by making wise choices. She even reminded me of a time that I printed her off some information about how heredity effects the likelihood of a person being an addict and literally begged her to completely abstain from alcohol and drugs. She told me that she thought I was CRAZY because she would never go that far. So...if I couldn't stop her how will I effect change in the attitudes and minds of the students I only have for 1 year. How can I get them to take their academic and social lives seriously and make wise choices that line up with the goals they have (or should have!!)?

I am thankful that God sent Siran Stacy to our school to speak on Wednesday. In part of his speech he shared with us how he literally kept knocking on the door of his coach's office and asked him over and over again to give him another chance to play football. Then he encouraged us all to keep knocking. I know that I can not effect change but I KNOW A MAN WHO CAN. I hope that God allows me to be a small part of planting seeds of hope and encouragement in the hearts and minds of my students. I pray He sends others to water and further grow and develop those seeds to move these students into a bright and promising future. I will not be discouraged. I will keep on knocking. As Siran Stacy put it: The best of me is the rest of me!

What not to do in algebra class...read if you want to laugh!

I think that I decided to write this blog post because I feel that the last 2 days I am a shining example of what NOT to do when you are teaching a problem-based curriculum. I think that everyone should have the ability to laugh at yourself so here I go...

So...I was in the middle of a discussion with my algebra class about the unit problem for IMP Fireworks which involves a celebration where a rocket is shot off of a building and the fireworks need to be set on a timer that allows the fireworks to "go off" when the rocket is at it's highest height. The problem is GREAT because some smart student (who obviously was an ace at physics) has already determined the equation for the height of the rocket with respect to time. My students have to find the answers to the following questions:

• How long will the rocket be in the air?
• When will it reach it's highest point?
• What is the height of the rocket when it is at its highest point?
• ...there are a few more but these are the ones we were mainly discussing...

So...I am supposed to be letting them determine how they might use the equation to answer these questions and I was getting this from my students:

• How are we supposed to know, Mrs. Owens?
• But...we don't know how high the rocket goes...
• So...why don't they just shoot the fireworks off the top of the building instead?
• I plugged in 3 seconds and got _____ for my answer. So, that's the highest point.
• ***I can't even remember what all this one student kept asking me...he was so bothered by the situation and the way they were doing it. He was also bothered by the fact that "quad" means 4 but for an equation to be quadratic the variable has a power of 2. I had another student to help me out and say that the power of 2 means that it is squared and a square has 4 sides.

So...my response was finally something like this:

O. My. Goodness!!!!!!  Just do the math!! You have the equation so the hard part is already done for you. JUST SUBSTITUTE TIMES IN FOR T AND MAKE A TABLE!! Quit getting so bogged down in the context that you forget how to be a math student!!!! You can use the table to estimate the highest height and the time that the rocket hits the ground!! Just be quiet and DO IT!! Use your algebra skills!!

I am laughing as I write this. I had one student to say, "No Mrs. Owens. We are learning how to apply this math in the real world!"  It is funny to reflect back on this because I was so frustrated trying to move them forward. We had worked on introducing the unit for way longer than we were supposed to and I was just trying to motivate the need to find the exact values...which we will learn how to do as we study the unit. I did have a good conversation with them about how the ACT and other standardized tests have portions (especially science reasoning on the ACT) where you are sometimes given a formula and even told what each variable stands for and all you have to do is plug in the values and simplify!! OR that they are given charts and graphs where the information is right in front of them and they have to just interpret what it means. You can sometimes get too bogged down into trying to "figure something out" when you can just read the chart/graph and find the answer!!

Which Side of the Tracks? - MTBoS One Good Thing

This week I have been constantly reminded of this devotion by Rick Warren. I remember reading it several years ago and it was one of those times that it made such an impression on me I can remember where I was sitting when I read it. In summary, it discusses how in life the good and the bad run parallel to each other  - just like a set of train tracks. We often seem to think of our lives as a series of highs and lows (mountain tops and valleys if you will) but if we choose to look closer no matter what is going on in your life you can find the good...or the bad...around you. Truthfully you often find exactly what you are looking for. He was discussing this particular year in his life when his wife had cancer but he also described it as the greatest year of his life. Here is a quote from the article:

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

So...I think that part of the reason this has been on my mind this week is the "One Good Thing" blogging prompt from the MTBoS blogging initiative. I have honestly had a crappy week. Now...please let me be honest...I know that compared to many people who have probably had real trials and tragedies to occur in their lives this week my week has been "peachy." However, as a teacher this has been one of those "I feel like I'm in a rut" weeks which makes you question all aspects of your teaching life. HOWEVER...I just had a student to totally make my week. He was in my room to receive some extra help on solving systems of equations because my class was taking a quiz during the next block. He is an extremely bright young man that does not always apply himself; I was very happy that he sought after the additional help! After helping him we were talking and somehow the conversation moved along to where he told me that he watches Eric Thomas videos at home. Eric Thomas has several seasons of what he calls TGIM - Thank God It's Monday and I have played a few for his class. I asked him what he has learned from some of the recent videos he has watched and he was telling me some powerful "nuggets of wisdom" that he had internalized. (I am grinning from ear to ear as I write this!) This was so encouraging to me! I had NO idea that he even liked the TGIM videos or even considered their messages valuable.

So...here is my question to you. Which side of the tracks do you spend the most of your time on? Do you stick on the "positive" side trying to balance only on that rail. Or...do you stay only on the "negative" side? When walking the "railroad tracks" of life I think we could walk easier if we recognize the middle ground between the tracks where you stay aware of both the positive and the negative. Of course, when the trains of adversity come barreling down the tracks you have to jump all the way to one side or the other. I hope my choice is more often on the positive side but at the very least I hope that I can find the middle ground quickly - or at least keep both sides of the track in my view.

Questioning and group work

My newest focus is to improve at using quality questioning to improve discussions and student engagement in my classroom AND to learn how to better manage group work. I have just recently decided to really narrow my focus to these 2 things for the rest of the year. There are so many teachers that I have talked to about these things and I have come to realize (again) that just because something works great in someone else's classroom it may or may not work in mine.

Here's an example...I had someone (Tanya Barnes) to tell me that I should rarely be the one at the board going over problems. She said the students should do it because then they take more ownership. My argument was that I do sometimes have my students go to the board to share their thoughts or answers on a task. However, more often I stand at the board and lead the discussion and write down the answers the students say so that the class can decide if it is correct. It is so much faster!!! And I have alot of material to cover!!! So...I listened to her and made a concentrated effort to have students go to the board today to share out. I even let them do the examples  (when I had a student that understood). You see....I teach freshman. And I have several competitive boys in my classes AND a few girls who love to prove people wrong. It takes twice as long (or longer) when they go to the board because they have to turn around every time someone makes a noise or comment....then they have to be a comedian....then they have to pop someone on the back of the head on the way back to his seat. Ugh!!! I caught another teacher walking by my room (good ole Amy Walker) and said, "There are some strategies that just DON'T WORK with all classes!" I told her what I was attempting and she reminded me that no one else knows my students like I do. Even if another teacher has freshmen they aren't exactly like our freshmen. I AM THE EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL....I AM THE EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL.... (excuse me while I try to convince myself....haha!). I know how to make adjustments based on the students in my classes....right?

Ok....so then I thought about it and remembered how I have judged people for trying something one time and then giving up on it. So, my commitment is to keep on trying this "strategy" until Christmas. I am hoping my students will get more accustomed to listening to their peers and using the question stems I have hung in my room without being so immature and silly. But....I teach freshmen. I am just hoping the percentage of silliness lessens. I know it will still happen. My goal is to not be writing on the board if I have a student who can be doing the work instead. It's like a balancing act at the circus. If I lean too much in the wrong direction it's not good. (Did I really just compare my classes to the circus?) Here is hoping for a great balance of mathematical discussions, productive groupwork, and teacher-led discussions.

I appreciate the input and opinions of everyone and hope to use them all to find what works best for me and my students.

Celebrate Life!! Yes...especially the teacher's life!

My pastor talked to us today about how we should be celebrating life. He spoke of how we should be different from the rest of the world. We should not be shrinking in fear of the events that are happening in the world but we should be a light and an inspiration for those around us. Encouragers. Inspirations. (I may be using my own words a little...but this was my take away today.) I sat there and thought about how I can apply that to teacher life.

What would it mean to celebrate teacher life?

• Staying focused on the incredible calling and responsibility we have to teach, motivate, and love the students that we have the opportunity to work with
• Avoid feeling frustrated every time the decision makers that be change/create policies that don't seem to make sense...(by remembering the reason you became teachers to begin with) - if you let it get to you then you will be unhappy all the time!!
• Celebrate the successes of your students and fellow teachers
• Try not to speak negatively about colleagues and administrators even when you don't understand or agree - everyone is human which means they will not make be perfect (and neither am I!!)
• Remember how much I love being around teenagers. I hate being serious all the time (and so do they). I like to be silly and have fun. Teenagers (and children) seem to appreciate that a lot more than adults do! HAHA!
• Remember that we knew when we entered this profession that we could make more money if we chose different career paths. We have a job that is often thankless. Are we here to hear thank yous or to make an impact on the future of our communities? (Of course thank yous are always nice...do you thank the teachers and coaches who invest time in your children?)

I read a book one time entitled Pushing Up People by Art Williams. It has been a long time since I read it but I remember the basic premise. We should be encouraging and promoting those around us...especially our bosses and school leaders. When we operate with this philosophy we model some valuable lessons for our students, fellow teachers, and families. That is a great way to celebrate the teacher life!

Hey...I still love math:)

I know this is a strange comment for a math teacher to make. For years I have just taught math. I chose to become a math teacher because I love math but to be honest all the years of teaching math to people who do not really want to learn it had just "sucked the life" right out of my math enjoyment! I was covering the standards but rarely ever used any activities that peaked the curiosity of my students.

Thanks to our "Meaningful Math adventure" (see this blog post for an explanation) I am having fun teaching math again. I see my students having more fun learning math. Last week I had a student to tell me that she had fun in class that day. I also had some students tell me that we do the most work of any of their classes but my class is also the most fun. I read Teach Like a Pirate this Summer and I have come to realize that it is okay to have a goal of having fun with your students...as a matter of fact we need to throw in some activities that the students will consider a "fun break" from "regular math."

Today I also found myself sitting at my desk working on the High-Low Differences activity in Overland Trail's supplemental activities. I was "noticing and wondering" myself! I was thinking that I really need to find some extra time to investigate why this works like it does. Then I was so ambitious that I answered one of the questions (in a survey I had to take) to indicate that I considered myself to be a mathematician! (HAHA!) I have found value in addressing problems from a student's perspective. Our new textbooks from It's About Time give me many opportunities to have fun working on math and then turn it around to my students as an opportunity to problem solve and enjoy themselves while they do it. I asked them a few times last week if they wanted me to "introduce" them to the activities or let them just try to figure it out on their own. I was amazed at the number of students who wanted to try it without any assistance.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still have students who sit there like "knots on logs" and wait for the problems to be presented to the class so that they can write down the answers - they just hope that when I roll the dice to call on someone that their number is not called. And when I do call on them they tell me they didn't do that problem...and then I talk them through it until I pull the answers out of them...in some cases it would be easier to pull their teeth without anesthesia. I also still have students who gripe and whine and ask for help before I even get the page number out of my mouth. However, it is so cool to catch that student who says he hates our textbooks truly engaged and enjoying himself during an activity (because he figured it out by himself!). This certain student that I have in mind was "called on the carpet" when I told him that I noticed he had fun working on the activity for the day - which just so happened to be "Getting the Gold" that I blogged about here.

I would like to end this blog with a funny picture of what some of my students did last year after I had gotten onto them for sitting there like "knots on logs" instead of doing their work.

Comedians!! 

The Pirate's Life for Me!

Thank you Robin Bynum for letting me read your Teach Like a Pirate book by Dave Burgess. I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first. I mean....I'm a math teacher! I thought the book was only going to be about dressing up as historical characters and other "history-specific" hooks. However, as I got deeper into the book I found myself becoming re-energized for this coming school year. Here are some of my take aways:

• If your students aren't engaged don't get mad at them. See it as feedback.
• It's okay to spend some time on activities that loosely tie into the curriculum yet promote creativity and fun in the classroom! 
• Ask yourself the right questions about how to "hook" your students into a lesson.
• Pursue excellence as an educator. It is okay to want to be great at what you do!
• Don't let fear of failure, perfectionism, or fear of criticism hold you a back. Failure is a part of growth.

I know I have left out way too much. However, I believe every teacher -no matter the subject area or grade level -can benefit from this book. It may not all apply to you...or you may not agree with all parts of the book...but I think anyone who reads will find at least a few ideas for the next school year. I believe that each time you read a book or hear a speaker at a conference you can learn something.  I am probably not going to wear costumes or redecorate my room for certain lessons...but I still have many other ideas knocking around in my head because of this book.

So...I will accept the challenge to go daringly into next year and try some things I have never done before - a "pirate's life for me!"

STUDENT End-of-Year Reflections on IMP Meaningful Math Algebra

Wow! What a year it has been! It has been a while since I have written a blog post due to the craziness of the end of the school year. I have so much that I would like to share.

Here are the student responses I got from the end-of-year review questions in the Fireworks portfolio. We did not have time to do the complete portfolio so I just had them answer the questions on pg. 421 in the book. I feel like what they have to say is more important than anything I could add. I only had one student to just absolutely say that he wishes he was taught out of the "old" type of textbook. Of course the responses I am sharing below are the "fun" ones for me to read as a teacher. There were some students that talked about how they didn't like that the book was so "wordy" but those same students later admitted to growing more confident and learning how to work in groups. I also had a few students to tell me that they still preferred to work alone but the overwhelming majority had positive things to say about group work. I told my students to be honest with their responses and give good explanations to support their comments. I told them I really wanted to know what they thought.

The first question set included the following:

How was this experience different from your previous work in mathematics? Did you learn the mathematics differently? How was the math itself different? 

Here are some of the responses: (I really wanted to fix all the grammatical errors...but I didn't because I didn't want to put my "spin" on what they said.)

• The books we used this year was all word problems and that will help me during high school and college. 
• Working in a group helped me understand better cause some of them understand better than I did and they helped me understand it better. 
• It was more fun with the activities and been taught different.
• ...the mathematics itself was longer and a bit harder also
• My past experiences I didn't understand anything but now everything seems a lot easier. (this is a repeat algebra student)
• This book is also different because it never (is) just straight on work it always has a fun story. Also it helps you a lot more than any other math book.
• We actually learned about real work stuff. We did a POW about having a house, paying bills, etc...

The second question set included the following questions:

How have you changed personally as a result of your experience? Has your confidence in your own ability grown? How has your experience of working with others changed?

Student responses:

• Working with others - I've started talking about it more than just trying to work on it.
• I'm more conficent in math now than I ever was. (this comment was repeated by several students)
• All year I've had a group to work and to collaborate with so I do believe I have gotten better working with others.
• My confidence in math has grown a lot because at first I never answered out loud, but now I know that I can do it.
• I don't hate math as much. It's not as hard as it was. My experience of working with others has grown alot and I can talk better with other people. (this student is a very quiet and shy young lady) 
• I like working with other people. You get to see what everybody thinks and their ideas. My personality has grown to like math a little bit more. I still kinda don't like it, but I like it more than I did.
• I think I have become more confident. I think I have learned to work with people that I normally don't talk to.
• It's changed (experience working with other) cause if I need help then I can ask my group members.
• It has helped me change by helping me with the word problems to look for clues through the paragraph. I myself had a hard time on word problems till this book helped me out.
• Personally I changed mathematically. My math skills have grown and so has my confidence in my own ability. My experience of working with others has changed like now I can work better with others. I can cooperate with others better. (This student stated in his answers to the first question set that he didn't like the book. I sure did like the results he got though!!)
• Yes my confidence has grown going into ninth grade. I never like working in groups but now I do.
• From a special education student: My confidence grown alot since last semester. It change because I use to just copy people because I didn't know how to do it but now I work together to figure out the answer.
• Working with others gave me more confidence and helped me understand something I didn't know and I could just tell my group and see if they know so we could help each other out.

The last question set had these questions:

What are your mathematics goals for the rest of your high school years? How have those goals changed over the past year and why?

Student responses:

• I also would want to keep learning more math cuase it can actually be fun to do.... But this year in math it has been easier for me and I'm getting higher grades.
• My goals have changed because I feel like I'm trying in my math classes and not just copying.
• I wanna keep improving my math skills for the rest of my high school years and beyond that. My goals have changed over the past year because I learned that I can keep improving my math skills. 

Show me how to teach it differently!

I remember walking into our Instructional Partner's office a few years ago because of my frustration with my algebra classes. My failure rate was climbing and I was teaching algebra just like I always had - and it had worked well in the past! I remember asking her if she knew of a different way to teach algebra. That year I taught the "repeater" Algebra IA class in the Spring and I chose to teach the majority of the class using the sample units we had received at the ACT Quality Core workshop. That was the first time that I had seen a math teacher model some strategic teaching strategies that I had seen in some ARI workshops. I was often frustrated thinking that the strategies worked for other content areas but the majority of them just didn't fit in the math classroom. That Summer I attended my first AMSTI training and decided (although I wasn't completely sold out on all the activities yet) to make the commitment to put my students in groups and keep them in groups for the entire school year. I hated it at first but once I adjusted I doubt that I ever go back!

That next school year I looked for and used several station activities and review activities. I also came across some inquiry/discovery-based activities that I loved. I was constantly scouring the Internet for resources and making copies for my classes. My student engagement improved in that school year. The following Summer I attended year 2 of AMSTI training and the light bulbs started going off. I realized that the "AMSTI activities" were the type of activities that I had been looking for on the Internet. I had always thought of them as activities to do AFTER I had taught the concepts and I didn't think I had time for that. A phrase that one of the trainers kept saying to me was , "Quit thinking like a math teacher. Your students wouldn't do that!"

Through these experiences I have come to realize that for the majority of my teaching career I have taught all my students as if they were all good math students who were going to pursue educational goals that involved upper level math classes. I do have a few students who fit that description...but the majority of them don't. However, I was teaching them all the way I preferred to be taught...but the majority of my students aren't like me. They don't love math and math does not come easy to them.

Fast forward a few months to my implementation of the IMP Meaningful Math Algebra curriculum...almost everything I teach is tied to a context. I am finding that even my students who are not great at math will interact more with the activities because the context makes the problems more accessible to them. They might not be able to just see a "naked math" problem and figure it out but when they have a storyline surrounding it they have a context that helps them to make sense of the math. So now I not only have a curriculum that is discovery/inquiry based- I have a curriculum that also presents the algebra concepts within a context. It may have taken me a few years to find the resources/ways to teach it differently, but I have definitely found it. Now...I just have to learn how to teach using them. I am working on that!

I appreciate all of the people who have helped me to transform my teaching. I don't want to try to name them for fear of leaving someone out.

Survival Mode...perfect for December!

I don't know if anyone else does this but there are times that I have to enter full blown "survival mode." This is when I am on overload either personally, professionally or BOTH and I have to take my foot off the gas pedal for a while. I know in the first line I said that I don't know if anyone else does this...but in my heart I believe that everyone does this (or at least needs to) from time to time. If you have never given yourself permission to do so and you are feeling overwhelmed heading into Christmas break now is a perfect time to try it.

Another way that one of my teacher friends describe this time is a "mental health day." This is a good one when you are in the middle of the semester and so far behind on grading that you can't even see the top of your desk anymore. This is where you take a day and actually give your students work that they can do without you...even if it is the dreaded review worksheet. Then you take that day to catch up. Sometimes your family life and/or coaching responsibilities make it impossible for you to spend extra time working on your school work in the afternoons or evenings. If you find yourself in a season like that give yourself permission to pause, take a breath, and catch up. If your administration is as awesome as mine they will understand!

I must confess that if anyone comes in my room when I am in this mode I feel the necessity to explain what is going on...LOL.