Monday, June 1, 2015

What My Students Would Say About Me...

Last week I was having a conversation with another educational professional when I was posed this question..."If I asked your students about Dr. Edwards, what would they say?" I answered the question how I assumed they would answer, but the question left me wondering exactly what the students would say. I normally end the year with some kind of survey to help me make decisions for the following year, but I am not sure I have ever asked the question quite like this.

I ended up asking the question at the end of each of my class periods the day before we got out of school for the summer. I can't claim the results are the most accurate, but I am posting them below verbatim to see if their are any patterns...be kind on the spelling/grammar :-). Is what I try to bestow on my students rubbing off? Do they enjoy/dislike my class for those reasons or for something entirely different? Are there differences in grade levels? Do opinions hinge on system likes or dislikes and not necessarily something specific about me? Do students this age really notice the "little things." Let's find out.

The two biggest ideas I stress in my classroom are improvement and understanding. In looking through the responses, 12/42 6th graders (28.5%) and 13/33 (39.3%) 7th graders (I had a lot gone or doing things for other classes) specifically mentioned improvement or becoming better mathematically. Only 4.7% of 6th graders and 3% if 7th graders said something about their level of understanding. An equal number of students said something about me liking candy as did the mathematical understanding! I'm not sure if that means anything, but it is interesting to me that improvement is mentioned much more even though I speak about both of those concepts hand in hand.

One of my main focuses as a teacher is to not give too much information. We do a lot of mathematical tasks, and students have a tough time at first not getting immediate information from me. My 6th graders were actually a little confused at the start of the year...thought I didn't like them because I wasn't telling them everything. Eventually they caught on. It was interesting to see that 3 students mentioned something about this...although this one may or may not count:

"but when he gives me help, usually he doesn't explain it very well"

 No matter what we are doing in class, I use self-pacing as my philosophy. That doesn't mean that students have all year to complete something, but it does mean that I create loose deadlines for completion allowing plenty of time for understanding, and it also means students can be pushed or challenged at the same time without being held back. 16.7% of 6th graders mentioned something to do with self-pacing and no 7th grader mentioned this. Could this be because 7th graders are so used to being pushed that they do not even think about it being different anymore?

I didn't know I was so funny. Maybe the students mean funny looking. It didn't work for Joey in Full House when he was a substitute, but maybe if this teaching gig doesn't pan out I have a career in comedy because 17% of 6th graders thought I was funny. I must get less funny the older the students get because only one 7th grader thought I was funny.

Here are a few random words I found that described me that show that these middle schoolers at least thought about the question: motivator, persistent, realistic, stressful, flexible, strict, and efficient...I can live with all of those.

I even got a Rocky reference from a kid who I doubt has seen any of those movies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-WHW-QNswE

Doing something like this can get you thinking going into the summer. I'm not sure how much I actually learned from this, but I am very proud of the relationships I build with my students and how they lead to success. If you are looking for a way to improve on your teaching and to hone your craft over the summer, you might want to focus little on curriculum, a little on classroom culture, and some with your relationships with students. All students are different, you just need to find something each student as an individual can latch onto ensuring that all the potential in your classroom is fulfilled. One piece of advice though...watch out for this student:

"Dr. Edwards is my favorite teacher in the whole entire world.. and I hate teachers."

6th Grade

I think that dr. Edwards is a great teacher Because he has helped me improve in math and being a better student and he Is a very good motivator overall i think he is a great teacher and best teacher i have had. 

 Weel He is a grate teacher he helps you if you have a question if you fnish your work he lets you go on to do higher level math. He is in my eyes the best midle school teacher. 

 I would say that you are awesome and ​i learned a lot from you... You are funny and always make me laugh even if i am in a bad mood. You are my favorite teacher...  And FYI I want you to teach me next year for sure...

 He is the best teacher ever because I hated math and I was horrible at it through PK-5th grade know with him being my teacher I am now at a A he is the best

 I have to say you are my favorite teacher. I always have hated math and I never liked it because I couldn't understand things well, but when this year rolled around math was my favorite subject. You help me understand things more better and because of that my math scores have improved a lot! Thank you for being the best math teacher ever! 

 Dr.Edwards is a great teacher and he can explain things so it makes scene and I remember how. I like the ways he teaches because with his website you can work at your own speed.

 I think that you are a really good teacher because you challenge us and help us. You give us work that I enjoy and the units are really fun. My favourite day of the week is Thursday because I like the Facts and Computation.

 You are a great teacher. Your really fun and the way you teach math is fun because it lets you work at your own pace. Also I didn't really like math but now I really like math because you have helped a lot. Your really awesome!

 grate teacher

 nice funny I learn a lot from you and is my favorite teacher.  

 Persistant because he wants you to improve.

 He is helpful funny and a motivator 

 That you are the best teacher and you make the day way better 

 I would say that you are the best math teacher ever.

 i would say he is an awesome math teacher, he is really nice, and he cares about improvement

 I think that you are the best teacher I have had I won't be able to be taught by you next year which is sad but you are the coolest most realistic and caring teacher I know.

 Dr. Edwards is is a good math teacher. 

 He is a good math teacher and he helps me with math. 

 I like the way you teach. I like how at the end of the class you do the questions​ and the star bursts. 

 Edwards is a gummy bear giving guy fun dude and the best math teacher.

 he is a asome teacher even tho the can be alitel stresfull but he is one of  the best techers i ever had 

 I think that you are a really good math teacher and pushes us even though it gets hard. He is a really good person in general and helps people out no matter what. If he has to take up his time to help us he will just to make us better! 

 I think Dr. Edwards is a great teacher he helps every one improve on the big tests he always has a plan and makes sure you do to so over all he is a great teacher and I would love to have him again

 hes the best math teacher and he teaches in his own ways that helps kids learn better   

 That Dr. Edwards helps the students so much and helps them improve and is one of the beast teachers I had for helping me learn so much.

 Amazing teacher guides us in the right path to learning more

He is nice teacher we have in the school.

 If we ask your students, what would they say about you? I would tell them that Dr Edwards is a really educated person that knows exactly what he wants you to do and exactly what time in an exact way. He knows how to get improvement out of kids.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-WHW-QNswE

Basically says it all. Like... You let everyone work at there own pace. You have your entire website and we can do everything from home. YOU ARE A VIDEO GAMER. You're cool. Like. Really cool. Okay bye.

That you try your best for every student to improve that you don't give up on anyone and you make sure every student is on task almost 100% of the time so that they do improve from the year before.

Always trying to do the best for us. Focuses on getting us to do better and improve. Fun/Funny.

I think your an awesome teacher

He is always willing to help. He lets you work together everyday. He helps you learn so much like I learned so much compared to last year.

A really fun math teacher that cares about everyone. He has plans for everyone

Dr.Edwards is a very motivation person he pushes people with there work until they are done he doesn't just give you homework and say this is due Friday he will show you how to do it and make sure you do it. 

I like how you let everyone work at heir own pace and that how you have a week to finish assngments and that you come to watch the play!  Also how you always challenge us.

I would have said that he was the best math teacher that I have ever had and that I am glad that he staying and he was awesome this year.

I think E is amazing and a great friend and a amxing teacher evryone likes him and he pushed me to become a better math student.

I think you would say that we love the way you make us laugh 

That they think i am awesome (I is you)

Best teacher to help me improve on math.

he is a great teacher and I have never had such a good mach teacher


7th Grade

I think Dr. Edwards is one of those teachers that if you need help he won't give you the answer he will help you, and he is one of those techers that treats his students like they are young adults.

 I think Dr. Edwards is flexible. Flexible because you are almost always available after school and before school just to help students. Thank you.

 He is the best teach with getting you and others improved. 

 I think dr.edwards is fun and has a why of techie us a why most people don't do

 I would say that You care mostly about Improvment, and you take your job very seriously.

 I would say,
He's a good teacher and helps kids achieve the most they can achieve and has fun interactive activities.Overall he is a great teacher.

Dr. Edwards is really helpful and he has simple ways of helping me out, and he doesn't let me give up. He just a really good teacher in general and i hope to have him again.

CANDY/junk food addict

Dr.Edwards is a great teacher, he helps me a lot. More than any other teacher could.

I think that dr.edwards is a well liked teacher but when he gives me help, ususally he doesn't explain it very well

Dr. Edwards is my favorite teacher in the whole entire world.. and I hate teachers.

I think Dr. Edwards is one of the best teachers I have had.

On a scale of 1-10, answer being x, the equation would look like x*5655765876576587658657658675786576586587

I would say "Doctor Edwards is pretty cool, he is a nice teacher, pushes us to work and improve, yet knows when to have a good time.

What do you have to say about Dr. Edwards? I think that he is cool.

Dr.Edwards is very motivated for improvement.

I think you are a type of teacher who gives me the best teaching for when it comes to improving. You compared to the 5th grade math teacher is huge. If you weren't my math teacher I probably wouldn't know what I know now and I probably wouldn't have the scores that I have now. I like how you teach your students. 

He explains alot when you dont know what your doing and he has a unique was of teaching through videos.

He teaches efficiently    

We would say he is a good teacher. And he helps the students learn better.

Dr. Edwards makes sure we understand everything before we move on and he helps us understand it. 

He cares for his job and his students, he is very interested in our improvement makes sure we have a good year of math. Also he is really funny and good at sports...

That you push us hard to improve, and get things done.

I would say : That you are a great teacher that always strides for his students to improve.

You usually give us enough time to complete assignments. 

I would say that he likes being here and that he likes his job. He is also always looking to make students better. 

I would saw that you take your student improvement very seriously 

is a math wizard and is very concerned about ur students being improved

I would say that I like how we never have to use textbooks and everything we do is actually fun not boring and he is very dedicated to his students and math

A person that dedicates a lot of time to math and cares a lot about his students improvement. ​

I think you want everyone to improve and that is nice except when you get a little strict and that about it.

You should have answered that answer by saying you are a little too strict but we get stuff done in class.

your a great person and great teacher

__________________________________

What does a task look like in action?

Spreadsheet of Task I Have Used in the Classroom

Student Task Work Examples

Bubble Wrap Task

Doritos Roulette 








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Friday, May 29, 2015

Hotel Snap

Are you looking for a little good natured competition in your math classroom? Look no further than Hotel Snap created by @fawnpnguyen and @mr_stadel. In this task, students create hotels using blocks with the goal of making the most profit. From a mathematical standpoint this task does not provide a numerous amount of math concepts (small amounts of integers and percents), but rather a lot of thinking, communicating and planning as to what scenarios would garner the most profit, which is just as valuable. I was surprised at how many of my students did not understand the concept of making money and paying your debts leaving you with the remaining money. This task provides a small glance at financial literacy, a very important 21st century skill.

Here is the link to the original task:

http://fawnnguyen.com/hotel-snap/

Normally for these tasks I have the students start on their own as soon as they walk in by providing the directions and links on my television. This task has a lot of directions and rules that are worth going over ahead of time as a group first. I gave every student a copy of both of the price sheet and the tally sheet which are both provided on the above link. The students can write all over these and use them as a guide to help come up with their totals. I also printed off a copy of 3/4 inch grid paper to help the students see how many squares of land they are using (the blocks we used were approximately 3/4 inch cubes).

For these tasks I typically give a full day in class and then a week to complete before being due. I did the same here. I have done this twice now and presented it as a competition. The winner gets an A. If you are within 10% of the winner's cost you get an A, within 20% you get an A- and so on. The lowest you can get is a B- as long as you make a profit. My classroom is self-paced and we fix and correct everything we do for full credit so all of my students have As anyway, so I didn't feel bad about inserting the grade component into the competition. Those getting a B- weren't effected that much and I gave the students opportunities to keep modifying their idea as many times as they wanted.

I don't have the blocks that snap together in all directions so I feel that sometimes limits our designs, but the students get fairly creative with laying blocks across blocks to make something different. Each year I have students who go straight for the tower 50 blocks high to see if that would result in a high total. They always think about the tax last, which ends up being pretty funny to me because they go from the top of the world to depressed in the matter of 30 seconds.

When individuals or groups are finished, I have them take pictures of their hotels from all angles and send them to me. I also have them turn in their calculations. I use this information to check on accuracy. I hand it back if there are mistakes for correcting. Once everything has been approved, I put the numbers on a spreadsheet for the students to see. The spreadsheet looks like this...



One item that I don't ask them to fully flesh out and I should is a plan. They are given plenty of time to brainstorm, but in the future I would like to have the students write out a formal plan with explanations on why they feel this plan is the best choice for making the most profit. The plan doesn't have to be set in stone, but I would like something to have prior to the beginning of construction. All of my other tasks require so much explanation and understanding of the learning (as you can tell from all of the other student work posts) that I feel like this task needs more.

Below I have included a few examples of price plans as well as some designs. The students really enjoyed this task and many worked very hard to be at the top spot!












What does a task look like in action?

Spreadsheet of Task I Have Used in the Classroom

Other Posts with Tasks Containing Student Work

Bubble Wrap Task

Flower Box Task

Doritos Roulette 








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Friday, May 15, 2015

Tasks and Standardized Tests

In the world of mathematics, what could be more opposite in the eyes of most than tasks and standardized tests? As an avid Twitter follower/poster (@doctor_math) I normally see the two opposing view points clash. I realize this is an oversimplification and many educators could be in the middle, but for oversimplification's sake, you either love mathematical tasks and want to scrap testing (or are looking for a better type of test), or are more traditional and haven't met a set of 100 homework problems you didn't love to assign.

We are in the process of finishing our NWEA MAP testing, and I couldn't be happier with the results thus far as far as improvement shown. If you aren't familiar with the MAP, I would rate the test as much more strenuous than the Iowa Assessments, and a notch below Smarter Balanced.  I don't necessarily love standardized testing, but my philosophy is that if we are going to test...we might as well do a good job with it. I've written a few MTMS blog postings that explain this a little more, so if interested, click below...

http://pagingdoctormath.blogspot.com/2014/10/standardized-mathematics-testing.html

http://pagingdoctormath.blogspot.com/2014/11/standardized-mathematics-testing.html

Many teachers I have met and talked with who are interested in making a change in philosophy are afraid to make the change because tests scores might drop. I can understand that this is a real concern to some, but from my experience, the moment I made the switch to mathematics for understanding (which includes tasks), my students saw improved standardized testing results almost immediately.

Aside from the obvious content advantages that mathematical tasks possess, many teachers don't think about the added bonuses that tasks provide. Tasks promote student to student and teacher to student interaction, which leads to mathematical discussions, which in turn leads to mathematical proof. This process ends with long-term mathematical understanding.

Tasks also promote student perseverance. Do you have students who will give up at the drop of hat? Try one of these tasks each week. Students will gradually learn to fight through rough patches. I had a group of teachers visiting my room to see some of these problem-solving task. What were they most impressed with? It wasn't that my students are all Rhodes Scholars, but the fact that for 60 minutes, they never gave up. They kept discussing and overcoming obstacle after obstacle. That type of dedication isn't inherent in most students, it is something that is gained through gradual practice.

What does this have to do with standardized testing? It was very apparent while observing my students during testing that these hidden bonuses from tasks were out in full force. Many of my students worked for 10 to 15 minutes on one question. How may of your students try to finish one of these entire tests in 10 or 15 minutes? Mine used to 10 years ago. This is perseverance. It's hard to stay focused for 54 questions. My students do and that hasn't always been the case. This is perseverance. Take a look at my students' scratch paper (examples from a variety of students below). They write out and prove everything. That is directly linked to what they are asked to prove on these mathematical tasks. Bringing tasks into your classroom make all of these optimal math traits common practice.

Bottom line...if you want to improve your test scores, try implementing these tasks on a regular basis. Your students will become more adept at discussing and explaining, and the level of mathematical tenacity will rise considerably. All of these traits will serve your students a lot better on a standardized tests than trying to cram a week in advance.

















Student Task Work Examples

Bubble Wrap Task

Doritos Roulette 
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