Checklist turned Tracking Sheet

At TMC16, I went to lunch with a group to discuss SBG and Interactive Notebooks.  We ended up mostly talking about SBG, which was great because I got a new idea!  Jessica Breur (@BreurBreur) shared how teachers at her school use tracking sheets for the students to reflect on how they are doing with each target and record scores the teacher has given them.  Then at the end of the unit the teacher collects and keeps them.  I asked her to share with me, and she kindly did!

While looking at all her resources and thinking through it all I was thinking about how it would make a lot of sense to combine this with my checklist, since most of the assignments are recorded there anyway.  Also students rarely keep their checklists after the unit is over, so it doesn't seem detrimental for me to keep them.  I would just need to add quizzes and tasks to the checklist when we do them, which wouldn't be too tricky and would be incentive for students to make those up right away when they miss them (bonus!).  So instead of using any of her wonderful resources, I worked on creating my own.

I needed to break up the spots for assignments based on learning target and provide a space for students to graph their scores for each assignment, so I have a sample that looks like this:

It has room for four assignments per learning target (3 learning targets on the front, zero or one or two on the back depending on unit), and a big miscellaneous section at the bottom of the back.  I figured I would use the miscellaneous section for assignments that related to multiple (or no) learning targets and overflow if I need more than four assignments for a given learning target.  Here is a picture of the back side:

I did an example of what I would write if there were five assignments for the first learning target.

Thoughts I still have:

• Will the stamp space be big enough for my stamps?  (I'm going to test it out tomorrow)
• I am concerned that I will end up needed more than four assignments often, making it pointless to separate it by learning target, but I need to fit three learning targets on the front when I have five learning targets in a unit.  I am especially concerned if I am adding quizzes, group tasks & reflections, and open middle type problems to this.
• I used to require students to have 80% of their checklist complete in order to take the test.  I could do it that same way, or I could say you can at most one missing from each section.  I want this to be a reflective tool, not just a punitive tool, but I also feel a need to hold them accountable.

What potential concerns do you see?  What things would you change?  Any ideas on my thoughts above?

-Kathryn

PS - I am on a blogging roll since TMC16, and I have a lot more ideas to come!

Brain Dump...Beginning of the Year

So I have a bunch of random thoughts about the beginning of the year bouncing around in my head, and I need to get them out because I won't be able to hash anything out for a few days and I don't want to forget them!

I've been thinking about my first day of school plans with my Algebra students, and although I still want to do the number line activity that I did last year (which I still need to blog about), I want to make a few changes and turn it into a longer task.  This way I will be able to use it as a pre-assessment of our first unit (Numbers and Operations) as well.  When I figure out what this is going to look like, I'll blog about it.  Promise.

So I think I'm going to go back to the "number about me" type of activity that I shared here.  But I'm thinking about making my information as 5-10 multiple choice questions, Kahoot style, or with Plickers, or something else since we'll have chromebooks (maybe pear deck?).  Then I'll have students submit their numbers as an exit ticket or an entrance ticket the next day.  This definitely helps me to build relationships from day one because I learn 5 things about my students THAT THEY CHOOSE TO SHARE.  And then we can turn this into the front or back of our ISNs :)  I found that when students had decorated the covers they treated them better throughout the year, which is really important since I want the same notebook to last all year.

I still need to send postcards home.  That needs to be #1 at this point.

I also really, really, really want to write students notes throughout the year.  I also want to call parents regularly throughout the year.  But those things take time and work, which I know will be really challenging once school starts.

Another thing I read about somewhere at some point this past year was sending students home with their notebooks and having their assignment be to show an adult at home.  I really want to do that within the first week with the syllabus and other things we will have in our notebook.  Then I can have a parent sign and return it or email me.  [I saw ____'s notebook.  He/she showed me these things:  I have these questions:  You can contact me these ways:  I prefer this method:  ]  This way I can collect phone numbers and email addresses as well, since sometimes they show up weird on PowerSchool when I try to look them up.  Then I was thinking that as the year goes on and I make parent/student contact I can record notes on the back of the paper.

Oh, and I want to be happy.  Ridiculously happy.  Every day.  This didn't happen last year, and I need to bring it back.  I love teaching.  I really do.  I need to ignore how frustrated I can get about all the work that is expected of us, and just be happy that I get to teach young souls about the awesomeness of math.  Ignore how annoying it is when I already have my plans made and the school changes the schedule.  Ignore that I hate it when other activities take my students out of class ALL. THE. TIME.  And just enjoy teaching.  Enjoy the students.  Focus on the good.

Well, I think that is the end of my brain dump for now.  I may have to add more later...

Update:  Also, musical cues, because no one wants to here me talk all the time.

-Kathryn

Thoughts about Reflection

I've been working on a task for my students for the beginning of next year, and I'm stuck deciding between two different types of reflection questions for them to complete afterwards.  Essentially they will be answering some Talking Points-style questions in their groups.  I'm stuck between asking them:

• Which are you most confident about?  Why?
• Which are you least confident about?  Why?

OR

• Which was the easiest to make a decision about?  Why?
• Which was the most difficult to make a decision about?  Why?

While I think it is over-kill to ask all four questions, and it is unlikely that my students would recognize the minor differences between the questions if posed all four, I feel it is likely I would get different responses depending on which questions I pose.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, maybe not.  What do you think?

I think my goals from the reflection are:

• To help students see the value in the Talking Points structure
• To help students think about their learning
• To help me see what my students do and do not understand

Other reflection questions I plan to ask:

• How easy or difficult was it to follow the talking points structure?
• What is one benefit you saw to using the talking points structure?  One disadvantage?
• What is one thing you learned?  What is one question you still have?

What do you think?  Which set of questions will best help me meet the goals of the reflection when paired with my other questions?  Should I do a combination of the pairs (one from each), if so which ones should I pick?  Are my other reflection questions posed in a way that will help me meet the goals of the reflection?

-Kathryn

Units and Learning Targets 2014-2015

I often see a tweet from someone who is searching for learning targets for Algebra 1.  Two summers ago I worked hard to create learning targets and units based off of the common core standards my district has chosen for Algebra 1.  Those are posted on this blog, but I thought it might be valuable to share what I did this year, as it doesn't quite line up with what I shared before (planning and reality rarely align).

Unit 1:  Number and Operations

• I can perform operations with integers.
• I can identify and justify number equivalencies.
• I can order numbers.

Unit 2:  Expressions

• I can use the distributive property to rewrite expressions in equivalent forms.
• I can simplify expressions by combining like terms.
• I can evaluate expressions for the given value(s) of the variable(s).

Unit 3:  Equations

• I can solve linear equations.
• I can graph linear equations.
• I can solve a multi-variable linear equation for a given variable.

Unit 4:  Systems of Equations

• I can state whether or not given values for the variables represent a solution to a system of equations.
• I can estimate a solution to a system graphically.
• I can solve a system using substitution.
• I can solve a system using elimination.

Unit 5:  Sequences

• I can determine if a sequence is arithmetic, geometric, or neither.
• I can describe a sequence recursively.
• I can describe a sequence explicitly.

Unit 6:  Functions

• I can find the domain and range of a relation.
• I can determine and justify if a relation is a function.
• I can use function notation to describe, evaluate, and graph a function.

Unit 7:  Exponentials

• I can simplify and exponential expression.
• I can determine and justify if a function is exponential.
• I can find the base and y-intercept given an exponential function.
• I can graph an exponential function.

Unit 8:  Polynomial Operations

• I can identify the degree of a polynomial.
• I can add and subtract polynomials.
• I can multiply polynomials.
• I can factor polynomials.

Unit 9:  Quadratic Functions

• I can determine and justify if a function is quadratic.
• I can find the zeros of a quadratic function.
• I can sketch a graph of a quadratic function.
• I can find the line of symmetry and vertex of a quadratic function.

Unit 10:  Statistics

• I can organize and analyze bivariate data.

My (Brief) Reflection:

• Units 1 and 2 were boring for many of my students this year, but things I perceived my students the previous year to need.  Also things I think many students benefited from.  I would like to do some sort of pretest to see which students could benefit from what...but that will be complicated...
• I want to integrate statistics into my other units.  It gives a setting to apply the other learning that is "real-world" and then I won't save it until the end and end up not being able to do it.
• I need to focus somewhere on "rate of change" a little bit more...maybe since we didn't really do a linear functions unit this year that struggled.
• I would like to take time to compare these to the original learning targets I planned out and decide which I prefer for which units.

So here they are to borrow, steal, or edit!  Enjoy :)

-Kathryn

How I Used Plickers

I just started using Plickers in one of my classes.  I learned about them at #TMC14, and if you don't know what I'm talking about go here to find out about them.

Note:  this is my reflection of my use in the classroom; nothing more

Set-up:  I printed the free plickers, size "normal" and copied onto colored paper, laminated, and wrote each student's name on the back in sharpie.  I had my students use the plickers for one question on Monday and one question on Tuesday, just to see how they would work.  Then I planned to use them multiple times on Wednesday.

Class:  I was doing this in my intervention class, which has 8 students enrolled.  I wanted to try plickers in my smaller, more flexible class before full-out implementing into my large core classes.

We have been studying domain and range, so I prepared seven graphs, each with 4 options for domain and range, trying to include common errors as possible options.  I also created some beginning questions about domain and range, just to get us started.

Implementation:  I showed the graphs and the options using my document camera and the students pulled chairs around the screen.  I did not show the plickers "Live View" because I was showing everything they needed through the doc camera.  I gave them 30 seconds to think then asked them to hold up their answers and I scanned with my iPad.

The app gives immediate feedback as to who was right and who was wrong, and which wrong answer they selected.  I can use that to base our follow-up conversation before we move on to the next question.

Reflection Thoughts:

• The kids LOVED it.  They asked to do it everyday and for the most part they were engaged the whole time.
• At the end of the lesson I gave the a graph and had them give the domain and range WITHOUT options.  They were more successful than they would have been before the lesson, but not as successful as I would have hoped.
• The app seems slow, but I have to remember that it is faster than if I had to read and judge them all.
• If they are covering up any part of the QR Code it will not read their answer.
• I'm not ready to implement in a full class, because it would be harder to keep everyone engaged.
• I can't think of a better way to help students learn about domain and range in a way that will engage them and simplify it to make it more accessible to all students from the beginning.
• I'm planning on doing something similar in the future with other concepts.

How have you tried plickers?  What did you like?  What does it take to make a good plicker lesson?

-Kathryn

New Steps I'm Taking to Improve Group Work

I'm working a lot harder on making group work work in my classroom this semester.  I implemented some changes first semester, and expected it to work for itself from there...uh, duh Kathryn, you can't just put things in place and expect them to run themselves.  So I've been more thoughtful about it this semester, and trying to patiently look for small improvements.  Since I rarely blog, I will discuss all changes I have made this year.

First Semester

Desks in Groups of 4:  I have tables, so I've pushed two together to make groups of four.  I had this on and off last year, but I haven't even considered changing it once this year.

Group Supply Tubs:  I organized supplies into group tubs.  Something I sort of had last year, but that didn't work very well.  I also was intentional about not putting too much stuff in at the beginning of the year.


Roles:  I wrote about my role cards before school started, but I expected a little prep and some pretty cards to be enough for students to "play their role" every time...that is not enough.

Talking Points:  We do talking points as a warm-up every Thursday.  This helps give every student a voice.

Then I'd also throw around the phrase "do this in your groups" a lot and feel frustrated that they really weren't.  So I have tried to be more thoughtful.

Second Semester

Role Explanations in Notebook:  I made a half-sheet explanation of all the roles for students to put into their ISNs.  This way they ALWAYS had access to them and I could hold them more accountable.

Group Tasks:  I have been a lot more intentional about groups tasks.  One scored group task every unit is my challenge for myself.  This is super structured, and involves a significant amount of prep.  An important thing I learned from Elizabeth and our morning session at #TMC14 is to put in checkpoints for groups to call me over and see how they are progressing.  This helps a lot.  I even carry around a roster so that I can mark off what checkpoint each student has completed.  Then when I'm prepping for day 2 of the task, I have an idea of where everyone is and who I should maybe guide right from the beginning.

At this point I haven't done any amazingly exploratory/discovery task, but I think that's OK.  I'm not super-teacher, so small steps is what it is going to take.  I've turned some things I did last year (that I liked) into tasks that I now like better.  I'm sure they will morph next year into things I like even better...oh the joys of teaching!

Here is my sequence task:  Instructions, Cut Outs

Here is my function task:  Instructions, Cut Outs, Recording Sheet

Acknowledging What I Like:  I've been intentionally looking for things that I like during the group work time so that I can praise those things.  This helps me and my students, because I see the good things rather than the bad, and they feel encouraged.  It also leads to improvement because others see what I like from a group and they can work to do it in their group.

I actually just had a thought while I was blogging this that I'm going to try Monday.  I'm going to use my whiteboard to give these acknowledgements.  It is semi-public in that the entire class can see (but not other classes), but I don't have to spend the last couple minutes of class giving shout outs that they might forget by the next day.  AND other groups can IMMEDIATELY implement changes to get acknowledged as well.  I could even start with a few things on the board that I'm looking for and then write up the table number when I see that group doing it.

Group Reflections:  Every day we do any group work task work, I have them complete a quick reflection.  I'm sure I stole the questions from Elizabeth (bottom of this post) and just modified it a bit. It's just a quarter sheet, so I make a ton of copies and have them ready.  My hope is that by regularly trying to give a compliment to someone for playing their role they will become more familiar with the responsibilities of each role.  I might modify the reflection next task to involve something the individual did as well as something another person did.  Try to slowly increase the expectation that EVERYONE is playing their role.

Here is a link to what I've been giving (4 to a page).  And here is what I created for next time (2 to a page).

That's where I'm at with group work right now.  I'm proud of the changes I've made, but also disappointed that we're not farther along.  I have been realizing this year how long real change takes.  And it is a little disheartening because I'm starting to understand that it's going to take more than just me to make real change for our students.  We really need every teacher on board to make real change for students.

Let me know if you see something big (or small) that I'm missing that would make group work more valuable for my students.  I know that it is not ideal at this point, but I'm working on getting better.

-Kathryn

Talking Points with my Family

I've been thinking a lot about talking points since #TMC14 and our #gwwg14 morning session.  Somehow I started wondering about what it would look like it a family setting.  So, I decided to try it!  It was a little like pulling teeth to get my 12-year-old on board today, but with him, myself,  and my husband we made a good group of 3 to try it out.

We started by going through the instructions and then started with "talking about talking".  Here are some of my observations:

• My 12-year-old's "becauses" were generally restatements of the statement
• My husband and I tended to agree
• Rarely did anyone change his/her mind
• We made it through about as many as I did with my peers at TMC
• I really wanted to convince them to think like me
• The 10 minutes went fast and everyone seemed willing to try more in about a week...even wanting to work on the same page
• We only came to a full consensus on one talking point

I'm trying to not evaluate these observations at this time, but I am trying to get rid of my attitude about wanting to change other peoples minds/attitudes.  If they are willing to try again, then I guess we will just see where this takes us.

-Kathryn

This Is Not A Test

When my colleague Sarah Martin posted about reading This is Not a Test by Jose Vilson, I saw an opportunity for a bonus read this summer.  I had spent all my allotted book money already, but she loaned me the book! (Read her reflection here.)

I feel as though Vilson is calling all of us to use our experiences and knowledge to speak out for better things for education in the United States.  He asks us to speak out for our students and to our students.  Relate to them and do our best to show them how things could be better.  He asks us to speak out for our profession.  To elevate things for teachers and for students in the eyes of the public.  He also asks us to speak for equality in general.  Work against the innate structure of our society to provide privileges to some students rather than others.

It is more an inspiration call than a practical call in that there are not specific suggestions for how to do this.  But rather we must each find our own way to speak out and we must find our own things to speak for.  It feels like a big challenge, how can I live up to it?

-Kathryn

#5things I Need To Do Before School Starts

Well, this morning on twitter @druinok inspired this post.  It really is #105things, but I simplified them into categories to help me feel better :)

1.  Get Organized
I need to organize EVERYTHING:  my closet, my wardrobe, my desk, my filing cabinet, my inbox, my google drive, my dropbox.  Name it and I would prefer it to be organized! (I also need to finish my teacher binder for the upcoming year, but I've got a few things to figure out first...)

2.  Buy Things
I need new things for a new year.  I have an Oriental Trading order (and maybe an Amazon order) to put in as well as some Target/Dollar Tree shopping to do.  I do very much enjoy the buying, but deciding what I need is important otherwise I would spend thousands!

3.  Plan Classroom Structure (ie Procedures)
I need a better way for distributing classroom supplies.  But I don't have a solution yet.  Also I need to decide how I'm going to do bellwork and how strict I want to be about the beginning of class.  I need a plan for storing notebooks in the classroom and maybe even folders too, since I just read Sarah's post about that yesterday.

4.  Plan Units
For many reasons I am restructuring some of my units (again!), and I don't have everything really figured out yet.  I want to make sure to incorporate more problem solving tasks into them as well, so I need to figure some of that out.  I also want to link the foundational standards into my units.

5.  Solidify Grading Expecations
For many reasons I also want to make changes to how my gradebook looks.  I'm not sure how to balance SBG with understanding of concepts (rather than just performing skills), but I really want to find a way to make it work.  Also with the foundational standards identified, I want to have different expectations for them (ie. higher level of proficiency) than with the others.

So there it is, all the big stuff I'm trying to do before school starts...obviously I need to plan individual lessons, write a syllabus, and other things too.  I also need to blog a lot!

Any suggestions for me?  What do you have left to do?

-Kathryn

5 Practices by Smith and Stein

After finishing Mindset and reflecting on it, I chose to read 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions by Margaret S. Smith and Mary Kay Stein.

I first wondered if actually naming the 5 Practices would give away the purpose of the book, so I was curious how I would blog about it without doing that.  But after reading it, I know there is SO much more to the book than the names of the 5 Practices...so here they are:  anticipating, monitoring, selecting, sequencing, and connecting.  The whole purpose of the 5 Practices is to best prepare for teaching mathematical tasks so that we have to make fewer decisions during the lesson where we are less able to make good decisions.

It helps me to look at the 5 Practices in terms of the big picture of lesson planning and teaching.  As most people who read math teacher blogs are familiar with The Three Acts of a Mathematical Story [Task], probably most famously, if not first, presented by Dan Meyer, I will present 5 Practices in terms of the 3 Acts...except I'm going to start before Act 1.

ACT 0:  LESSON PLANNING

Before any planning can occur, the teacher must "specify a goal that clearly identifies what students are to know and understand about mathematics as a result of their engagement in a particular lesson" (p. 13).  After having a clear goal, then the teacher must select an appropriate task.  A task that can be used to meet the lesson goal while engaging the students with the concepts and that "stimulate students to make connections [that] lead to a different set of opportunities for student thinking" (p. 15).  

This part is going to be a challenge for me, because I have trouble seeing what big ideas can be learned from tasks.  I know that there are a lot of tasks available from the #MTBoS, but selecting ones that are going to best fit my goals is a challenge.

Once a goal and a task have been established, the teacher begins anticipating all the possible solution strategies.  Consider strategies that lead to both correct and incorrect solutions.  Then create good questions to ask students who are using each strategy.  If it is a strategy that might lead to an incorrect solution, questions should be redirecting students down a correct path.  ALL questions should seek to reveal what understanding students have about their strategy.

Once this has been done, a teacher should complete a monitoring chart.  Here is an example I created to match what the book suggested:

I want to add a column for questions.  It will help me remember all those questions I came up with!  Here's a link to my version of the monitoring chart. [Note:  You will likely need to download into Microsoft Word to preserve formatting.]

After you have the monitoring chart completed you are ready to teach the lesson.  So here we go into Act 1!

ACT 1:  INTRODUCE TASK

Nothing new from 5 Practices for this act.  Essentially distribute needed materials, read through task, and ensure all students/groups have an understanding of what they are being asked to do.  Work to hook your students into the task so they can't wait to strategize a way to the solution.

ACT 2:  STUDENTS WORK, TEACHER GUIDES

After letting the students get to work, the teacher begins to monitor their progress.  This is where all that hard work of finding as many strategies, creating good questions, and having the monitoring chart ready is going to pay off.

As you move from group to group you have preplanned questions to ask students.  Likely the major change of this act as a result of the 5 Practices is that you will take notes on what strategies students/groups are using.  This will better help you prepare for Act 3 and it is also why the monitoring chart is so helpful.

In between Act 2 and 3, the teacher has to make some decisions.  First, select students to present their strategies.  This can be done effectively and efficiently because you have all the notes in front of you.  You will likely want to select at least one student to present each strategy.  Once you have selected the students, you will need to decide on an appropriate sequencing to best facilitate the discussion you wish to have in Act 3.  There isn't necessarily one sequencing that is best, but you must choose one that will work for you.

ACT 3:  DISCUSS AND CONCLUDE

It is time to begin the conclusion of the task by drawing the whole class together and start sharing strategies.  During this time the teacher has the important job of connecting student strategies to each other and to the learning goal.  Good implementation of this will change Act 3 from a show-and-tell, to actual mathematical discussion.  This will probably be the most challenging of the 5 Practices for me.  I definitely see it as what will turn tasks from "fun days" into "fun, productive learning days".  I also think that the anticipating I will have done with the strategies will help me to see the connections, which in turn will help me guide my students in making connections as well.

THE FINAL ACT

There is always the Final Act of reflecting and modifying for the future.  I think the first time I implement a task this year I will plan to do it a different day in each of my classes.  That way I have time to reflect and improve in between implementations of the task.  And since I teach Algebra four times a day, it won't hold the stress of four possible dud lessons on my first attempt.

I am so excited to try to implement tasks.  I think this book really gave me a way to make them a productive use of class time.  My goal will be to implement at least one task per unit.  And in July I plan to continue to develop my units, learning targets, and lessons...so I will begin selecting tasks :)  

During the year I plan to create a task binder where I keep a record of the tasks I use, the strategies we find, my monitoring sheets, and other notes.  This will help me to stay accountable and to have evidence of what I have done throughout the year.  

One more thought...the book gave a flow chart for The Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol.  I plan to use this as I plan each task, but I will likely modify it to make it more usable to me in my lesson planning.  Don't worry, I'll post again as I plan my first task!

-Kathryn

#MTBoS30

30/30

Thoughts after Year 1 of ISN

After a full year of using interactive notebooks in Algebra, there are three main things I want to work on doing better in the upcoming year.

1.  Hold students accountable for them

I chose not to include the notebook as part of the students' grades for several reasons.  One being that I use standards based grading, and I feel like a notes grade would be more a compliance grade than an understanding grade.  The other is that I teach about 90 Algebra students each year.  That would be a lot of notebooks to check.

I had told students that I would hold them accountable because when they asked for help the first thing I would do is ask them to take out their notes.  If they did not have their notes completed, then they would have to complete them before I was willing to help them.  I did OK at this, but I must not have done well enough, because even at the end of the year students were frustrated when I was making them copy notes from earlier.  And this actually meant that some students just stopped asking for help. :(  Not really what I wanted...

My notebook--no papers sticking out :)

Student notebook--lots of papers that should be glued in :(

My notebook--filled out TOC :)

Student notebook--empty TOC :(

My notebook--worked out problems :)

Student notebook--answers with no proof :(

In discussing this with the Algebra 2 teacher at my school, she suggested some accountability in a different way.  She recommended that I require students have their notebooks completed for the unit before I allow them to take the unit test.  I tried this with a review assignment later in the year and it didn't work out well, less than 50% of students had it completed on time... But she thought if I started with this at them beginning of the year students would come to expect it.  I know that I need to hold students accountable, but I'm not set on this as the way...however I do know that I could make this work.

I envision checking notebooks the day before the test while students are working on review stations.  Doing a 100% or 0% check like Sarah Hagan does (see here) would hopefully make the checking process faster.  If students do not have their notebooks complete I warn them that they must complete their notebooks before the test tomorrow.  When we start the next day I pass out tests only to the students who have completed their notebooks.  Other students must get on a netbook and work to update their notebooks.  If they don't get it done in time, then they have to take the test on their own time (before/after school) another day.

Like I said, I'm not sure this it what I'm going to do, so I would like feedback on this idea, please :)

2.  Be more organized 

One of the reasons why it was hard to hold students accountable was because I did not have a good organization system in place.  I figured out a decent system right before 4th quarter started, but I didn't share it with the students because I wanted to see how it would work.  It worked well enough, and with a few adjustments I think it will work great.  I shared some of it here.

I plan on including a monthly calendar on my bulletin board instead of writing on the folders, I can write on the calendar.  This will help if students want to see something more than a few days in the past.  I have a small file cabinet that I will use to store older papers.  I will have to try to organize the file cabinet a bit better than I did this year...I also think I might make one copy of each paper a specific color (ie. yellow) and then students know not to take that one, but to make a few copies first.  (I also want to write the page number that the copies go on before I make copies.  I read of that idea from Type-A Mathland here, and tried to implement it from then on, but mostly forgot.)

One more thing I can do to help make things more organized is to post pictures of my notebook on my website.  This will help hold students accountable, because I only have my one noteboook and when multiple students need to make up notes (or when students want to make them up at home) they will have the ability to get on a computer and view them.  This will be a significant amount of more work, but I think I could choose to do it first thing during my prep each day and I would be OK.

3.  Give more opportunities for student ownership

I was hesitant to have students do reflection activities in their notebooks since I wasn't really holding them accountable for it.  The few times we did do reflection things I really, really liked it.  I think that students were willing to think and process as I was asking them to.  But I need to start out doing those things in the first unit, so students learn to develop those thinking skills.  Here are some examples of reflection-type things we put into our notebooks:

Students had to write own steps for calculator

Students had to finish sentences on their own

Another way that I can give students ownership of their notebooks is encouraging them to use color purposefully.  I didn't encourage this at all this year.  I did it myself, and some of my students did it too, but I think it is something all students would benefit from.

An example of my use of color

So those are my goals for next year...hopefully I can handle that :)

-Kathryn

#MTBOS30

25/30

Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck

I just finished reading Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck and before I choose my next book to read, I want to make sure I do a thorough reflection.  That way I will have put in some effort to actually process the book and allow it to best affect my life.  These are essentially my notes.  I would highly encourage you to read the book.  It will affect both your teaching and your outside life.

That was written approximately a week ago...I haven't gotten much farther in my reflection, so I decided "thorough" was perhaps an inappropriate goal.  I need a book to read tomorrow (and I will not have internet), so I'm going to write a short summary...

Mindset refers to the way that you approach challenges and learning.  There are essentially two different mindsets, but it is not a dichotomy.  It is more a scale.  And it is not a set, constant distinction.  A person may exhibit one mindset in one case and the other in a different setting.  But for the purpose of the book, the two mindsets are presented much more separately than they may appear.

One is called the fixed mindset.  When a person has the fixed mindset, he/she feels that the ability to do/know ________ is set in each person.  That causes people to see failure as something that cannot be overcome and may give up.  People who are in a fixed mindset feel threatened by challenges because it shows their lack of ability.

The other mindset is called growth mindset. When a person has the growth mindset, he/she feels that the ability to do/know ________ can change based on how hard a person works.  That causes people to see failure as something that can be overcome through a lot of hard work.  People who are in a growth mindset feel that challenges are a learning opportunity, and relish a good challenge.

Bottom line:  our students need to have a growth mindset in order to do the most learning.  Everyone will achieve more with a growth mindset than a fixed mindset.  That is why this book is important for everyone.

-Kathryn

#MTBoS30
24/30