How powerful is the "power of 17?" I'm not really sure. Right now it doesn't really have the feel of a solid collaborative learning community that I had envisioned when we set out on a mission to create the ultimate class. Today was a great example of just how all over the place we are.
A group of students who initially detested the rules of exponents used to simplify expressions did an amazing job on their quiz to demonstrate their knowledge. At the same time, Ladon took a nap and completed two of the questions and Torian turned in his quiz while demanding to be switched into a different class and proclaiming, "that's it! I give up on math, I'm done." It was certainly a volatile day (not unusual).
Of the 17 or so kids in the class a handful received a grade of "In Progress" on their quiz, which means that they're showing some understanding, but they're not quite there yet. Rather than review the quiz with the whole class and bore the majority with information they already know I decided to split the class into groups. Iaisha volunteered to work with a small group of kids who are struggling with the quiz material while I took the rest of the class so that we could move on with our learning.
It was great because everyone's needs were being met. Everyone that is except for Ladon who was sleeping, Torian who has "given up on math" and Bonnie who ditched for nth time in a row. In one class period you can experience such a variety of successes and failures. It's really amazing how volatile the inner-city teaching profession can be. On the positive side you have a group of students choosing to work with a student leader to clarify their confusion. You have another group of kids ready to move on and learn new material (in this case we've just begun looking at how to use exponential growth to make money). On the negative side you've got one student who's done, another who's sleeping and one more who's way more into her own personal life drama then getting a high school diploma.
Today the "Power of 17" was more like the Power of 12 or maybe 13, but I guess one could argue that we still have the power and that's not so bad in and of itself.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Hip Hop and Math (4/14/08)
Learning the rules of working with exponential expressions can be a tedious learning experience. 7 properties ranging from what to do when multiplying powers with the same base to how to handle negative exponents. Although not terribly difficult, there's certainly nothing inherently engaging about developing your skills around how to handle (x^3 * x^5)/x^4. As a result, I decided to come up with a way to really get the kids going on learning these properties.
Our kids love music. Whether it's hip hop, alternative, or Latino, they just really seem to love music. As a result I thought why not bring music into the classroom? What if the kids were asked to take a song that they really like and change the lyrics to teach the properties? That was the task I assigned the kids. Making sure you use all 7 properties we've learned change the lyrics to teach the listener how to use the rules.
The beauty of teaching is that just because an idea sounds great doesn't mean it will actually work. As I discovered for the umpteenth time in my career. First of all, my assumption that because my kids love hip-hop means that they could produce hip-hop lyrics was false. Putting the constraint on them by saying your song needs to teach the properties of exponents became too much of a daunting task for many groups. Creating rhythm and rhyme with a set amount of material really is tougher for students than I anticipated. In addition, it takes a long time...something that we are always worried about in the teaching profession. If it's going to take a while then it better be a valuable experience that ensures the learning outcomes are being met. In this case, as two days passed, I realized that it was too much time for too little learning. Like recognizing when to take a loss on a stock that's continuously dropping it was time to sell. I scrapped the project.
As disappointed as I was that the groups were unable to really come up with some amazing songs I was pleased to see Ladon and Torian really take to the challenge. Moving into their third day of writing they have been fully engaged in the activity and it seems as though this project suits their interests and learning needs. We know that all kids learn differently and enjoy engaging with materials in different ways. It's clear that these two appreciate the musical side of things and are able to transfer their knowledge into meaningful lyrics. I'm really excited to hear their final version. If you're curious, their song choice was the rap song that starts "I wish I was a little bit taller...I wish I was a baller..." They're new version starts with "I wish I was a product of a power...it took my nearly an hour..."
What did I learn from my mistake...
1.) Just cause kids love music doesn't mean they all want to create it. The same holds true for video games. Just cause kids love to play them doesn't mean they all want to learn how to make them. (False assumption)
2.) An activity like this one can be really powerful for some, and therefor should not be put in the closet just because it didn't work for everybody. In the future, I should just make it an option in a list of many choices on how students can demonstrate what they know.
3.) As one of my more astute students, Jamel, suggested to me yesterday afternoon, I should have started the activity later on when the kids had more familiarity with the rules and how to work with them. "Hey Mr. Singer, we should have done this after we were already comfortable with the properties...it would have been easier to work with them and write lyrics about them." He was absolutely right...it's far easier write about things you know.
As teachers it is essential that we experiment in our classrooms with any ideas that we believe will further engage students in learning. Sometimes our experiments work and other times they fail, but that doesn't mean we stop experimenting.
Our kids love music. Whether it's hip hop, alternative, or Latino, they just really seem to love music. As a result I thought why not bring music into the classroom? What if the kids were asked to take a song that they really like and change the lyrics to teach the properties? That was the task I assigned the kids. Making sure you use all 7 properties we've learned change the lyrics to teach the listener how to use the rules.
The beauty of teaching is that just because an idea sounds great doesn't mean it will actually work. As I discovered for the umpteenth time in my career. First of all, my assumption that because my kids love hip-hop means that they could produce hip-hop lyrics was false. Putting the constraint on them by saying your song needs to teach the properties of exponents became too much of a daunting task for many groups. Creating rhythm and rhyme with a set amount of material really is tougher for students than I anticipated. In addition, it takes a long time...something that we are always worried about in the teaching profession. If it's going to take a while then it better be a valuable experience that ensures the learning outcomes are being met. In this case, as two days passed, I realized that it was too much time for too little learning. Like recognizing when to take a loss on a stock that's continuously dropping it was time to sell. I scrapped the project.
As disappointed as I was that the groups were unable to really come up with some amazing songs I was pleased to see Ladon and Torian really take to the challenge. Moving into their third day of writing they have been fully engaged in the activity and it seems as though this project suits their interests and learning needs. We know that all kids learn differently and enjoy engaging with materials in different ways. It's clear that these two appreciate the musical side of things and are able to transfer their knowledge into meaningful lyrics. I'm really excited to hear their final version. If you're curious, their song choice was the rap song that starts "I wish I was a little bit taller...I wish I was a baller..." They're new version starts with "I wish I was a product of a power...it took my nearly an hour..."
What did I learn from my mistake...
1.) Just cause kids love music doesn't mean they all want to create it. The same holds true for video games. Just cause kids love to play them doesn't mean they all want to learn how to make them. (False assumption)
2.) An activity like this one can be really powerful for some, and therefor should not be put in the closet just because it didn't work for everybody. In the future, I should just make it an option in a list of many choices on how students can demonstrate what they know.
3.) As one of my more astute students, Jamel, suggested to me yesterday afternoon, I should have started the activity later on when the kids had more familiarity with the rules and how to work with them. "Hey Mr. Singer, we should have done this after we were already comfortable with the properties...it would have been easier to work with them and write lyrics about them." He was absolutely right...it's far easier write about things you know.
As teachers it is essential that we experiment in our classrooms with any ideas that we believe will further engage students in learning. Sometimes our experiments work and other times they fail, but that doesn't mean we stop experimenting.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Stop Pushing Me So Hard! (4-3-08)
Although not a part of the Power of 17 I feel compelled to share a story from yesterday.
After two consecutive days of receiving a completely "nasty" attitude from one of my female students I felt the need to ask why. I had enough of "you're not my mommy or daddy...don't tell me what to do...don't ever talk to me again." Here's how the conversation went.
Me: Hey _________, what's going on? Be honest with me. I don't think I've done anything to you to deserve the kind of treatment your giving me. So what's going on?
Student: You really want to know?
Me: Yeah, come on...we have a relationship, tell me what's up.
Student: I'm sick of you pushing me.
Me: What?
Student: I'm sick of you expecting so much from me and challenging me so much. You push me too hard.
Me: (a blank stare with the thought "are your f'n serious?")
Never in my long, illustrious career (just kidding, this is my 5th year) have I heard a student say something like that. "Don't push me so hard!" What am I supposed to do? When I have a student who I really care about who isn't achieving or isn't working to their potential it is my natural response to say "hey, let's get it going...let's make it happen...come on, you can do this...I believe in you." I've always looked at my job as wearing multiple hats. One of which is that of a cheerleader. I'm not just here to teach or facilitate learning, I'm also here to motivate and encourage. Maybe when I'm working with this particular student I'll have to take that specific hat off and be sure just to teach. God forbid I encourage her to achieve great heights and pressure her to be successful.
The more I think about it the more I realize that I assume too much. Not every kid is motivated in the same ways, and this particular student gave me a great wake up call to this understanding.
After two consecutive days of receiving a completely "nasty" attitude from one of my female students I felt the need to ask why. I had enough of "you're not my mommy or daddy...don't tell me what to do...don't ever talk to me again." Here's how the conversation went.
Me: Hey _________, what's going on? Be honest with me. I don't think I've done anything to you to deserve the kind of treatment your giving me. So what's going on?
Student: You really want to know?
Me: Yeah, come on...we have a relationship, tell me what's up.
Student: I'm sick of you pushing me.
Me: What?
Student: I'm sick of you expecting so much from me and challenging me so much. You push me too hard.
Me: (a blank stare with the thought "are your f'n serious?")
Never in my long, illustrious career (just kidding, this is my 5th year) have I heard a student say something like that. "Don't push me so hard!" What am I supposed to do? When I have a student who I really care about who isn't achieving or isn't working to their potential it is my natural response to say "hey, let's get it going...let's make it happen...come on, you can do this...I believe in you." I've always looked at my job as wearing multiple hats. One of which is that of a cheerleader. I'm not just here to teach or facilitate learning, I'm also here to motivate and encourage. Maybe when I'm working with this particular student I'll have to take that specific hat off and be sure just to teach. God forbid I encourage her to achieve great heights and pressure her to be successful.
The more I think about it the more I realize that I assume too much. Not every kid is motivated in the same ways, and this particular student gave me a great wake up call to this understanding.
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