So the idea behind this blog is about stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying new things.  But I want to step back and talk about setting up the environment that allows not only myself, but my students, to try these new things without fear of ridicule, embarrassment (ok, maybe a little embarrassment), or negative criticism.  

I think the quote pictured by Dr. Debbie Silver sums it up quite nicely.  Relationships are at the center of everything we do in education. The relationships we build with our students foster the positive classroom environment needed for our students, and ourselves, to take these risks and reap the benefits of trying new things.  My students and I learn and grow together every year, and I work hard to help my students FEEL that – not just know it.

Now I am not the first to blog about building relationships with students.  In fact, I was inspired to write this post after reading a blog post by a fellow classmate and math teacher.  I encourage you to click here to go see her post as she has some great ways to build positive relationships with her students.  I do many of the things she listed to build relationships, and believe they truly make a difference.  

Another thing I have done for the past few years is to write each of my students a personalized holiday card that I hand out a few days before winter break.  It has quickly become one of my absolute favorite days of the year. The students reactions are just amazing. It takes me a lot of time to write approximately 100 cards each year (in fact I haven’t even started mine for this year yet…), but seeing their reactions make it worth it.  

For some other ideas, I encourage you to check out Larry Ferlazzo’s 7-part blog series published on Education Week in 2018.  Click here to see the first post.  

If you are still not convinced of the importance of these relationships, you should definitely check out this short video produced by Edutopia: 

These positive relationships are what I strive for every day.  I’m sure I miss the mark with some of my students. We can’t connect with every person.  But I feel lucky that I have a team of teachers with me that work to make these connections as well.  Between the four of us, I feel like we are pretty successful.  

But back to the point – these relationships are the foundation for risk taking.  When we feel supported and connected, we are more willing to take risks. We lean on each other for support and guidance, and we have the most opportunity for growth.  This is the type of relationship, connection, and community I hope to build every single year. I think I do a pretty good job, but I guess the real proof is in what my students would say.  

I can’t wait to share this blog with them… but AFTER I hand out their holiday cards! I don’t want to give away the surprise.

Do you have any other special things you do to build relationships with your students?  I would love to hear about them. Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

Here I am, only a week and a half into my “flipped classroom” and I already feel like I am failing! Woo-Hoo! Who wants to help me figure it out?

Ok, ok… don’t everyone jump at once. Let me tell you my dilemma first.

In order to keep students accountable for watching the video and recording the notes before coming to class I am “grading” the notes each day. The students are supposed to come in and have them on their desk for me to see while they work on their Warm-Up. After I take attendance, I walk around the room with my class roster and mark 1 point for each student who has it done. Students who did not do the “homework” are to do the video & notes in class at that time. For those students I mark 1/2 point.

Sounds easy enough, right?

But is it really? Is it really fair to give these students a grade for this?

I have a few different ethical concerns that come with assigning a grade for this. First, is the completion of watching the video & recording the notes really a reflection of what the student has LEARNED? I think not. I HOPE that the student is learning the material while they watch and listen to my instruction, but simply copying what I have written does not actually show me any level of understanding. And shouldn’t their grade be a reflection of what they have actually learned?

Second, I have no control over how busy their home life is. This is a huge part of why I am attempting the flipped classroom. One of my hopes is that students who struggle with their math homework would be more willing to watch a video and copy notes than struggle through practice problems. But even so, my students may typically do their homework on the sideline of their sibling soccer practice, or in the car between dance and basketball. With this new “flipped classroom”, I may have actually made their homework less accessible to them.

Or we all ask the question – does my student have internet access at home? In fact, this week one of my students told me that she did not have her notes done because they lost internet over the weekend. She worked hard to get the notes made up at the beginning of class and join in the class work immediately upon completion. But why is it fair to her to take points off when the lack of ability to complete it was not her fault?

Why isn’t there just a “Do this, Not that…” book for teaching?

Any advice? How can I hold students accountable for watching the videos? How can I ensure appropriate opportunities for students to watch the videos? How can I be a better teacher than I am right now? And the most important question of all: How can I ensure my students and I all survive until winter break?

Drop your comments and let me know!

What keeps most of us from trying new things in the classroom?  All the pre-work it would take researching, planning, and organizing? The mindset of, “What is wrong with what we have always done?” or “This is just another fad…”  There are so many excuses, but I think a lot of it comes down to one thing: fear. The “fear of failure” is probably the largest proponent of the status quo. It is also the largest inhibitor of innovation and growth.  

As a math teacher I am constantly fighting the battle of, “I’m just not a math person.”  In an effort to learn more about this mindset and how to counteract it, I have been reading The Mathematical Mindset by Jo Boaler and the insights are eye-opening.  If you ever felt like you “aren’t” a math person, I highly encourage you to read it!  And if it doesn’t change your mind, well then come talk to me and I will bake us cookies to enjoy while we discuss.

I wish I could just have all my 6th graders read the book, but I’m not sure that it would really sink in.  Some of them are very fixed in their mindset! I have been trying to find ways to get them to think about the fixed mindset vs. the growth mindset (which if you haven’t explored that yet, check out this great short video!) and then apply it to their mathematics education.  Some students have started to say they are working on a growth mindset, but I have not seen the impacts of it in the classroom or in their achievement yet, sadly.  

So now I think it is time I start leading by example, hence this blog.  The growth mindset is about understanding that challenges make us stronger/better, and that every bump is a chance to learn and grow.  Like the dominos in the picture, it is about getting back up after we have fallen over a hundred times.  

I have fallen, and fallen hard, while teaching middle school over the past 11 years.  But I have also learned a lot from those times. From classroom management (taking over an 8th grade classroom, in the city, at semester, with ZERO teaching experience was ROUGH!), to planning time management (hello shorter class periods when I moved school districts), and utilizing visual models to represent math (dividing fractions with pictures?!) I have learned quite a bit.  I am excited to share some of the newest things I am trying… and probably failing at! But I will learn from them. Then repeat the process. (Get it?!)

I hope you will come back to hear about some of the things I am trying this year.  As I mentioned, I am working to try to help my students gain a growth mindset in their mathematics education and would love some feedback from all of you about what you have tried and how it worked (or failed!).  Soon I will share with you a project my students are currently working on that was the child of some of the key components Jo Boaler talked about in her book, paired with the little that I know about “Genius Hour”.  I also just flipped my classroom this week and am super excited to see how it will change the dynamic in the classroom – and if it will help increase student engagement, understanding of concepts, and achievement.  

I look forward to sharing with you all my successes – but more importantly my failures!

Learning and growing is my passion, so I am always trying to find something ‘better’. I am hoping that this blog is a place where I can share with you some of the things I try in the classroom – both the BOOMS (mic drops) and the BUSTS (face palms)! The only way we learn is by doing… so I’m here to Try. Fail. Learn. and Repeat!