The “list” article is a popular device, and one which often draws the eyeballs. Lists are also, often, a cop-out – a way to express many ideas without having to dig too deeply. I hate lists….
As I start my new school year tomorrow, I give you this bulleted assemblage of items which are on my mind as I look forward to our first day.
- Fawn Nguyen’s 7 Deadly Sins of Teaching Math is required reading for all professionals. In particular, I strive to pay more attention to my (teacher talking / student talking ) ratio. I like to think I am strong in this area, but I need to do better. Before the end of the last school year, our district screened the movie “Most Likely to Succeed” to all professional staff. In an opening scene, the teacher provides first-day freshmen with an opening day task – and then leaves the room. The students struggle, the teacher eventually intervenes, but a powerful classroom culture is established. I want to provide more tasks to my students where I’m simply not needed.
- I have used a number of opening-day activities for AP Statistics over 14 years. Distracted Driving and the Henrico hiring case are two I used most often. But I think Doug Tyson’s Smelling Parkinson’s activity could be my new favorite. It’s a powerful premise which gets kids talking about the possible vs the plausible on day 1, with a hint of simulation thrown in for good measure. I show the video below to the class and right away the statistical importance of what we do for the entire school year is established.
- Desmos Activity Builder will take on a much bigger role in my classroom. I’ve created activities for both my Pre-Calculus and my freshman Prob/Stat class to review their understanding, and also to serve as my “getting to know you” opportunity. Look forward to sharing out how it goes.
- Shoes. I hate new shoes. They’re tight and often rip apart the back of my ankle until I break them in. If we can have pre-washed jeans, then we can have pre-worn shoes. We need our best people on this.
- Who knew a cute Pythagorean triple generator could be of interest to so many. After I posted about an interesting share from Ken Sullins at the PCTM summer conference, so many folks chimed in with their ideas. Thanks especially to Joel Bezaire who shared additional ideas from Twitter Math Camp. I’m using this in my pre-calc class on day 1.
- I’ve given the same probability problem to my freshmen for the last few years. I love everything about this problem on day 1: it gets kids talking, it gets kids struggling, and it tells me much about their problem solving background.
OK, maybe this was a list after all. I need to do some last-minute ironing.
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