#MTBoSBlaugust - Summer of Collaboration

 

Summer is quickly winding down.  I've been home since March, which feels like both a long time and no time at all.  Funny how time is like that...

As I look back over my summer, I honestly don't have a lot to show for it from a physical realm.  All the cleaning I normally do didn't happen.  The home projects I hoped for never happened.  The trips and fun get-aways I try to do were off the table.

But mentally... whew, let me tell you that mentally, I did a lot! :)

This was the summer of collaboration.  Which is kind of fitting since I went to an international conference on teacher collaboration back in February.  Gosh, that seems so long ago.  Eating in restaurants... Chatting with friends.... No masks...

Anyway, back to this summer's collaborations...

EdTech Collaboration:

This spring caught us off guard, but we made it through.  At the beginning of the summer, our numbers were holding fairly steady and we figured we would start in person with a pivot to distance for part of the cold/flu season.  We didn't want to be totally caught off guard again, so some friends and I decided to start looking at EdTech tools... which led to an EdTech FB group for our schoool... which led to Google Meets twice a week to explore and discuss said tools.  So starting the first week of July, we've held Google Meet meetings with teachers from our school to talk about various tech tools that we used, such as EdPuzzle, Flipgrid, G-Forms, various quizzing tools, various screencasting tools, etc.  It was extremely valuable to learn from teachers who have used these tools in the classroom and it was really neat to hear how these tools are used in various subjects and how I could adapt them for math.

MTBoS Collaboration:

I don't think I can even count the number of MTBoS Collaborations that happened this summer!  So far this week, I've had the chance to be involved in two amazing ones - the Saturday sessions (see the notes document here) and today, I was able to participate in a fabulous Zoom session about whiteboards, collaboration, and how to virtually do a VNPS.  I love watching this community band together because "Together, we are better" :)  As an extension of the MTBoS, I'm pretty blessed to have some great AP Stat people in my life and most of this summer, each Tuesday night has been reserved for a wonderful PLC time with some other AP Stat teachers.  This has quickly become my favorite night of the week as we talk about the challenges and work together to figure out how to teach AP Stat remotely.  

MIST Collaboration:

My next / newest collaborative venture is part of the MIST (Mathematical Immersion for Secondary Teachers) program, where teachers get together to do math and learn together.  I've never done something like this, so I'm really excited about it!  In February, I had the chance to meet the researchers behind this program and when I asked them about their research, the first question they asked me was, "So, have you ever heard of PCMI?"  Umm, yeah!  PCMI (Park City Math Institute) is an immersive math experience in Park City, Utah, but it also requires you to go live in Park City for a month of your summer, so it's never been high on my list because I don't really want to give up that much of my summer and I really like sleeping in my own bed.  So when Dan and Matt told me about MIST, I was sold!  I love the idea of doing math and still being able to sleep in my own bed at night! :)  The MIST Cohort will be starting this week and running every other Thursday night until Dec 17 and I'm so pumped about it!  If you'd like to learn more about MIST, click here:  http://mist.edc.org/
If you'd like to learn more about this fall's cohort, click HERE
If you'd like to join us, you can register at http://bit.ly/mistfall2020 

So while summer is over, the learning continues.  I'm so glad to have had the experiences this summer and so excited to see what happens next!  But most of all, I'm so glad that I have the opportunities to learn from and with this amazing community!!

#Made4Math - Normal Distribution Cards

When you've been gone for a while, it gets harder and harder to write a post. I don't know why that is true, but it is! This year, I've taken on more administrative responsibilities and as a result, I've been working my tail off! I'm afraid to open my reader because I know I've missed some amazing posts by the MTBoS, but it is just so overwhelming! This week is Fall Break and I'm SO READY FOR A BREAK! :)

But I did finally have time this weekend to create a Made4Math post, so that's a good thing, right? :)

We're working on Normal Probability problems in AP Stat right now. This is one of those topics that kids just need lots of practice and I love this activity since it is self checking! There are 18 problems total and the students start with the answer side up. They flip over a card, work the problem, then find the answer in the answer pile. Flip over that card and work that problem and repeat. :)

If you would like the file, get it HERE :)

Maybe with Fall Break this week, I'll have a chance to catch up! Have a great week!

New Preps.... and the search for collaborators!

For this next year, I will be teaching two new preps and now that it is July, I guess I should start thinking about them!

Prep 1 - Intermediate Algebra

Over the past few years, my district has noticed more students struggling with Algebra 2 for various reasons. Our first intervention plan involved enrolling the students in an Algebra Lab class, which meant that weaker students were enrolled in 2 hours of math a day. This was good for some students, but with only 6 hours in a day, increased graduation requirements, and some really awesome elective options, many students that needed Algebra Lab were not enrolled in it.

To combat this issue, particularly as we transition to CCSS and increased rigor in the standards, our Math Curriculum Specialist pushed for an Intermediate Algebra class to replace the Algebra Lab program. The course is designed for sophomores and juniors who have completed Algebra 1 and Geometry, but are not ready for the rigors of Algebra 2 quite yet. The students are expected to enroll in Algebra 2 the following year.

We will be using the "Bridge to Algebra 2" textbook below:

Honestly, I'm really excited about teaching this course. The text we have chosen is very hands on and seems to be project/problem based. I have the freedom to build the course and there is no end-of-course standardized exam. (YAY!) I would like for the class to really help the students make connections, have fun with math, and really apply what they learn.

However, I'm also a tad nervous! I've never taught in a problem based setting. How will I adapt SBG to this course? How will I structure the class? I've searched for other schools doing something similar and have come up mostly empty. I'll be working with students that don't really like math, which is okay, those are the kids I love. But that can be another difficult hill to climb alone. :(

If you know of anyone teaching a similar course or using this text, PLEASE let me know, either in the comments or send me a tweet (@druinok). If you are just interested in helping me figure out it, that would be awesome too! :)

Prep 2 - Forensic Science and Data Analysis

You know that moment when you realize that you are piloting not one, but TWO brand new courses that no one has ever taught and then you think to yourself.. "Self - YOU ARE INSANE!!!" Yeah, that's where I am right now :)

My building was built to foster math/science collaboration, which means we alternate Math/Science in an effort to open lines of communication, etc. When they assigned us rooms, they tried to pair up people based on curriculum in order to help this collaboration. Of course, as a Statistics teacher, I had the luxury of being able to collaborate with just about anyone, but I already had established partnerships with the AP Environmental Science teacher and the AP Biology teacher, so I was placed near them in order to continue the collaboration.

So earlier this year, the APES teacher, who also pioneered our Biotechnology program, and I were talking about how cool it would be to team teach a class someday. She mentioned that often in their science classes, they gather some really cool data, but often times just tell the kids to "look! how cool!" and move on to the next unit. From that discussion, we brainstormed a Forensic Science and Data Analysis course. We presented it to our curriculum specialists, then to our principals, who helped it get approved by our district. It will be a one semester course, with a pre-req of Biotechnology and Algebra 2. The two of us will team teach it during the same hour with about 50 kids total. Thankfully, we have classrooms that open up to each other via a huge doorway in our shared wall, so that the management of 50 kids won't be too difficult (I hope!).

I should probably admit here that science is NOT my strong point and I'm terrified of teaching science, but I think the class will be awesome! Thankfully my district is sending me to a forensic science workshop next week, so hopefully some of my fears will be alleviated! :)

Pretty please...
If you know of ANYONE that teaches courses like these, please send them my way! I need some major help getting things together before school starts! :)

Math/Science Partnership - part 2

I have to admit, I'm so glad September is over! For most of the month, I felt so overwhelmed and behind and unable to catch up.

Anyway, the AP Env Sci (APES) teacher and I were able to get our students together to do the Quadrat Analysis activity. On the first day, we all met in her room as she talked about what QA is and why it is useful to scientists. I jumped in a few times to ask my students why we wouldn't want to take a census and what kind of sampling method QA was for us. Then we split up into groups of 4, with each group having 2 APES students and 2 Stat students. We gave each group a map and a yellow square of acetate and they were off to collect their data. They dropped the acetate 10 times, recording the species found in their sample. After their 10 trials, they found the average for each species, then multiplied by a conversion factor to find a population estimate for the land area. Finally, the groups put their data into a Google Form.

On Day 2, we started out in my room as I discussed the analysis that we were going to do. From the previous day's G-Form, I had compiled the population estimates for the 16 species on the map and each group was going to have one species to analyze. This proved to be a great review for my students on how to make well-done graphs, write descriptions, and test for outliers. Each group was given an 11x17 piece of paper to make a mini-poster for their species. The posters were then displayed for our Open House festitivies.

Overall, I was happy with how our first collaboration went and I think the students walked away with a better knowledge of how the course content overlaps.

Math/Science Partnership

One of the goals for my high school is to develop a math/science partnership to help students make connections between the content areas. The commitment to this goal can be seen in our new building, where math and science classrooms are side by side rather than in different wings, as in a traditional facility. This opens up some unique collaborative opportunities for us since I now have daily access to the biological science teachers and the activities/labs they do in their classrooms.

Enter the AP Environmental Science (APES) teacher. She and I have collaborated before and actually took a week long workshop together last summer in an effort to see where our curriculums collided. Stat has the unique ability to fit in with so many curriculums that I could easily tie into just about any teacher's lesson plans if I truly tried. Anyway, earlier in the week, the APES teacher came to me with a lab she was doing that involved Chi-Square tests. Ultimately, the idea behind her lab was Natural Selection - the ability of a predator to find and kill their prey and the ability of the prey to hide from a predator. Her students had taken 3 types of beans and spread them into two differing habitats (aka the sidewalk and the grass) and recorded which prey was killed in each habitat. They organized the data into a table and that's where the Chi-Square Test came in. Now, I don't get to Chi-Square until April, but I had just finished contingency tables and segmented bar charts, so I was pretty bummed to miss out on such a neat collaborative activity.

Today was test day, so I went over to my APES neighbor and asked her for a copy of a couple of the labs she had mentioned so that I could read over them and jot down notes for next year. During our short chat, she mentioned another lab that she said she would find and bring over to my room. Low and behold if she didn't show up with this map:

With this lab, the students have to count the species of plants to determine the potential environmental impact of the plants. My students have already been through the idea that a census isn't usually practical and is oftentimes inaccurate. We have also discussed the different random sampling methods used to generate data. This lab will let them see a real example of cluster sampling and using that to estimate a population parameter. They will drop the yellow acetate square 10 times, count the various species in the square, find the average of their 10 trials, and then use a conversion factor to estimate the population parameter. The next day, each of my student pairs will get the data for one species, have to display it in both a histogram and boxplot, and then describe the distribution of their species. I'm thinking this will be a great summary of the material we've covered thus far.

If you have any other ideas on how to integrate math and science, please leave it in the comments... We're in the baby steps phase right now, but eager to learn more!