Class Goals!
Purpose driven, mindset based, mastery focused MATH Purpose Driven: First and foremost I want the math my students learn in class to feel useful and valuable for supporting their future goals. Toward this end I focus on Math Fundamentals, Finance math, Understanding Data, as well as college skills and college math. Life Skills: Focus, Sleep, Organization, and Planning Finance Math: Financial Literacy, investing, debt, interest, credit score, etc... Data Literacy: Understanding Data and Statistics College Skills: How to Study, How to take tests, How to manage your course load. College Math: Statistics and/or Calculus Mindset Based: I use an iterative testing system where students have the ability to retake tests to improve their grades. I do this to emphasize that learning is an ongoing process and that students can always improve. Mastery Focused: I also want all students to eventually get to mastery for each concept. This is again why I allow limited retake opportunities so students can show mastery on multiple occasions. Math correlates strongly when it comes to success in both life and college. I take my job very seriously and it is my goal that every student sees the value of math, grows in their confidence in math, is ready for the challenges of college math as well as life math, and hopefully learns that math can actually be enjoyable even while still being very challenging and rigorous. And why a Red Panda? Just because I think they are cool! And if you want to read an interesting article by Paul Lockhart regarding a new vision of Math should be taught please read the article A Mathematician's Lament |
Grades, Assessments, and HomeworkAssessment:
Currently I have students take regular check in assessments to track progress. I do this to help students practice taking tests, but I also allow students to retake tests. I want to encourage students to take the tests seriously and try to keep up with the pace of the class. However I want all students to master the material in class and if it take students longer they can retake tests and get the higher grade. I am always rethinking assessment and trying to make it more authentic and students centered. I have lots of thoughts around assessment and am every year trying to find better systems to put students in control while at the same time pushing them. I feel that too often grades feel like labels that disempower students rather than goals that inspire and encourage students. For an article by Jo Boaler on the subject you can click here: My current system is a blend of class Integrity/effort grades, content grades (content assessments which students can retake), as well as project and exhibitions grades. Effort (30%) = Daily expectations, weekly problem sets, and other assignments Finance Project (20%) = Finance project readings, reflections, assignments, and exhibition participation. Content Mastery (50%) = All Quizzes and Tests The Second Semester will have an even greater emphasis on content tests in the interest of preparing students for college classes that typically put 80% or more of the final grade on tests. |
Honors OptionHonors math will be a focus on Calculus. The goal here is to prepare student for the pace, complexity, and challenges of college calculus. This is for students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, medicine, or even business majors, those who are simply interested in calculus, and any student who really enjoys math and would like to challenge themselves.
It is important to point out that all honors material, lectures, and discussion are available to all and I encourage everyone to take part. However in order to earn a 5.0 in your grade book you will need to turn in extra work and take assessments on the advanced calculus topics. Weekly Rhythms and Routines:
Monday - New Topic for the week. Tuesday - HonorsTopic for the week. Wednesday - Work time, Work on problem sets, peer tutoring, small group support Thursday - Assessment Opportunities or Friday - Reflection, Revision, Plan to improve, Introduction to new topic |
Classroom Norms and ExpectationsNorms: I believe math class should be about exploring your math thoughts and ideas and it MUST be a safe place for all students. I want every student to push themselves outside their comfort zone and any sort of negativity or bullying will not be tolerated. However I DO want students challenging each other in a genuine and provocative way. I think logical discourse is the heart of a successful math class and I expect students to challenge the logic of each others math ideas but never belittle or make fun of the person. "Hard on the content Soft on the people." Cell Phones: The expectation is that in math class your phone and headphones are away. This is something I have thought a lot about and I have come to the conclusion that it is in the students best interests. Math is incredibly difficult and the research we have on cell phone distraction and the negative effects of multitasking have convinced me this is how I can best support my students. Food: I do allow food and drinks in the class. However I do ask that all drinks have closed spill proof lids and that food is not sticky or crumbly or stinky. Also, if food becomes a distraction or students do not clean up after themselves, this privilege will be removed. |