Flipped Classroom (the first 10 minutes of class)

I am really experimenting with the first 10 minutes of class lately.  It is my 10 minutes of whole group time.  On Mondays, we play "the White Board Game" for state test review and to keep something consistent.  Any other day is up for grabs.  

With my first ten minutes I am trying to accomplish a couple tasks.  First, general review of a learning target.  Second, practice and feedback for every student on a learning target.  Third, exposure to all the types of problems on a learning target.  

Students can work different "levels" of a learning target in my room.  So a 7th grader may practice most of their time working on circumference of a circle, but never practice finding the "arc length" of a sector of a circle.  So I at least want all students to have exposure to that type of problem.  

One of my favorite activities to open class with is My Favorite No.  If you have never seen the video on Teaching Channel, you should watch it.  Pretty cool stuff.  (Here)

So I have expanded "my favorite no" to include student choice.  I started with posting 2 problems instead of 1.  The problems were on different "levels."  The students were asked to answer at least 1 of the problems.  

An 8th grade example would be two Pythagorean theorem questions.  1 question was about finding a missing leg of a right triangle.  The second question was solving a distance formula problem from 2 coordinate points.  When I did this with the 8th grade students, most students answered 1 question only.  It led to two quick discussions of each problem.  The best positive out of this was that the "level 2" students, saw a level 3 problem, and some thought that it didn't look that hard and were inspired to go try level 3 stuff.  

Last week with the 7th grade I expanded it even further.  I posted 3 questions.  1 from each of the Levels (2, 3 and 4).  I asked students to try 2 of the questions.  It was on Circumference of a circle.  

Level 2:  Find the circumference given the radius.
Level 3: Find the radius given the circumference.  
Level 4:  Find the arc length of a sector.  

The good news was that most students answered 2 questions, and some answered all three.  All students were exposed to the arc length problem.  Some students even used notes from the My Favorite No to skip the video, and go right into the level 4 practice.  I am okay with this as long as they write down their notes and get the practice done with some feedback.  The goal is learning right?

So I am at a point now where I am trying to plan the progression of my first ten minutes to lead students through all 4 levels of the learning target.  Sometimes this is difficult with students going at different paces.  However, in the end it seems to be a good review for some, exposure for the others, and good practice for the rest.  

So my first ten minutes of class are taken up by:
     White Board Game
     Kahoot 
     My Favorite No
     Daily Algebra Challenge (thatquiz.org)
     Number Talks
     Peer Instruction (also leveled)
     Other Various quick games

So a progression through all levels of a learning target could stretch over a 1-2 weeks.  Using the various activities above to slowly progress through all the levels of a learning target.  

Now if I could just make my last 5 minutes of class as productive...

Exponential Relationships & Mythbusters

Every year around this time, I get to tell the famous rice on the checkerboard story for exponential growth.  Every year I love it, but I always feel I need to do more to bring home how quickly exponential growth can happen.  

This year I plan to try to put together two ideas into one amazing or mess of a lesson.  

Tomorrow this is the plan.

1. Introduce the Myth of trying to fold a piece of paper more than 7 times.  We will discuss this problem and probably have a couple students try to do it.  Hopefully we will get to the point that students realize that every time you fold the paper, the next fold is twice as hard.  

2.  We will introduce the Mythbusters clip about the paper folding myth.  The paper size will be given to the students and they will calculate the area of the paper.  The students will be asked to answer the following questions:
    How many times will they be able to fold the paper?
    What will the area of the paper be when they are done?

3. We will then watch the paper folding clip on Mythbusters.   

4. We will discuss the results and the students' answers.
At this point I don't expect students to come up with any kind of equation, although some might.  I just hope they get how fast exponential decay happens.  

5.  We will then turn the discussion to how the paper grows in height when it is folded.  We will watch the first part of this TED ED video.  It talks about how paper grows in height as it is repeatedly folded. 

6. I will ask students to answer the following question:

    How tall will the paper be after it is folded 30 times.  

7. We will then watch the rest of the video.  Again, I don't expect students to come up with an equation at this point.  I just hope they realize the idea of exponential growth.  

I am not sure this will be more effective than rice on a checkerboard, but I hope it will get the students thinking.  I think the problems and videos relate nicely to each other and show both the idea of exponential decay and exponential growth.  

Teach Like a Flippin' Pirate Update

I just got my confirmation that I will be presenting at MCTM (MN math teachers' conference in Duluth).  That is pretty exciting and nerve racking.  I will be presenting on how I am implementing a flipped/self-paced classroom.  So with that, I thought a little update and reflection would be good.

I have just switched my 7th grade sections over to a flipped/self-paced style of classroom.  I made a couple changes and tweeks to the system as I re-launched with this group.  I made a new video to introduce the ideas to parents.  Here if you would like to watch.

The system still puts emphasis on differentiation according to difficulty and student choice.  The students work their way through different learning targets

The class generally is split up into 3 segments.
1. Whole Class Introduction
2. Learning Target Work Time
3. Reflection

Learning Target Work Time
Step 1
Each learning target starts off with a short 5 question pre-quiz using the Schoology LMS.  The students are then directed to either Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 according to their PRE-quiz results. 

Level 2 is the basic knowledge of the learning target.  
Level 3 is the meeting the standard of the learning target. 
Level 4 is exceeding standard of the learning target.  

Step 2
Students watch a video.  There are 3 videos made for each learning target, one for each level.  The students watch the proper video, take notes, and then fill out a google form summarizing their notes.  I created a page using Google Sites that contain links to all the videos and the google form to fill out.  Everything is centralized to try to make things easier for the students.  

Step 3
Students complete 2 practice activities out of 4 choices.  The choices are usually either web based practice (IXL, buzzmath, etc...), a worksheet, an activity, and/or creating some evidence of their learning.  Students have made movies, posters, websites, etc...

Step 4
When the students have completed their practice they take another 5 question post quiz, also on Schoology.  They must get 4 or 5 right to pass the quiz.  If they pass, the level is completed.  If they fail to pass, then they must complete another practice activity and correct their quiz mistakes.  This is done with a lot of remediation from me.  When this is done, their level is completed.  

These steps encompass the "Learning Target Work Time" of the class.  This takes up about 30 minutes of each day. 

I have found this really puts the learning in the hands of the students and I am really the guide on the side.  

Classes are exhausting as I bounce around the room meeting with small groups and individuals helping them further their understanding.  I do try to connect with every student every day.  I don't always succeed, but I am getting better at this.  

This is just the basic set up.  I have also made changes to:
   a. How class begins as a whole group
   b. Grading 
   c. Tracking progress

However, this has gotten to long already.  As I get my google presentation together, maybe I will post that as well.  

Chris

Kids trying algebra again and again...

Last Friday I was at a small but spectacular tech conference.  One of the sessions was by a local math teacher and how he uses tech in his room.  He had a lot of great tips and resources, but the one I used today in class was the website thatquiz.org

The website has various math, science, vocab, geography and foreign language questions.  All topics can be controlled for length and difficulty.  I have seen the website before but was never sure how to use it effectively.  On Friday, a math teacher shared his amazing approach with this website...

So today I started class with the "Daily Algebra Challenge."  I chose the skill of simplifying like termed expressions and set up a ten question quiz.  The quiz then gives a hyperlink so the kids can get right to the quiz with the parameters you chose.  

I took the quiz 1 time, got 100% right in 29 seconds and left the score open in a tab in my browser.  

So when the students came in for class I introduced the new idea of a "daily algebra challenge."  I told them where to find the link, and anyone that can tie or beat my time wins the challenge that day.  

I have never seen the effort or determination from some of the students like I saw today.  Students trying, failing, and eagerly trying again to defeat the challenge.  It was amazing to see.  Of course some students won the challenge in the first 4-5 tries, but other students played 10, 20, or more times.  Some students accomplished the challenge and some did not, but all students got a lot of algebra practice.

Of course some students tried to cheat and change the settings to make their time faster, but they were easy to spot.  

The greatest thing about this website is the ease of it to use.  There were no usernames, no logins and no hassle.  I just found a quiz I liked, clicked "make url" and then posted the URL on my website. 


Super easy, super engaging, and super fun stuff!

Marshmallows, Scatterplots, & Line of Best Fit

Marshmallow Challenge & Scatterplots

I recently watched this YouTube video about the famous Marshmallow Challenge

It got me wondering how I could use this challenge for a math problem beyond the problem solving, team building skills that are naturally in the challenge. 

Here is my plan for 8th graders studying scatterplots, correlation and line of best fit.  

Day 1: 

Each team gets the normal materials from the challenge.

1 yard of tape

1 yard of string

1 marshmallow

20 sticks of pasta 

The teams build the structure and measure the height.  

Data is tracked for all teams.   

Day 2:

We repeat the marshmallow challenge, only the team gets to choose a "power up".  The team can get more tape, string  and/or sticks of pasta.  I was thinking of letting them pick 2 more items from 1 yard of string, 1 yard of tape, and 20 sticks of pasta.  We will then repeat the challenge.  

  

Day 3:

Students will then combine the data and plot it on various scatterplots.  

Height vs tape used

Height vs string used

Height vs sticks of pasta used

We will then analyze the scatterplots for correlation and line of best fit.  The students will then have a determine which "power up" had the most effect on the height of the structure.  

I am not sure what to expect out of this little experiment.  I hope the students stay engaged over this entire week dealing with the same type of problem.  

I am thinking of having them make a prediction from the scatterplot about what would happen with more supplies.  Maybe they should look at the three scatterplots and try to figure out which supply makes the most difference.  Then they can make a prediction of what happens when that supply is increased.  

We will see what happens...

Chris

@CjSieling34

Standards-Based Grading, Levels, & Percentages

Standards-Based Grading

Grading is always a tricky subject to discuss.  I have developed my grading system over the last 4 years shifting from points based, to standards based.  I really like how I grade and feel that it reflects exactly what a grade should, student learning.  

Being called out twice on twitter by Ken O'Connor, grading guru, really got me reflecting about how I grade.  It made me question what I am doing and whether it is really good for the students and parents.  

Here is what I do.  Anybody can do this, regardless of whether your district is doing standards-based grading or not.  This method was developed because I am the only teacher in our secondary school doing standards-based grading.  

So 4 years ago I wanted to move away from grading on points and start grading on learning.  I tossed out my curriculum, read a lot of Dan Meyer,  went to some trainings, and went at it.  I developed a list of learning targets (concepts) for 7th and 8th grade.  The only scores in the gradebook were based on assessments of those learning targets.  My gradebook is set up like this...

1. Algebraic Patterns
2. Algebraic Equations
3. Algebraic Properties
.
.
.
   Etc...

There are no "assignments, quizzes, daily points, or tests", listed.  I
Where I get in trouble from Ken O'Connor is that each learning target in the gradebook has a percentage to show how much the student has learned.  This percentage can change depending on how the student progresses during the quarter.  

The percentages are based on numerous and varied assessments of the student's knowledge.  The percentages come from a conversion chart.  The students are given feedback on a 1-4 basis.  The following picture (that I got from someone on twitter) perfectly summarizes the 4 point scale.  

I try to assess students at least 2 times before anything gets entered into the gradebook.  I do however allow unlimited re-assessments from the students.  They are required to study or remediate somehow before they are allowed to retest.  Students of course will try to just take it hoping for a miracle, but I find a quick conversation with the student quickly exposes the student as ready or not for a re-take.  

If you have doubts about re-takes, or redos take 8 min and watch this video.  Life-changing...

I emphasize the words "master" the learning target during class.  Students are taught that 2 scores of 3 or higher mean "mastery."  We even have a wall of mastery in class to celebrate students mastering a skill.  There are different levels of mastery, but I feel if a student can score two 3s, they know the standard to a sufficient level.  

Here is my conversion chart from the 1-4 to a percentage.
This is the part that gets SBG purists going.
4,4 = A = 100%
4,3 = A- = 95%
3,3 = B = 90%
3,2 = C+ = 85%
2,2 = C = 80%
1,2 = D = 70%
1,1 = F = 60%

Of course there are more combinations than this, but these are the basics that I build off of.  

Last time I got called out by Ken O'Connor it was that 90% represented mastery.  He told me to go read an article in Ed Leadership by Thomas Guskey.  So I read the article.  The article made a great point, that percentage (Based on points) is not a good reference for mastery.  The article said that 90% or 80% or any percentage cut off was not a good way to define mastery.  I totally agree with this.  Percentages, when based on points say very little about what a student knows and doesn't know.  I agree.

This is not what I do.  I convert to percentages from a 4 point rubric for 2 reasons.  

1. Our school is not a SBG school.  
I am not even sure I want our school to be an SBG school, top-down mandates like this never seem to go well.  I just wish more teachers graded more on learning and less on points.

2. Parents understand percentages.  
It is way easier to communicate to parents that 90% means mastery, than to try to explain the 1-4 rubric, and they need two scores of 3 or higher, and so on.  Parents of junior high students are busy.  They want to know how their students are doing in a quick and efficient manner.  The percent makes this possible.  

I feel standards-based grading's main emphasis is to shift the focus on learning, instead of points.  My grading system does this.  This is the first step in creating a learning-centered, student-centered classroom.

The arguments about grades, percentages, rubrics, etc... really is only about communication with parents.  To me this is a secondary argument that doesn't mean nearly as much to my classroom, my students, or the school, as truly making sure the class is focused on learning. 

This got way to long.  I really just had to think this out to convince myself that I want to keep implementing my grading system.  I have at least convinced myself.  Now if I could just convince my grading hero that keeps telling me I am wrong....

Chris
@CjSieling34


  

Flappy Birds Math Lesson

I have to admit that I got caught up in the Flappy Bird craze for a couple days.  It was a fun, infuriating and addicting game.  The whole time I was playing I was wondering how I could turn this into a math lesson.  Ideas I came up with were minimal.  They involved measures of center and variability, as students would play a couple times and then find a bunch of one-variable stats and see how outliers can effect some of the different measures.

However this week we are introducing percent of change.  I thought this was also a great opportunity to give this a shot.  So here is what happened...

1. As students came in I had on my mirroring program and on 1 side of the screen was the day's schedule and on the other side was the iPad showing Flappy bird.  As students came in I sat and played a couple games.  Students came in excited and hooked right away.

2. We talked about Flappy Bird a little bit and shared high scores.  We then transitioned to percent change and how it can be used to measure improvement.

3. We went through 2 examples on the board of how to use a graphic organizer to solve a percent of change word problem.  The students took notes and listened, anxious to get to the Flappy Bird part.  I then asked students to solve a word problem on their own using the graphic organizer.

4. After each group proved capable we finally get to the Flappy Bird tie-in.  I made sure each group of 3-4 students had at least 2 devices with the game.  Students were instructed to play 1 time and write down that score.

5. Students were then given 10 minutes to practice their Flappy Bird skills.  

6. Students were then asked to put down their devices and listen.  They surprisingly complied very quickly and quietly.  I did mention that non-compliance would be grounds for being thrown out of the "Flappy Bird Olympics."  

7. I then told students they get 1 trial to get their final score and they should write down that score and then calculate their percent of change.  

8.  Students then helped each other as they worked in groups to use the graphic organizer to calculate percent of change.  I walked around the room helping students who really struggled.  

9.  While I walked around I kept note of some interesting examples to show to the class.  We then spent the last 10 minutes of class discussing examples.  

Example 1:

A pretty typical percent of change example with a small increase and a percent change above 0% and below 100%.

Example 2:

A pretty typical example of percent decrease, with a small decrease between 0% and 100%.

Example 3:

An example with the first and last score being the same.  

Example 4:

An example with over 100% increase. 

Example 5:
I tried to pick Example 4 as the highest percent increase in the room.  For the next part of the discussion I picked the highest initial score in the room.  We then calculated what that student's new score would have had to have been for them to beat the highest percent increase.  In one class we figured that a student's initial score of 133, would have had to increase to 646 for them to have won.  

Example 6:

An example where the first score was zero.  This led to a very interesting discussion where we talked about how to get an answer.  Using the graphic organizer and proportions we would have had to divide by zero to get the percent change.  We then studied what happens as the divisor gets smaller.  It led to a very interesting discussion!  

Surprisingly all these examples happened in both classes of 7th graders.  It turned out to be a very exciting and productive day.  We will see tomorrow about how much they remember about percent change.  

Chris

@CjSieling34