New Year- New Flips!

I'm moving back to the high school this year! I have spent the last two years teaching 8th grade and middle school is not for me. Hormones, braces, attitudes, I just can't do it. Thank you, middle school teachers, thank you.

Due to the make-up of my class last year, I didn't really do much flipping : ( The maturity level of my students plus the amount of background knowledge and work-ethic my students had lead to a complete failure when I attempted it.

New Year- New Flips! I'm teaching Algebra 1, Geometry and Studies in Geometry this year. I plan on flipping both of my on-level courses (Algebra & Geometry). Since Studies in Geometry is a class with students who don't typically do much homework, I feel like this method of instruction wouldn't work out well.

This is the first time I have committed to teaching an entire course with the flipping instructional model! It's so exciting and so crazy all at the same time!! I know I have a lot of work cut out for me, but I really do feel like this method of math instruction can seriously help my students make connections and think more deeply about the subject.

Common Core Technology Conference Notes

Technology, My Classroom & The Common Core

Megan Frantz

www.flippingwithfrantz.blogspot.com

The Common Core- Same Old, Same Old

·            Clear and concise standards for students, teachers and parents

·            Relevant to real world situations and problems

·            Students should leave K-12 education ready for college or workplace

The Common Core- New & Improved

·            Pushes for a deeper understanding of ideas and topics

·            Clear cross-curricular integration

·            Not just content standards- Anchor standards & Mathematical Practices

The Common Core- Assessment

·            Smarter Balanced Assessments

o   Adaptive Testing

o   Performance Tasks

o   Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

·            Assessing students’ ability to think instead of how much stuff they know

Goals for my Students

Goal #1: Students should be proficient with the actual content

Goal #2: Students should be able to apply their knowledge to a variety of situations

Goal #3: Students should be able to think through multiple solution paths

Goal #4: Students should be able to express their thought process behind an answer

Goal #5: Students should be able to use technology access and present knowledge

Goal #6: Students should be able to communicate clearly and concisely using technology when appropriate

Goal #7: Students should be able to use technology to collaborate with others

Goal #8: Students should be able to see the connections between subject areas

Goal #9: Students should be technology literate.

Watering the Roots (What I’m doing to make this happen)

Flipped Classroom

·            Frees up in-class time

·            Allows for 1 on 1 instruction

·            Seamless differentiation

Visible Standards

·            Students know the goals

·            "I can" or "I will be able to"

Multiple Learning Paths

·            YouTube videos

·            Interactive lessons/reviews/quizzes

·            OpenEd Courses

Google Docs

·            Real time collaboration

·            Easy to collect/share/submit

Trial & Error

·            VoiceThread

·            Wordle

·            Blogger

·            Glogster

·            Weebly

CMP3

·            Performance task based learning

·            Covers all CCSS Standards

Growth (What I’m seeing happen)

For Me:

·            No longer in total control of the learning process (facilitator instead of dictator)

·            Challenging my knowledge in my subject areas

·            Thinking outside the box to connect with more students

For My Classroom:

·            Students are on the path to thinking through a problem

·            They're able to justify answers and explain incorrect solution pathways

·            Homework is "easier" so they tend to do it more consistently

·            Students are retaining skill sets that are used in multiple subject areas

LINK TO MY BLOG WITH MORE LINKS: www.flippingwithfrantz.blogspot.com

Common Core Technology Presentation- Technology, My Classroom & The Common Core

Here's some helpful links!


Link to my Prezi: http://prezi.com/ntuk4_of-i02/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

My Flipped Classroom Story: http://flippedfloppedandflourishing.weebly.com

Common Core Standards: http://www.corestandards.org

Smarter Balanced Sample Test Items: https://sbacpt.tds.airast.org/student/

Visible Standards: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:CCSS+Standards

Connected Mathematics Project: http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PS1yJe

OpenEd

VoiceThread

Wordle

Blogger

Glogster

Weebly

Why Is It Acceptable To Be Bad At Math?

I've noticed something in my few years of teaching math that really irks me- for some reason, it is acceptable (and sometimes expected) to be bad at math. I can't tell you how many times I've heard from a parent "Well, I was really bad at math, so..." or "This math is so much different than what I learned, I can't help at all".

Was is this allowed?? Why is ok to be bad at math? Why is it ok to not try as hard because it is a difficult subject?

I know I had it easy in school, to be honest the first time I ever had to study was when I got to Math 309- Linear Algebra my junior year of college. Up until then nothing (especially math) had really challenged me. Yeah, calculus was a little more taxing than Algebra, but nothing a bit of paying attention in class and doing my homework couldn't help me overcome. I had a system down of memorizing the process a teacher presented and regurgitating it back on the test. This worked well until I was forced to think. In Linear Algebra, the problems aren't all the same. The idea of learning a new skill and then practicing that one skill 15 times in the homework flew right out of the window. I actually had to think through the math and it was hard. I resisted. I hit my wall.

Obviously some of my students hit this wall much earlier in their educational career and I can understand the stress and frustration and that I was much more mature and found meaning behind what I was doing to help push me through. But it doesn't help these students one bit when everyone they know is telling them it is acceptable to be bad at math.

I have always hated English class (or Language Arts or ELA). I don't enjoy reading, I am terrible at writing and I cannot spell to save my life (right now there are at least 15 words with red squiggles underneath them as I type- thank God for spell check!). I have never once had anyone tell me that it was ok to be bad at those things. I just had to try harder!! On my college application, I still had to write an essay even though I would be much better at solving a calculus problem.

I know every subject has changed over the past few years- especially from the time my students' parents were in school, but that is not an excuse either. In a social studies or science course if a student brings home a question they can't answer, most parents can find ways to help their students (looking in the book, googling it...). Why can't they do that for math too?? There are plenty of online resources to help, not to mention the 100$ textbook their child drags around all day.

I don't know how to change this attitude or to help parents see that telling their children that they were also bad at math discourages them from trying. I know math can be a difficult subject for some students. Instead of accepting defeat, we need to encourage our students and inform them that just because something is difficult doesn't mean you should try, it just means you might have to try harder.

My kids are gonna be smarty-pants!

Since have time in class to interact, I've been pushing my students to do work way above our 8th Grade Algebra 1 pay grade. And they've been kicking ass! We finished our unit on Quadratics just before spring break and I decided to kind of take a time out to do some extension activities. One that I thought would be good is finding the equation of a parabola from 3 points (solving a system of three equations with three unknowns).

We did systems of two equations earlier in the year so I started them off with a few that only had two variables to find; when you plugged one of the points into the standard form of a quadratic, you immediately found the "b" or "c" value. Once my students felt competent, we worked together on solving a system of three equations. Then they were on their own and they did amazingly.

My students thought it was pretty awesome that with only three pieces of information, you could find an entire equation. After they slaved over their work I told them to break out the graphing calculators and we found the quadratic regression program to check our answers : )

Have I told you how much I love flipping??

Questions I Have- Does this Just Work with Honors Kids?

The only class I have tried flipping with is my class of honors kids. How will this work with on-level students?

Next year, I plan on trying some lessons with my group of Math 8 students. I think I need to start the beginning of the year with a flipped format, so that is all the students know. I introduced my honors class this year to flipping in October and they seemed to have little to no issues changing, but I can see some of my other students finding it very hard to adapt.

If I put myself into a struggling math student's mind, here are some thoughts:

1. Why would I do homework? I can't even get it in class, like I'm going to get it at home!
2. I don't know what I'm doing and this is hard. No one at home can help me.
3. I don't even know where to start.
4. I don't know how to use my notes or book to help me, so I'm lost.

But... If all I have to do is take some notes, I can do that! No thinking involved! If I don't get something, Ms. Frantz can help me in class tomorrow!

I know, I'm living in my own magical world of perfect students, but I do think this could be the case. Especially if I train them well : )

Students Can Be Slackers

Whenever I tell people about flipping the first question I get asked is "What do you do if a student doesn't do their homework?"  Very good question, and one I didn't know the answer to when I first started this journey into transforming my classroom. In a "normal" classroom, students not doing their homework might set them back, but for the most part they can still participate in the day's lesson. In a flipped environment, the homework is vital to the next day's lesson.

For the first unit I flipped I checked everyone's notes every day to ensure that they had done their homework. That was motivation enough (remember I'm teaching honors students). I the second unit I decided not to check everyday and switched to checking notes randomly twice a week. Still motivation enough. This unit I have only checked once- some students have become slackers.

Although slackers, my students are very honest with me and we have come to an agreement, if you didn't watch the video, let me know. You get the first 15 minutes of class to run to the library and watch your "homework". Afterwards you can return to class and work with the rest of the group. Most likely this will result in extra homework for them to finish and it will be checked in the next day.

I give students a set amount of points at the beginning of the unit (anywhere from 20 to 50 depending on how long the unit is). They keep their points by participating (2 points a day), and random notes checks (5 points each, at least once a week). If they forget to watch a video all is forgiven IF all homework is completed the next day, if not 5 points are deducted.  I know students have busy lives and sometimes life gets in the way of school; I try to respect that and give them a little bit of a cushion- I mean I don't always return tests the next day, right? This has worked out wonderfully. Students respect the cushion and for the most part retain all of their points.