Inquiry Plan Nov. 17-20

Finally a week with five days!! Never thought as a teacher I would be saying that. :)
This week my students completed their statistics project. The student were to conduct a survey with 50 of their peers. The class then needed to graph their results using the mean and standard deviation. The results were to be compiled using the total number of surveys then also by breaking the surveys into subgroups (some chose to do grade level, age, gender, etc). The project took longer than the typical drill and practice exercises but the students seemed to take a special interest since they created their own surveys and were curious about the results. Many students were even surprised when they discovered the results. The last task was for the students to make conclusions from their various graphs and data and . In addition to actual conclusions the students were asked to use the data to mislead an actual conclusion, showing them that at times we can make numbers say what we want them to say.

Inquiry Plan- November 9-13

Another broken up week, since we had Wednesday off for Veteran's Day, so I only saw each of my classes twice this week. For a review activity I broke the class into groups according to ability level. I ranked my student from high ability to low ability. I then made groups of three with a high, middle and low ability level. The groups were given a review sheet in which each group was responsible for 3 questions. The groups then worked out the problems and became "experts" on those particular problems. After 15 minutes of the groups work, the groups came up to present their problems. The presentations were to be complete with all work shown and a correct answer. The group was also to explain each process, and answer any questions from the class. Each group member was to speak roughly the same amount of time. The lower level students had an opportunity to explain the processes they understood, and be able to feel successful. The review activity was very successful, and the students performed well on the assessment which was given during our other class period.

Inquiry Plan- November 2-6

This was a crazy week at school since we had an Inservice Day on Tuesday, along with a well designed Senior Skip Day on Monday. Hats off to my seniors, since we have always had the "Senior Skip Day" but only 40%- 50% of the senior actually skip. Not this year, I had a grand total of 2 students all day long. Needless to say my first week of the inquiry plan turned into 3 days.
On Wednesday we were finishing up a unit on Taxicab Geometry, I had my students work in pairs (the groups were formed by proximity) on a worksheet dealing with applications. The worksheet consisted of problems which the students needed to find the best location for a retail store given certain parameters, also a question in which the students needed to construct boundary lines on a map for a given school district. The following day the students came up in pairs to present their findings to the class. Although some groups came up with different solutions, they backed up their solutions with good facts and reasons.

Inquiry Plan

Thank you the suggestions on how to improve my inquiry plan, I went ahead in posted my final plan so that my group members could be refreshed on what I was wanting to accomplish.
Tonya the website you suggested was awesome!!

What element will be focused on?
Within Domain 3- Instruction I will be focusing on component 3d- Using assessment in instruction. I will use this component in my two senior math classes, one which is a 60 minute class I see every day and the other is a 90 minute block I see every other day.

How is this relevant in my classroom?
As a high school math teacher I have found it difficult at times finding new and effective ways to vary my instruction. Math has always seemed to be taught the same way for generations and there is very little information out there to support new ideas. By using new ways to engage and assess my students I will be creating new opportunities for them to be successful.

How does using assessment in instruction impact student learning?
By incorporating assessments into my daily instruction I will be able to gain feedback from my students faster so that I can change my daily plans if need be. My students will also be able to get feedback from me faster to help them master the content standards. Through a variety of assessments it will help my students to able to incorporate the standards into their own world. By incorporating the standards it will give them more meaning and help students retain the information.

How will the inquiry be engaged?
I will create new assessments that can be completed within a lesson. I will have students present homework problems to the class. I will give students a rubric for their presentations. I can also have students provide feedback papers to give the students after their presentations.
I can also give mini quizzes that the students can take in pairs. By working with a partner this can encourage the students to think aloud and have a good discussion about the problems. I will use several different grouping options. I will group students be proximity, random and by ability groups. The proximity and random grouping will create various groups that can all work on the same assignment. By all groups working on the same assignment it gives me the teacher an opportunity to assess and compare the class as a whole. I will also create different types of ability groups. One grouping I will place a low level students together and the high level students together. This gives me an opportunity to give each group problems that will challenge them uniquely. I will also use mixed ability groups so that the high level students can help assist the other students and possibly provide a different way to explain a problem.
As a the final assessment I will make it project based as opposed to the traditional paper test. For a final geometry assignment I will have the students complete a design project, in which they design a backpack, a bicycle or a landscape/park. To introduce the assignment I will use videos for The Futures Channel (http://www.thefutureschannel.com). The students will be able to choose a project that they want to do and that will interest them, and if they could to do a different design project if it was approved.

Task 5

When I decided to do my searches for "active engagement" I added high school math to my searches. Being a math teacher I read many good articles that sound great but then have trouble applying them to an upper level math course. As many of us may remember our days in math class, teacher lectures shows so examples and assigns problems. I have to admit I have fallen into that trap at times, is it hard to do something new and find a new way when there is very little support of it. So when I do searches I try to find good articles that I can apply to my classroom. The article I read, Struggling Helps Students Master Math by Bernice Yeung, really had me thinking. Help students by making them feel frustrated, doesn't seem to make sense. The more I thought about it the more it made me realize what I like about math. Some of you may have done the Sudoku in the paper, and I love the ones that really make me think. Even though I might it frustrated and even have to go back and erase parts the satisfaction I get by completing it is what makes me want to do another one. In math class I never really thought of challenging the students to that extreme point. As a teacher this can be a great way to involve the students and get them engaged in word problems. Give them questions that will challenge them beyond the normal drill and practice problems. As a teacher it can be hard at times watching them really struggle but this is when I need to step back and let them work it out on their own. There also have been times in class where I purposely make a common mistakes to see when the students catch it, and so they can see how a little error can lead to an incorrect answer.

The video I watched was Developing Minds: Learning How to Rebuild a Town- The UrbanPlan Project. This video discussed a project which seemed to cover several classes, math, economics and government. Engaging students within your classroom is a great way for students to master content, but once students see how subjects overlap then a new understanding can develop. As a math teacher there are several standards that can relate to different styles of art and also to most science classrooms. Of course it takes a lot of extra planning but being able to create projects that cross into other subjects is an excellent way for students to see how standards tie together. In Algebra I students need to solve equations, and in chemistry students need to balance atoms within elements. By teaching these two concepts together students can see their relevance, but taught individually the standards seem too abstract.

In Larry Ferlazzo's blog he has a post titled When Are Teenagers in the "Flow"? In his post he discuss how teenagers learn best when they are active in the learning. They are easily distracted during lecture type lessons. The article really is focused on how many social studies classes are lecture based. He states that art classes are the extreme of student guided classes, but also that an art class may not be rigor enough. Ferlazzo feels that most experiment based science classes represent the perfect balance between lecture and student lead instruction. I feel the math classes can fall into this category as long as their in time for the students to experiment their own hypothesis and have opportunity to fail and learn from their mistakes.

Task 4

I have chosen to work with Domain 3- Instruction.
Which component from this domain are you most comfortable with?
The component that I feel I am the strongest at is communicating with my students. I feel that I have very good report with my students. I feel comfortable with my students both inside the classroom and outside. By having students see you outside the classroom at sporting events, musical performances and even simply shopping at the mall, they students gain a new respect for you. Once the students are comfortable with you as a teacher then they are willing to work a little harder for you, and are not scared to come ask questions when they need help.
The other component to instruction that I feel I excel at is the fact I can quickly adapt to unexpected bumps in the road. If I need to change my lesson plan I can adjust without delay. Many times I have started a lesson and realized it was not working because the class really needed another day on yesterday's standard. I have also had days when I thought a lesson and assignment would take the entire period and then the kids fly through it and I add more to the lesson or begin the next standard.
Which component from this domain do you believe most strongly ties to instruction?
The questioning and discussion techniques are very important to instruction. We have all had that teacher who clearly knows a great amount of material but are unable to pass on that knowledge. This is due to the way the teacher presents material and gives assessments. Lecture type lessons may work for some material while an experiment may work better in other situations. As teachers we need to be aware that not all students will understand material the same way. If we need to review material again because the students struggled, then we must also know we need to review the material in a different way.
Which component from this domain would you like to zero in on in your own instruction?
The component that I would like to focus in on is engaging the students in learning. Too many times I teach math by going over examples with my students and showing them the steps to solving a given set of problems. I would like to find new ways of instructing mathematics so that I involve the students more. In math there has also been this way of doing it and no one really has changed that mindset. I have tried to find new ways of instructing the new material but still feel I have a long way to go.

Task 3

Sorry I have been away for awhile. My laptop crashed this last week and I had to get it repaired. And unfortunately my school has blocked Blackboard... guess they do not like me doing homework doing my planning period. :)

I believe I have the same assumptions as many of my fellow teachers. All children can learn and that all children have a desire to learn. But I feel that as teachers we may have to dig deep in some students to spark their interests. As Walker stated, " by the age of 12 (middle/high school) students become lethargic about school work." (Walker, pg. 37) When I hear the question "when will I need this is life", I know it is time for some intervention and some application.

As I said all students can learn, but that does not mean that they will all learn at the same pace or even in the same way. Some of our students will grasp a new concept quickly while others fall behind. Some fall behind due to a lack of background knowledge and they may need some re-teaching. Other students may need an activity to see math problem in a concrete way as to an abstract lecture and example. Teachers have opportunity to influence the way students learn by adding variety and individualize attention when needed.

Task 2

The main purpose for having a curriculum is to have guide in which all teachers within a given structure will follow. The state gives certain standards it wants all schools to reach. A school district will adapt those standards to their buildings, and then again many times a school will adapt those standards into a course of study for their teachers to follow.
Unfortunately for teachers many times we are last in line when it comes to developing curriculum. I am aware in most cases the people developing the curriculum have been teachers at some time. But for example someone who taught at a public high school in northern Columbus does not know what it is like to teach in inter-city Cleveland, or out in eastern Brown County (which is mostly farm land). As Childre said in Backwards Design, we need to start with the learners, and the only ones who know them are the teachers who see them everyday.
At my school we are given a pacing guide to follow for our different subjects. As teachers we given the freedom to teach the subjects as we chose. But we still have certain standards that must be covered each month. It seems that the curriculum is a series of checklist that we as teachers need to cover before the "state test". I have been in on curriculum discussion, when it has been decided it skip a section because it "was taught in eighth grade." But would agree with our reading that we should find out about our students first and evaluate their needs before deciding on the curriculum.

Task One

Before reading the articles my goal for the curriculum in my class was that my students will be able master the skills for my class. I know that most students will not need to solve quadratic equations in their everyday life. So I want my students to have the ability to follow steps and to use logic skills to solve any problem they come across, from how much paint to buy or how to turn a couch so it can pass through a door. I feel the role of knowledge has slipped through the cracks of curriculum design. From the districts I have encountered lately it seems an over-paid individual, who sits over in a district office with no contact with students, makes all the curriculum decisions. Those decisions are usually data driven from last year state test, since marks on a state report card are more important than student knowledge. The overall goals of school districts now is getting high marks on state testing and state report cards. Districts feel if they are "excellent" then they are doing a good job and the state funding money will come in.

After reading the articles I must say I tend to agree with both Wraga and Wiggins. I do feel we need to have a curriculum when we teach as guidelines and stepping stones. As students go from one class to another we need to make sure that when students move onto the next level they are prepared. But many times the curriculum is so detailed and long, teachers use it as a checklist instead of a guide. Teachers feel overwhelmed at times, and even pass up teachable moments because they "need" to get so much information in before "the test." Wraga stated, "In this testing environment, students no longer study subject matter as an end in itself,but for the narrower end of passing a test." (Wraga, pg 89) How many times have you heard teachers or yourself answer the famous question "why are we doing this?" with the "because it is on the _________( OGT, CATS, ACT, SAT, etc)." The stats given from the student survey in Wraga article show that the kids have learned to play the game as well. They know all they need to do is pass the test and move on. Wiggins gives some great advise to what curriculum should do:
1. equip students with the ability to further their knowledge.
2. have the ability to turn questions into knowledge
3. develop in students high standards of craftsmanship
4. engage students so they learn to take pleasure in seeking knowledge. (Wiggins, pg 57)

As teachers we can teach students the needed material,but if they do not see the connection or relevance the material will be forgotten. I feel that in math classes this can be very difficult, but I still try to create an activity or project that will tie the material to real-life applications. Once students are able to make the connections to material the students then will see why they are completing the task and want to explore further knowledge. As teachers even if we cannot change how the curriculum is written, we can change how it is taught. Once the students want to learn and are eager to learn then going more in depth won't be such a task for the teachers.

Long Time Reader, First Time Blogger

Hello, you are reading the blog of Scott Reveal. I am entering my tenth year of teaching high school students the art of mathematics. I spent one year at Cloverleaf high school, before returning home to Cincinnati and teaching at Glen Este High School, my alma mater.
In addition to my teaching duties I'm the head coach for freshman football, and the head coach for the varsity indoor and outdoor track teams.
I enjoy spending my free time with my wife and my four children. Landon is seven entering 2nd grade, Mitchell is 5 entering kindergarten, Ava and Ella are three entering their first year of Pre-school.