Author: jcoulson

Teaching with Tech!

jcoulson Assessment of CCSS-Math, Technology Teaching Issues

In looking through many of the websites that were listed on Common Core Conversations I tended to enjoy the ones that related to real life applications of math.

The first site that I chose is 101 questions.  It is a website that has lesson plans for all different age levels K-12. The lesson plans are designed similar to the way Dan Meyer presents many of his lessons. Some of them are even from Dan Meyer. Basically each lesson starts with a picture or a short video. Then, rather than telling the student what they need to do, they are to write down questions that come to mind for them. Some of the lessons have a guide, others do not, and then it is up to the class to decide what comes next. One of the reasons I liked this website is that it had some more current ideas such as using Angry Birds to look at Quadratics. These lessons are aligned to the CCSSM, but more importantly they would be helpful in challenging students by using the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

The second site that I chose is Get the Math. This site looks at how professionals use math in their careers. Each career has a short vide where you get to meet a professional working in that career and hear how they use math. They also present a math challenge and these challenges can be worked out on the website. I like this site because it takes careers that students have interest in such as video games, music, and fashion design, and shows students how math is involved in those careers. This site does not align to any specific CCSSM, but it could. And again, I think the true benefit to this site is that it can assess many of the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

 

Quadratics and Complex Numbers Learning Progression

jcoulson Assessment of CCSS-Math, CCSS-Math Learning Progressions, HS Algebra

The following is a learning progression on Quadratics and Complex Numbers. It is designed to be used in an Algebra 2 class.

Learning Progression

The following is a benchmark assessment to be used with the above learning progression. It covers 2 of the CCSSM that are included in the progression. This benchmark assessment can be used after students have learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide complex numbers. (See progression for exact placement.)

Benchmark Assessment

The following is a classroom assessment to be used with the above learning progression. It covers the same 2 CCSSM that are included in the Benchamark Assessment. One Assessment I chose to use is entry/exit tasks, a second was a pop quiz. However, the questions could be used interchangeably. These classroom assessments can be used while students are learning to add, subtract, multiply, and divide complex numbers, or after to assess understanding. (See progression for exact placement.)

Classroom Assessment

Collaborating on Incorporating Activities within Chapters

jcoulson Improve Mathematical Thinking

Student’s at my school, as I am sure is the case in many other schools, generally lack problem solving skills and higher order thinking skills. In my school, I believe this to be due to the fact that we don’t emphasize these skills as much as we computational skills. One of the reasons I believe we don’t emphasize these as much, is because these are the skills that take the longest to develop, and often times the activities that go along with are more time consuming to plan and implement. However, these skills are important. The End of Course Exam contains problem solving questions, and more importantly, students are going to take problem solving skills with them beyond high school, so it is imperative that we devote more time to them.

As teachers, it seems like there are always activities, projects, games, etc. that we want to do, but often don’t do to lack of time to plan. Furthermore, in a district like mine, everyone teaching the same subjects needs to stay on pace with each other. If I take a couple of days to do an activity, it means that I need to catch up in order to get back on pace with my colleagues. The “Big Idea” that I would like to collaborate and work on improving within my math department, is putting some of these relevant and engaging activities to use in all of the classes, so that we may stay aligned, and individually, not have to put a lot of extra time in to planning the activities.

My thought is this: For each chapter in our book, teachers that teach Algebra 1 could take turns coming up with one well planned activity. We only get through about 8-9 chapters during the school year. With 4 teachers teaching Algebra 1, we would each only have to put together about 2 activities. This saves each of us from a lot of extra planning, but it also gives all of us the chance to implement the activities, which can be engaging and informative for our students. Furthermore, it keeps us on track with each other so that no one falls behind in the pacing. We would be able to measure student progress by seeing if the results to these activities improve over time, and also whether quiz, test, and EOC scores improve. This sounds like a great idea in theory, and in my department I can think of one person who would definitely be on board with me. However, there are a few others who I think might be hard to convince. So I do have a few questions:

1. How do I convince my colleagues?

2. If I cannot convince them, and I still want to devote some time to these types of activities, what are some things that have made planning activities stress-free for you?