Professional Development

First off, conferences. I type this post from the lobby of the Sunriver resort after sneaking out of a 1A classification meeting early. Attending conferences can open your eyes to a lot of curriculum and networking opportunities that are out of this world. While I was working with the afterschool program in Mapleton, I attended the "School's Out Washington" conference for afterschool and summerschool programs. I was able to learn about how other programs were run and made connections that I still have.

I'm currently at the Oregon Athletic Director's Association (OADA) state conference. I've been here for a day and a half and yet have networked with people that have changed the way I approach my job. I can't stress how valuable conferences are to your professional development.

The second isn't really an official professional development venue, but Ted Talks has been a resource for technology and policy that I find exceptionally valuable. If you have a chance, watch the talk given by Johnny Lee.

Curriculum Materials and Resources

Department/District (The middle/high school represents the entire district above K-6).

§ Texts

o 7^th Grade Mathematics

o Pre-Algebra

o Algebra I

o Algebra II

o Geometry

o Math Matters I (Integrated I)

o Math Matters II (Integrated II)

o Math 111/112 (Lane CC Articulated Text)

o Math 251/252 (Lane CC Articulated Text)

§ Manipulatives

o Dies

§ 6 Sided

§ Polyhedral

o Pattern Blocks (Several Sets)

o Dry-Erase Grid Boards (8”x11”)

o All Lab Computers are Pre-Loaded with Geogebra

o All manipulatives included with SMART Notebook and Mimio Studio

o Algebra Tiles

o Protractors

o Compasses

§ Virtual

§ http://www.geogebra.org/ - Free Graphing Utility – can be used for constructions, capable of graphing inequalities (will shade properly for you!)

§ http://connectedmath.msu.edu/ Connected Math Project – Great resource for math education at the middle level.

Closure Lesson

Here's my closure on Functions. I did a Jeopardy style review game with my Integrated I class.

Teaching Strengths - I work well with the kids in this class. The relaxed atmosphere is conducive to their learning. I was also able to work through problems where kids had some trouble (or even me in some cases).

Evidence of Student Learning - There were kids that knew answers but were unable to articulate in words. To me, this shows learning process, an understanding that is being built into something that the student can describe. Also, there were some questions where students just knew the answer and it seemed obvious.

Learner Engagement - Because it was such an interactive lesson, many of the students were engaged for the entire time. I believe that I had one or two kids transform into "sloth-like creatures" for moments, but all in all, they did quite well.

Varied Abilities - I didn't really. I need to work harder at doing this. One of my lower performing IEP kids wasn't in class that day. But it's something that I struggle with nonetheless.

Role in supporting Learning - My job during this lesson was to ask questions and make sure that students were able to get to the correct answer. If the group struggled, I was there to help them out, otherwise, I got to show them how much they really knew!

Challenge - This was one of those days where the kids were really amped up. It was odd for 9:15 in the morning, they are usually more subdued. Because I don't really see this much energy during math in the morning, I wasn't really prepared for it. I should have expected it however because of the interactive nature.

Tweak - I would have spent time reviewing the rules of Jeopardy. I oftentimes forget that watching trivia game shows is almost a thing of the past and that these kids have likely only seen an episode or two. It would have also facilitated the game moving a lot more smoothly. Also, I would have tested all of the links in the Power Point. I downloaded the template from Microsoft and there were a few of the links that were either redundant, or didn't work at all. Boo.

Work Sample Video - Linear Functions

I realize that this was supposed to be an "introduction to a topic" video, but I'm in the middle of a unit for the only math class that I teach. In this case it was a lesson that started with a warm-up on solving for solutions of functions.

Strengths: It's difficult for me to pick out any strengths other than the normal, hum-drum, "I get along with my students well...I make a good use of technology..." I've taught linear equations to three different classes now and it's all sort of run together.

Evidence of student learning. When Shawn and Hayley came up to the board and worked part of a problem. I verbally check for understanding throughout most of my lessons as well. I received positive responses during this particular lesson.

All-Learner Engagement - During this lesson, I had eyes on me and the board for the vast majority of the lesson. Students were taking notes and those that weren't were actively watching and able to answer questions. The "I wasn't even texting" around 22:00 was a normal lul, I thought, in a lesson when I was writing a piece up onto the board. The slight humiliation of students in this case did wonders for keeping his phone out of his classroom later on.

Varied Ability - I didn't really do much in this lesson to address varied ability. Other than keeping the instruction as to the point as I could, that is.

Role in supporting learning - I was lecturing on working with liner equations and having students take notes and try working problems as I went through them.

Where I Struggled: The warm-up killed me with the student that didn't understand function notation. I found it odd until I realized that he hadn't done the homework the night before. Must have been an odd day for him as he usually does homework.

Tweak - I could have used the dry-erase grid boards with this lesson to promote more student activity and interaction during the lesson.

Warm-Up Video

Reflection Questions:

1. (Noticed Strengths) I really like using warm-ups as an opportunity for me to get attendance taken and get lessons ready to go. They are also great ways to check for understanding on previous material. In this case, I was able to find that I needed to restart my computer to get my Mimio working. It allowed time for me to figure that out and I still had the regular white board to go over the problems with students.

2. (Evidence of Learning) I think the best evidence of learning that I saw was the student who pointed out an alternative method of doing the problem that we had covered in class the week before.

3. (Learner Engagement) I feel that my students were between mostly and halfway engaged. I think the engagement started to leave after going over problem 2. Sometimes I like to "make mistakes" so that the kids find the mistakes and point them out to me.

4. (Varied Abilities) One of my IEP kids was sitting in the back row and I should be addressing those kids more often to make sure that they are involved. My high achievers are in the front on my right and in the back on my left and right. I could engage these kids a little more often as well.

5. (Role in Supporting Learning) My role was helping to remind the kids of a method for finding percent of change. I offered examples and helped them to work through the examples.

6. (Challenge) The challenge for me was keeping attention for the entirety of the warm-up. It was 11 minutes long. However, I'm not sure that I could get them going with fewer problems. It was one of those hum drum things.

7. (Observed Student Thinking) I noticed that more than one students was trying to use an entire value instead of a difference when entering information into an equation. I suppose that the issue here was getting the student to obtain the correct information to put into the formula.

8. (Instructional Routine Change) I think that I could ask for the answers to the questions first and then have students do the demonstration on the board.

Take This Test

Aaron - Teaching (Video)

Untitled from Aaron Longo on Vimeo.