Friday, November 8, 2019

So Much To Learn: A Teacher’s Journey Shadowing a Student

James is a senior here at Naperville Central High School that I have known from when he as a soccer player on the freshman team that I coached. I recently had the opportunity to shadow James to see what it feels like to be a student at this school. He graciously allowed me to follow him around for an entire day of classes, even lunch and P.E., and I had a blast. What a great day!


The question that students asked me over and over all day was WHY?  Why are you shadowing a student?  My quick answer was, "I want to know what a high school student goes through every day."   It was an eye-opening experience and I’m so grateful to our administration for encouraging me to do this.

My Big Takeaways
1.  I sat in my seat for five 50-minute periods without moving.  STUDENTS NEED TO MOVE IN CLASS.

2.  I went with a group of friends to Dunkin' Donuts for lunch. We all brought our lunches in and some of the guys ordered donuts for dessert.  I had never before realized the positives of going out to lunch.  The change of pace that occurs from taking a break in the middle of the day was amazing.    CHOICE and FREEDOM ARE LIFE GIVING.


3.  I met Harold in Anatomy and Physiology class.  We became very close in a short amount of time.  You see, we were dissecting Harold the rabbit.  That was a complete thrill.  LEARNING BY DOING was one of my favorite things of the day.


4.  I got called out for having the wrong shirt in PE class.  Thankfully my dad did not receive a call from school.   KNOW THE RULES.


5.  Students are basically working from 7:45 to 3:15 at school—a 7.5 hour workday.  And that doesn’t include the hours of homework. It is exhausting.   WE TEACHERS GIVE TOO MUCH HOMEWORK. I'm glad I didn't have to do all the homework James had to do that night.  I vow to lower my homework demands.

6.  James was an amazing host.  He answered so many of my questions.  In every class there were respectful interactions.  The students at Naperville Central High School are terrific.  WE HAVE GREAT PEOPLE AT OUR SCHOOL



7.  By “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes” I feel more in tune with my students' needs. Every teacher should shadow a student for a day!  WE NEED MORE COMPASSION

EVERY ADMINISTRATOR, COUNSELOR, PARENT, and TEACHER should Shadow a Student for a day.  Here is the hashtag I used on twitter #shadowastudent  Click here to check out the tweets that day...

This is my third time shadowing a student.  Here are links to the other blog posts about shadowing a student.  The first was in 2012 when I shadowed Neal a freshman.  The second time was in in 2014 when I shadowed Kyle a junior.



Thursday, August 1, 2019

Changing the SCRIPT: A Student Perspective

A student stayed after school this past spring to talk with me.  I figured it was something about a grade or some help he needed.  He actually wanted to talk with me about the math class SCRIPT.  Here is what he said about math classes in general...

...everyday we had a note sheet, some set examples, a target written out with what we were learning, and then there were blanks so you would wait for the teacher to put it up on the board so you could then fill in the blanks.  Then you just followed all the examples.  It is like a script.  I guess it was really efficient in teaching you exactly what you needed to know, but there was no thinking in it.  The teacher wants you to follow exactly how they tell you...you can't deviate at all...I couldn't do it another way or skip this step.
As a math teacher, you know the script:  review homework, present any tools/formulas you need for the lesson, then show how to do problems step by step using those tools/formulas and then give alone/group time to practice all of that.  I know the routine very well because I learned math using this script when I was in school K-12.  Once I become a math teacher, I modeled this script for many years.  And it works!  The script is efficient and mistakes are minimal.  If the students do the work, they will be prepared for the test.  I as the teacher gave the most efficient method to the students to solve a problem and then they practice.  Many students like the script because it works for them.  Students know what is expected and respond to it.  If students practice enough, they can reproduce the work on tests/exams.  If you look at the last few things that my student said:  follow exactly how they tell you, don't deviate, don't do it another way.  This is worth looking at because I don't always follow the script in my class anymore.

My student went on to say a few things about my class in particular.

...when I first took your class, and you suddenly threw us into this place where we have to do it and think ourselves, I was like...crap I'm not going to do good in this class.  

Whoa.   As you can see, it was not pretty in my class the first part of the year.  I often have many students that are completely frozen with fear in my class because they have never had to do a problem without first being confident on how to solve it.  I'm working on how to calm this fear, but in reality, this is a mathematical mindset that is important for all students to confront.   I often ask my students to look and engage with a problem BEFORE they are given any kind of formulas.  Here is the reason I do this...“Trying to solve a problem before being taught the solution leads to better learning, even when errors are made in the attempt.” ― Peter C. Brown, Make It Stick   Furthermore, students tend to be more engaged with the problem and own it after they have tried it themselves.  So when you give the problems to the students (in varied ways) before you have shown them how to solve it, they remember it better and they are more engaged and empowered.  This is typically how I run my class.

And my student says a little more about my class.

...I got the hang of it, and then I started to realize ...Oh, I'm doing this automatically in other classes now.   

What?  What did he get the hang of?  I explored this a little more with him and he said this...

...for example when I first started physics it was just really hard because I wasn't able to think freely.  I wasn't able to think abstract or imagine things.  Now I can think on my own and decide which way is the right approach. 

He is evaluating his own work and practice.  He is actually empowered by thinking on his own instead of just following a script.

I have been thinking about this all summer long.  There are things in this conversation that are really important to note.  One, he felt awful at the beginning of my class.   This is important for me to help smooth out.   Second, he felt liberated by going outside the script.   And thirdly, he uses this technique in other classes.  Since there are pros to the SCRIPT and there are pros to being off the SCRIPT, it is important to remember that students, parents, and other teachers are not always on board when you deviate from the traditional math class SCRIPT.

Benefits of the math class SCRIPT
Efficient
Routine
Do the work, and you are prepared for the test
Mistakes are minimal
All the expectations are given in a concise manner
Many students like the script because it works for them
All are on the same pace

Benefits of being outside the math class SCRIPT
Liberating
Empowering
Lack of direction creates a mathematical need
There are MANY ways to solve a problem.
Making mistakes and learning from them is OK and needed
Many students love being in charge of their own learning

I would say that I am using the SCRIPT less and less as time goes along.  I'm forever tweaking my teaching to get better.

I encourage you to try a different approach.  Make sure you tell your students what you are doing and why.  Then give it a go.  Give the students a problem before you have explained all that is needed to solve it.  Give them time to work alone and then with others to solve it.  ENGAGE.  Lastly, discuss what math is needed to solve the problem and work through how students can get that information.

Monday, March 18, 2019

TRUTH or SNARE: A Math Equivalence Game



TRUTH means equivalent
SNARE means not-equivalent (but really close) 


This game is the reverse of a Number Talk.  In a number talk the teacher gives a problem and students find different ways to come up with the answer.  With TRUTH or SNARE, the teacher gives an answer and the students create potential equivalent possibilities (truths) or non-equivalent possibilities (snares).  The rest of the class has to find ways to determine if the possibilities are a truth or snare.

Let's give an example

Teacher:  Let's play TRUTH or SNARE with the theme being exponents and order of operations.  Remember that SNARES are NOT-EQUIVALENT but are really close to being equivalent and very tricky.  Create at least 2 TRUTHS and 2 SNARES for the following answer:  16      (Teachers resist the urge to give examples.  Don't do it.  Instead, encourage the students to create a problem that has an answer of 16.  Remind the students that it won't matter if their problem is equivalent or non-equivalent...they will not be wrong)

Students:  Work in groups of 2-4 to accomplish the task.  (Teachers  make sure each group has at least one example of either kind)

Teacher:  Pick groups at random to present their possibility.  Students will not be telling the rest of the class if it is a truth or snare yet.   Have the groups put their problem on the board or have the group give them to the teacher to put on the board.

Teacher:  Now take some time in your groups to decide which ones are TRUTHS or which ones are SNARES.  (Allow enough time for all groups to get through at least half of the examples given)

Students:  Work together in your group or with your partner to determine if each problem is a TRUTH or a SNARE.  Be ready to defend your work.

Class Discussion: Take a vote for each example.  Thumbs Up (Truth), Thumbs Down (Snare), and Thumbs Middle (Unsure).  (see my voting thumb pictures below)  Have students walk through the reasoning and or the teacher walk through the reasoning for each example.  Be open about the fact that this activity is meant to push your understanding and that you might make mistakes on what is a TRUTH or SNARE.  These mistakes are helpful for us to recognize equivalencies in the future.

See the example below that we did in class.

Here are a few examples of what the students made.

Group B,C and D are TRUTHS and A and E are SNARES.


The beauty of the game is that students do not fear creating a wrong answer.  Actually, they like to create answers that are SNARES.  Students like to trick their classmates.  


Here are some other examples that we have done.













This is what I have been doing when I have my students voting.









This game is a work in progress.  Do you have any suggestions for me?  What has worked for you?  Please let me know.