Creating a Connected Math Classroom - an NCTM Reflection

 In October, I had the opportunity to visit Washington, DC to attend the NCTM annual conference.  I'm blogging through some of the sessions I attended to help me process and reflect.

On Friday, I was excited to attend Rebecka Peterson's session.  I've known Rebecka for many years and I've had the chance to hear her speak before, but I think her NCTM talk was the best one I've heard yet!  Rebecka is a math teacher in my town and a dear friend... she also happens to be our National Teacher of the Year!  Rebecka's talk was on Creating a Connected Math Classroom and it fit so perfectly with Tim Kanold's session Teaching with Heart and Soul!  

Rebecka started her talk with a quote that always makes me think of her - "Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day."  (You can click here to read her daily classroom reflections on the One Good Thing blog.)  One of the things she mentioned that stuck was that the more time we take to notice the good, the more good we will notice.  This reminded me of the cognitive idea of "frequency bias", where once  you start looking for something, you see it everywhere.  

The big theme of Rebecka's talk was Connections.... Connecting to our students, to parents / guardians, to the community, to ourselves, and to others.  

With students, she looks for ways to get to know their stories.  A few years ago, Rebecka started scheduling individual time for students to come in and introduce themselves to her and tell their stories.  I admire her so much for this as that idea of scheduling 150 individual blocks seems so very daunting, but also so very powerful.

She also mentioned parent connections through daily emails home as part of her "daily good things".  I have done this in the past as well and it is super powerful.  I got away from it a bit over the past few years, but I need to get back to it.  In HS, parents don't always hear about the good stuff going on with their kiddos, so it's a great thing to be able to share that good news with them!

She also mentioned the impact of building community in your classroom - of students knowing how much they are loved and cared for.  Little things like recognizing a birthday or the end-of-year traditions can really help to build that culture of caring.

Some of these ideas I've borrowed from her over the years, such as the holiday ornament, but others I'm definitely stealing moving forward!  I love the idea of playing soft instrumental music and the thumbprint canvas - I really wish I had started that idea as a new teacher!  Another idea I want to steal... I've had parents ask me to sign a copy of the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go" at the end of the year, but I never thought about turning that around and having my OWN yearly copy for each student to sign!  What a brilliant idea!  (Are there any other book suggestions for this?)

She also talked about connecting students to themselves... having them reflect with things like their own One Good Thing journal or weekly exit tickets.  I used to be really good with those, but time and energy gets away from us... I need to get back to it!

One of the ideas I loved was her daily menu of activities, including the Tuesday Tips like sharing an easy cookie recipe or adulting tips like the gas tank arrow on your car.  

Rebecka also mentioned how important it was for us to connect to ourselves, which reminded me a LOT of Tim Kanold's Quadrant II time.  

One question she asked us was "What matters to you?", then ask ourselves how we can incorporate that into our weekly routine.  

This was definitely one of my favorite sessions of NCTM because it gave so many practical and doable suggestions for how to build community in your classroom.

#MyFavFriday - Long Short Week

This is the post that almost wasn't.

This week was the longest short week in history, I think!  It was emotionally draining, filled with meetings, and had the most roller coaster weather.  Seriously - it was 70 degrees when I left my house on Tuesday morning and my car was iced over when I headed home on Tuesday evening!  Add in all of other crazies of teh week and I didn't think I had a lot to say today to celebrate the positives, but then @pamjwilson challenged us all to post #onegoodthing on social media to remember something that went well this week, which is the accountability push I needed.


My Favorite Strategy of the Week:

Monday was our last PD Day of the year.  One of the science teachers and I gave a presentation on "How do you know what they know?  Formative Assessment Strategies for the classroom."  We had planned to share 10 strategies total and quickly ran out of time!  Our goal was to share high-impact strategies and to make the session very hands-on, where the teachers would actually experience the strategies first hand, increasing the likelihood of them using the strategies in class.  The "warm-up" activity was for each group to create a "KWL" chart (minus the L) of what they already knew about FA and what they wanted to learn during our session.  It was such a fabulous way to use a KWL - I was able to see what they already knew about the topic as well as see if their personal learning goals aligned with our presentation goals.  KWL is a strategy I don't use much with students, but, for this context it worked perfectly!


My Favorite Student Kindness of the Week:

I have the BEST students and truly love my job.  One of the reasons I love working with teenagers is that they are just so quirky and fun and I love watching them grow into adulthood.  During Forensics on Thursday, we had started our DNA unit and were talking about genetic traits when the topic of being a "taster" came up.  Apparently there is a genetic trait of being able to taste this certain chemical (PTC) and if you are a taster, it's extremely bitter.  My science co-teacher gave us all a little piece of paper to test if we were a taster.  Mine tasted just like paper, so I'm not a taster.  My co-teacher went on to ask the class about the taste of brussel sprouts and asparagus because those vegetables have PTC and will be very bitter to tasters.  I mentioned I had never had either one, so one student decided to make and bring me some brussel sprouts for lunch on Friday so I could try them!  It was just such a sweet gesture on her part and I really appreciated it - plus I got a yummy lunch out of it! :)


My Favorite Student Comments of the Week:
From a student I've had for two years:  "Mrs. T, you're always SO upbeat and happy!  How much coffee do you drink?"

From a student on Thursday after freezing rain on Wednesday and me lecturing them about driving home safely:  "Look, Mrs. T!  We all made it to class safely today because you told us to!"


My Favorite Student Note of the Week:

One of my Geometry students decided her Geometry quiz needed a bit of decoration and positive affirmation this week.  In case you can't read it, it says "Pretty Corner - where everything is beautiful and failure isn't an option!"  Then an arrow and "Words of Encouragement".  This student has had her struggles in math in the past, but she's done pretty well in Geometry.  She takes drawing breaks every so often on her quizzes / assignments, but this is the first one I've seen with words of encouragement.  I hope her own words make her smile the way they did for me.


My Favorite Whiteboard Use this Week:

In AP Stat this week, we have been learning the logic of hypothesis testing.  It can be very overwhelming at first because of all of the requirements and the technology usage.  At the last minute, I decided to print out calculator screens for the students to label and have on their tables as we went through some practice problems on the whiteboards.  I really love the increased whiteboard use in my classroom, but I need to find a super cheap source of pens... those suckers get expensive fast! :) 


So now I pass on Pam's challenge to you.... what is your #onegoodthing from this week?

Happy (late) Friday y'all!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope each of you had an amazing day filled with treats and lots of love.

This was probably my favorite Valentine's Day in years and it all comes back to mindset!

Back in January, I saw a link on Facebook to this picture / blog post / pin:

 

Source:  Pinterest

The idea was that each day, starting on February 1, you should put a heart on your child's door with a reason why you love them.  I loved this idea, but I don't have children of my own.

But I do have 130 students every day that walk through my doors and every one of them is a blessing to me.  So I decided to do this with my students instead!  I shared the idea on Facebook and several other #MTBoS friends joined in.... so much fun!! :)

Here's the completed board (and shout-out to hubby for the header!):

Here are the reasons I put up each day:

1.  I love that you aren't afraid to try new things
2.  I love our High Five Fridays!
3.  I love how talented you are! (Music, Art, Drama, Academics, Attitude, and so much more)
4.  I love that you help each other!
5.  I love that you don't give up, even when things are challenging.
6.  I love that you are willing to make mistakes and "be wrong" because that's when learning happens!
7. I love that you are willing to take risks!
8. I love that you are kind-hearted toward your classmates!
9. I love to watch you grow and learn over the year, both in math and in confidence
10. I love that you show respect for yourselves and each other!
11. I love that you are comfortable enough to tell me when you aren't sure about math.
12. I love that you can make me smile / laugh everyday!
13. I love that you have a positive attitude, even when I ask you to step out of your comfort zone!
14. I love that I get a chance to play a small role in your lives.

This was one of the best things I've ever done in my classroom because it really made me focus on the positive qualities and  remembering my why.  Mindset matters!  When you focus on the positives, when you remember to find the joy in what you do each day, the rest of the junk just kind of fades away.


I had so much fun doing this in my classroom that I ended up doing this for my husband as well!  Each day I snuck around the house to put a heart-shaped post-it note on his computer monitor with a reason why I loved him.

I'd definitely recommend trying this next year, or if you don't want to wait, then do it for March and Saint Patrick's Day.... "Why I'm LUCKY to be your teacher!" :)

Making a difference - One Good Thing

Shoutout to Glenn Waddell (@gwaddellnvhs) - a friend of mine from Nevada.  Glenn and I struck up a friendship over our mutual love of teaching AP Statistics.  Thank you, Glenn for encouraging me to try this strategy!

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There are only 4 more Fridays in this school year.  Part of me is happy and excited for Summer Break, but a huge part of me is sad because that means there are only 4 more 'High Five Fridays' left in the school year! :(

If you've been around the #MTBoS for a while, you've probably heard about Glenn and his High Fives.  If not, go read his post here or watch the Global Math Departmet webinar.

Glenn first shared his idea at #TMC15 and I quickly heard about it through all of the live-tweeting.  I mulled it over and dismissed the thought almost immediately.  I am a VERY introverted person and putting myself out there in the hallway to high five my students was extremely intimidating.  My kids would never guess how introverted I really am because I can fake it pretty well in the classroom.  However, the hallway was a totally different matter!  Through a ton of encouraging tweets, Glenn talked me down from my fears and I agreed to try it out on Fridays during the 2015-16 school year.

I.LOVED.IT

My kids loved it too!

It's hard to be in a bad mood or frown when you are getting a high five... just sayin' :)

But this year (2016-17) is where I've really seen the power of the High Five.

There's a young lady that I've seen walking down the hall this year.  I don't know her, I don't have her in class.  In early March, as she walked by my room, she shyly asked "Can I have a High Five too?".  This has continued each week until last Friday, and I did not see her.  On this past Monday, she was back and as she walked by, she again asked very shyly for a High Five.  I said, "Of course!  I missed getting my High Five from you on Friday!".  Her eyes brightened and she went on down the hallway to her class.  Yesterday, I wasn't in the hallway yet, I was standing just inside my door with a student and as this young lady walked by, she reached into my room with her hand held up and said "Happy Friday, Mrs. T!"

It's amazing how one little thing can make such a huge impact on a person's attitude as well as classroom culture.

Overwhelmed

You know that point where you really don't know what to do anymore?

I'm there.

So much about this year has just straight up been overwhelming.  I'm grateful for friends and family that support me, because without them, I don't know where I'd be right now.

But, then something happens to make you realize why we do what we do.

After school, yesterday, a friend convinced me to leave school for a bit and go relax, chat, and share a plate of fried pickles (YUM).  While there, I received a phone call asking when I'd be back at school because a former student was looking for me.

Long story short, a student that graduated 7 years ago came to track me down at the restaurant to personally deliver a wedding invitation.  I felt so honored that this young lady, whom I've only kept up with via social media, wanted me to share in her special day so many years after the fact.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why it is all worth it.

#OneGoodThing