Assignment – Purchase (buy or lease) a Vehicle

A couple of years ago, I created an assignment where I asked my IB1 Studies students to use the information they had learned in the finance unit of the course to purchase (buy or lease) a vehicle (car, motorcycle, etc.) and instead of the usual writeup, I asked them to create a commercial, to sell their vehicle to me and the other judges.

Well, some turned out pretty good, and one in particular was quite memorably horrific and made me look sheepishly at my colleagues and sigh at the student.  It also gave me an opportunity to reassess, reflect and move forward with the assignment in the future if I should desire to use it again.

Below, is the kind of commercial I had in mind when I created the assignment.  Maybe I needed to be more explicit in my instructions?

Vicious Cycle of Assessments

I think sometimes students think we make tests and because we intend to torture them.  This is not true.

As teachers, we understand that assessment is necessary – projects, problem sets, labs, quizzes, tests, exams – the combination is endless and yet, the final exam is inevitable.

This year, I got to experience something I’d actually missed.  The sight of students writing exams in a gym, the seriousness of it, the dedication, the sweat beads on their temples as pens scribble furiously across paper booklets attempting to squeeze out every ounce of information they’ve shoved in the brain.

I’m so impressed by the boys – they don’t have issues following the rules, they arrive on time, they read the instructions and sit in the correct rows, and they write.

I do believe though, that some of them are still learning how to study properly – to learn whether they are group studiers, or solo studiers, studiers to music (edm, lyrical or classical) or pin drop silence, whether they study in their rooms, or at the kitchen table with easy access to food.  I think a lot of them still have yet to figure this lesson out.  However, many still have time, so they’ll get there.

However, I return to my point as a teacher – once we create the assessment, and the student completes it under the designated circumstances, we then have to mark.  I am always amazed at how tall the pile of marking becomes, especially around exam time.  I have resorted to late nights, Coca-Cola and marking at my best friend’s house to stay on task.  Sometimes, it seems unending.  Sometimes, I laugh when my red pen runs out of ink.  Other times, I curse the marking and really wish it would be over.

Regardless, it is a vicious cycle of creating, writing and marking assessments.  In case you were still wondering boys, it’s not always fun for us either as teachers.

You’re assigning a project?

I’ve learned a lot of lessons this year (some of which extend directly from teaching at a boys school), and as I find time this summer to reflect on them, I’ll pause and take a moment here and there to share them with you.  Some will be serious, others in jest or humorous, but all are intended to be reflective.

Let me discuss assigning projects.  My boys, especially my younger students, get SUPER excited when you tell them that we’re going to work on a project, so much so, they actually stop listening to the instructions.  There is always a moment at the end when I stop my explanation and ask something along the lines of “are you ready?” and then I get this look…

And then all I want to do is sigh and scream at the same time…because then the questions start.  All of which I’ve just explained.  My patience is tested.  My students’ ability to reason and use common sense is put to the test.  In essence, we are all pushed to the limit and we all pray that it all turns out ok in the end.

 

Superhero Infographics

• Layout of text and graphics on these Superhero infographics for Mashable, sponsored by Samsung.
• The illustrations were done by Bob Al-Greene (@bobalgreene with art direction from Nina Frazier (@ninafrazier).

 

Communicating with Colour

This year, I experienced something I don’t think I’ve ever noticed or even given much credence to because no student has ever mentioned it to me.

I was giving a Calculus lesson on sketching derivatives. I drew the graph in blue, then walked through the steps, making notes in red followed by the graph of the derivative. I then did the same with the second derivative using a green marker.

I didn’t think anything of the lesson – completely normal, structured, good process and colourful pointing out the key aspects of what I was trying to get across.

And then, I was forced to face the fact – one of my boys is colourblind. He kept asking which graph I was pointing to, and when I responded with the colour and probably seemed confused as to why he was having trouble. That’s when he had to tell me he was colourblind.

Now, that was news – but what came next was more important for both of us. I had to figure out how to explain the concept a new way, a way separate from and didn’t rely on colour. I had to do something that enabled my student to understand despite the unusual exceptionality he possessed. It is also now something that I keep in mind when I teach, to remember that maybe in the future I will have more students with the same exceptionality, and hopefully I will do my best job to meet their needs as well.

Beauty of Mathematics

While some of us are born with a greater ability and propensity to view the world through a mathematical lens, this lens can be developed and honed by everyone with practice. We practice this skill frequently in our math classes by offering students images and video of everyday life and asking them to address it through a mathematical lens. While they may not all become brilliant mathematicians, our hope is that developing this mathematical lens will enrich their lives.

To be able to see the world and know that it can be represented in mathematical ways gives our students another perspective, similar in ways to the artist’s eye, that adds meaning and perspective to life. Anyone who develops a math lens is likely to envision solutions that are not obvious to others and may understand the workings and complexities of the world in greater depth.

I’d consider this to be a fantastic introduction to the SL Exploration, a way to show students the beauty of mathematics.

Batman Math

This fun little infographic was put out by Mashable recently. Now, I am a huge Superman fan, but what if I brought Batman into my classroom?

Add to the fact, that if I had a friend in Economics, I’d definitely get them to help me with currencies and inflation (that’s the IB Studies course), real estate, prices of consumer goods, and innovation.

Batman’s Increased Cost Of Living, 1939 vs. 2013

• The Batcave: was $5,600, now $54.4 million.  That’s a 9,714.28% increase.
• Attire: was $10, now $303,000. A 30,300% increase!
• Transport: was $600, now $79.5 million. A mere increase of about 132,500%.
• Have we included inflation on this stuff yet?!
• Gadgets (which have, admittedly, greatly increased in number): was $243, now $88,100. An increase of only 362%!

An article from Scientific American

Click on the link…it’s a truly nerdy read!

Scientific American

Getting Extra Help

I teach math. That means that a significant amount of my time outside the classroom is spent giving extra help. Giving extra help and answering student questions is never the issue, because hopefully they’ve come in having tackled the work and are struggling. They’ve taken the initiative to do the work, to question and to seek assistance. That part I think is great.

What drives me absolutely bonkers is when a students comes in and the interaction goes out like this:

Student: Can you help me?
Teacher: Yes, what are you having trouble with?
Student: Everything.

Or the alternate classic example:

Student: I missed class. Can you teach me the entire lesson in 15 minutes?
Teacher: (wide-eyed silence)

The video below captures a similar interaction to the ones I write of quite truthfully. Enjoy.

Projectile Motion – what goes up must come down

The overarching MYP unit question we are trying to answer is “Does what go up have to come down?”

Our tenth graders have been studying quadratics (a function that follows a parabolic path) for the past month. A quadratic is a function that follows a parabolic path, basically a smooth function that goes up, reaches a maximum height and then comes back down. The question we hoped to answer at the end of the unit, was how do we take the lessons about quadratic equations that we’ve learned and apply them to real life?

The grade 10 students used their knowledge of quadratic equations and creativity to build catapults for launching gumballs. By measuring the path of the gumball, students can create equations that model the path of their parabolas. Once everyone had an equation, the math teachers set up a target challenge. The goal was to now use their equation to determine whether or not they could hit the target.

This was a real opportunity to see the creativity and engineering skills of our students, as well as some good old competition!

Until the next launching…

building catapults

deciding on a catapult design

teaching moment

testing catapults before competition