Student Surveys

After seeing several posts from others out in the Math Twitter Blogosphere about doing student surveys, I decided to give it a go myself. I rushed to the library to book the computer lab. To my surprise, it was open the next day. I looked at a survey from Julie Reulbach, and I created my own survey using her questions.

Before going to the lab, I instructed students to be honest with me and assured them that the survey was anonymous. I was really interested in seeing the data so that way I could help improve myself as a teacher and prepare future students for my classes. The data showed that most students thought I was understanding, graded fairly, wanted them to succeed, and explained the topic clearly. So, I was somewhat content with that. I had an outlier on the lowest end, but I still respect their opinion nonetheless.

I asked students what I could do to explain topics more clearly. Several students suggested more games, projects, and hands on activities, with which I definitely agree. A few students said to spend more time on concepts. I agree with this, however, the state standards make that very difficult due to the volume of standards and the lack of time. Many of the students rated me a 3,4, or 5 on having interesting lessons, and my data was somewhat normally distributed on the challenge level of the class. I also asked students what they could've done to be more prepared for this class, and some said doing a review of Algebra I before diving into Algebra II, and several said "nothing."

Quite a few of the students said that I should keep letting students play trashketball, keep my positive and engaging attitude, and keep being a savage (which is evidently a compliment). Students said that I need to slow down (with which I agree), give more free time (definitely not agreed), and playing more trashketball. Several students suggested that I assign less homework, even though I might assign 10 problems per week at most outside of class. Some suggested more free time, although I said that nor extra credit were options I was willing to start doing. Students said I needed to stop being so uptight, to stop apologizing for everything, and "letting turds talk a lot."

Now, its time for the moment you have all been waiting for, from the mouths of teenagers themselves. Take it away, kids.

What should I stop doing? 

 How would you describe this class? 

What advice would you give to future students? 

What is one word you would use to describe this class? 

-For those of you who do not know, Alex is my girlfriend, and my students (for some reason) are obsessed with my personal life.  It's amusing nonetheless.


Hope you have enjoyed!

Which One Doesn't Belong Project-Day 1

After discovering the gem that is Which One Doesn't Belong, and writing a blog post about WODB, I knew that I eventually wanted my students to create their own as a project. Now that state testing is finally over, it is nice to be able to finally present this to the class. I had thought about ideas on how to structure the project, but I was still short on some ideas. I came across this tweet from Mishaal Surti, which gave me some inspiration. I created a document that included a rubric as well as some ideas from the tweet that is linked above.

Students were allowed to pick their partner, and we headed to the computer lab. I told students that they needed to look at examples of WODBs, which we also did before heading to the computer lab. I then instructed students how to create a Google Doc to insert images and equations. I required students to use their own interests to find four items that one could argue do not belong in a set and also required them to justify using some type of mathematical reasoning. I was really impressed with what some of my students created.

Before you look at the projects my kids created, take a look at the Google Doc I created with the assignment and the rubric.

Shapes and angles. Which One Doesn't Belong? 

Items at Chipotle. WODB? 

Cereals. WODB? 

Various graphs. WODB? 

Car Brands. WODB? 

Fast Food Restaurants. WODB? 

Symmetrical Superhero Logos. WODB? 

Money. WODB? 

Exponential and Logarithmic Functions. WODB? 

Cities. WODB? 

Various Equations. WODB? 

Musical Notes. WODB? 

Since there are several field trips today, I was unable to let my geometry class present. However, I had enough kids in attendance in my Algebra II classes, so I went ahead and let them present. I really enjoyed listening to their arguments and reasoning of their peers' projects. I definitely recommend this project for a one to two day assignment. Feel free to comment if you have any questions.

Teacher Appreciation Week

The first week of May is designated as Teacher Appreciation Week, which I tried my best to take advantage of and to reflect on what I do as a teacher.

On Monday, I was supposed to work a baseball game, but it was rained out. Then I met up with a former colleague and student to work on a project. By the time I got home, it was 7:30. Let me add that I live two minutes from my school. Also, we did class registration with our advisory groups, and I have freshmen (rising sophomores).

On Tuesday, the school bought us biscuits from Hardee's across the street and some fruits. Then I found out through Twitter that Chipotle was doing BOGO burritos! Burritos are one of my favorite foods, so my girlfriend and I went down to Oak Ridge to the closest Chipotle. We even got the guacamole! Even better, two of the workers at Chipotle were students of mine, and they even did his and hers burritos.

Over half of my class was gone on Wednesday, so we went outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air. Then I had to go help set up for the yearly educators' banquet for the local education association, which was held at the local Baptist church. We had to wait for them to get out of church to set up, but as we were waiting, the most beautiful rainbow was in the sky.

In my second block, I got an idea from Sarah Carter about writing teacher notes. I decided that this was a great idea, and I know that my fellow colleagues appreciated it. I even received a few notes. :)

Thursday was Part 2 of my Algebra II TNReady Test, which is our new state assessment, which has had a plethora of issues which may (or may not) be discussed in a future blog post. Just google it. So, after testing, my students and I were both braindead. Thursday night was the educators banquet, and I attended. It worked out nice, and the banquet fell on Cinco de Mayo, which lent itself to a Cinco de Mayo theme. Teaching is a Fiesta of Learning! Haha.

Now it is Friday, let me just say Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all of my friends in the MTBoS and to all of my colleagues!

MTBoS 30: Better Late than Never

Hello All,

Forgive me for the bombardment of posts, but I have been swamped this week. I meant to do one a day, but I just have not had much mental energy.

Sunday was a nice day.  I was able to sleep in, which is a rarity anymore, and then I was able to watch Veep and Curb Your Enthusiasm at my girlfriend's house and rest up for the upcoming week.

Let's take a look at my week, shall we?