On growth mindset If we are telling students that it is important for them to develop perseverance and grit or grow new dendrites to get smarter, but the system remains stacked against them, is that really a healthy perspective to promote? From the point of view of students of color and historically looted students, does that just sound like a new version of “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”? Gutierrez, Political Conocimiento for Teaching Mathematics “Our brain grows when we make mistakes” is not a helpful message for students. The majority of the time, these student aren’t making m ..read more

I was recently asked: How do teachers make sense of this stuff that gets designed by other people and use it for their own purposes? I usually take a quick look at the resource and think about if and where it may fit. I may make a note to myself to consider including it when I reach the appropriate part of my school year, and put together a unit plan, then I’ll return to it and consider its appropriateness with my students to achieve a specific learning goal. There is an abundance of resources available online of varying qualities. I usually do not jump into and investigate a new thing just b ..read more

It needs to feel authentic They need to get captured in the intensity of the moment. They need to feel that they are a part of the development of the situation. As much as possible, I need them to ask the questions, not the other way around. The Waiting Game by Mathalicious I choose this lesson on Valentine’s day as a preview to our probability unit. The premise of the lesson is to determine how many people a person should seriously date before committing to a partner for the rest of their lives. The lesson plan as written begins with a very involved handout that lists all of the pos ..read more

I love getting to learn new teaching strategies through having Eric as an apprentice teacher this semester! My first period geometry class is very, very quiet. Too quiet. It is a challenge to get any energy and discussion going in that class. Yesterday, Eric mentioned that he was thinking about trying Kahoot with the class since it can be engaging for students and can increase the energy in the room.  I told him that while I like the program, I dislike that it rewards and encourages speed. I know students are more successful if they take time to think first and don’t just rush to get ..read more

HEY! YOU – IN THE HOODIE! MOVE TO THE FRONT! YOU’RE SHORT.” “YOU – GLASSES – MOVE CLOSER TO THE PLAID SHIRT GUY.” “EVERYONE MOVE IN! IF YOU ARE TO THE RIGHT OF PLAID SHIRT YOU WON’T BE IN THE PICTURE.” “TAKE YOUR HATS OFF! STOP MESSING AROUND. BE QUIET!” “TAKE YOUR HOOD OFF! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” I cringe These are human beings. Stop talking to them like that! Do I say something to him? Do I leave the room because it is making me so uncomfortable and let it continue? He is just trying to make our school photo as good as possible. He wants to do the best job he can. He probably works hard. Do ..read more

I am terrible at moderation. Terrible. I’m not sure I even want to be good at moderating. When I find something I like, I indulge until there is no more. An example: I tried to make a little geometric art with a compass and straightedge. The next day I was investing too much money and all of my time in compasses, pencils, fancy markers, watercolor paints, brushes…etc. I barely slept for weeks obsessed with making increasingly complex designs. I teach at a public alternative school. A school where many of my students have struggled with some type of addiction and/or anxiety. My stude ..read more

This is the conclusion of a three day lesson applying right triangles. Here is day 1 and day 2.  Eric is my apprentice teacher and he initiated this discussion: Eric: Yesterday we prepared to go outside, what information did we collect? student: How much rope we need and what angle. Eric: Where is the angle? Here or here? What else did we find? student: The height of the flagpole. student: The distance away from the flagpole Eric: One person from each group come up to the board and write your angle and distance from the flagpole on the board. Eric: Let’s make a plan before we go outside ..read more

Students sat with their partners from Barbie zipline day 1 and we begin by reviewing the scenario and their calculated flagpole height. Next we discussed how this zipline will work. I used a string and a binder clip to make a model zipline, using a very steep slope for the zipline and I asked students to predict what would happen if Barbie came down a zipline like this.  They agreed that she would fall too fast and get hurt. Next, I held the string almost horizontal and asked how this zipline would work – and students agreed that she would get stuck or mover too slowly. I explained that t ..read more

I have seen posts about Barbie zipline on occasion over the past few years. I’ve avoided the lesson because it seemed like a lot of advance prep work and typically I don’t allow enough time plan this far ahead and work through constructing a zip line trial run to make sure it all works in advance. To keep it completely real, I also hadn’t seen any description or resources that I thought would fit my classes well. But I found myself approaching the end of a right triangle unit in geometry with 2 full block periods mapped on my unit plan labeled “Right triangle synthesis project – need to create ..read more

I blogged a few years ago about starting geometry with developing definitions. I’ve made some changes since then, and I have additional ideas for next year that I want to remember. I’ve found it more useful to start the school year introducing geometry as art, and developing a need for definitions as students struggle to describe the process to create their designs. Once there is a need for developing agreed upon definitions for terms, I want to use this video to motivate how and why definitions develop: To make a definition is to highlight and call attention to a feature or structural prope ..read more