Praxis, UFT Conference, NY Teacher Leadership Summit, e-Portfolios, What's Been Going On In My Classroom...

Wow, I cannot believe that it's been more than a month since I posted on here!  How did May get away from me like that?  Well, the wonderful news is that it is June and lots of stuff has been going on, so here it goes...

Praxis
I passed the Math Content Knowledge Praxis Exam!  As part of my applying to Math for America, I had to take it, and I'm not going to lie, it was work.  I even recruited my old math tutor, and fellow MfA teacher, to tutor me.  I spent at least an hour (or more) every day I could to study and my hard work paid off.  I took it in April and did not get a passing score, so May was my last chance this year for MfA.  I felt much better during the May test - I paced myself better and I got to use my own calculator.  I wasn't able to get my score right after, so I had to wait two weeks to get it, and last Friday I got the wonderful news that I passed.  Now I wait until June 17th to see if I get an interview, and I am optimistic.  I have grown so much as a teacher this year, and think I have a decent shot of getting into MfA if I can get an interview... stay tuned!  Studying and taking the Praxis exam reminded me of something mathconfidence mentioned during the NYC Math Project Conference, two weeks ago about the importance of putting yourself into the mindset of a student.  Studying for this test was hard and took time and effort (and failing the first time), and it reminded me of what it feels like to be a student, and for that experience, I am grateful.

UFT Teacher Leadership Conference
Looking forward to attending the UFT Teacher Leadership Conference this weekend.

NY Teacher Leadership Summit
Our team got invited to the NY Teacher Leadership Summit later on this month! I am so excited to partner up with Teaching Matters again and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues to bring our idea into our school next year.  Speaking of Teaching Matters, now that the Praxis is behind me, I can focus on earning micro-credentials again, which was on the back burner while I was studying, so I am looking forward to that.

iLearn & ePortfolios
I attended an awesome PL given by one of my colleagues last week on blended learning and I will be trying out e-portfolios through iLearn with my students before the end of the school year.  ePortfolios has been a goal of mine for a while, and I am excited to get my feet wet with it.  I am lucky that she does a great job with it and was willing to share her knowledge with me and help me bring it into my math classroom.  Speaking of PL, I am looking forward to this Algebra 1 PL at this awesome school right up the block from me next week, so I can hopefully get some great ideas for next year.

What's Been Going On In My Classroom
My 6th graders have been exploring social justice issues, specifically the Wealth of Nations and looking at the ages of US Presidents (which I have done with 7th graders in the past).  I have been incorporating articles into as much as I can, such as this one from CNN.   On Friday they will continue looking at Presidential data and work on this activity from Illuminations.  Right now, the plan for their final project will revolve around the essential question "What data can you collect that will help understand or improve our environment?" and them creating a survey and analyzing their data.

My 7th graders took the January Algebra 1 Regents yesterday and explored Tessellations today.  Instead of doing Filling & Wrapping with them (which I have done in the past) I decided to focus on parallel lines cut by a transversal and some of the problems from Thinking with Mathematical Models.   My goal for the end of the year is to also have them play around with Desmos Marbleslides, because it looks awesome.  Teaching 8th grade Algebra 1 next year will be a new challenge for me, but I am looking forward to it!  

One thing I am looking forward to doing with both grades during the last full week of school is the Week of Inspirational Math.  I wanted to do it last year, but just so drained by the end of the year, I hope I can make it happen this year because I think it could be awesome.  Another option would be Fractal Challenges, which would tie in nicely with the work my 7th graders have done with tessellations.  Decisions, decisions...

My Harry Potter elective has been fun doing transfiguration (charades with play-doh) and Harry Potter anagrams, and doing some neat Scholastic activities.  Only two more meetings before our end-of-year feast.

In Visual Art, last week my students studied Takashi Murakmi and designed their own skateboards decks and will begin their final piece of the year, their Keith Haring Social Justice Poster.  I gotta say, I was terrified to teach art at the beginning of the year, but it has been fun teaching (and learning about Pop Art) overall, especially since I was able to revise my curriculum twice (this is our third semester of art, each being 10 weeks long)

2016-2017 School Year
I have been adding to my Favorite Math Resources and as a result, have begun planning for next year.  Lots a good stuff to build on from this year!  This week last year, I was invited to demo a lesson at my current school, and man, what a difference a year makes!

Engineering Design, Harry Potter, and Growing Professionally

Wow, I cannot believe that has been over a month since I posted on here.  Mid-winter recess is behind us and we in the middle of probably my least favorite month of the school year.  March is long, state testing is right around the corner, grades are due, and the end of the year just seems so far away.  I've been busy, but productively busy as opposed to overwhelmingly busy, which is nice.  Not every day has been good, but there has definitely been some good in every day...

6th Grade Coke Engineering Design Project
So my 6th graders have been working on their engineering design projects where they had to come up with a new box for Coke that was not the same as the original 3x4 and 2x6 can configurations.  They had to come up with a rationale why their box was the next big thing, both a net and a 3D model of their package, accurately calculate the surface area and volume and cost of their package, and come up with a pitch to present their ideas with visuals and enthusiasm.  It was a two week project that they worked on in both their math and science classes and between yesterday and today both classes gave their presentations to their classmates and about 25 parents and adults.  The parents acted as "representatives" from Coke and had questions and eventually picked the "winning" design.  This was a fantastic project and I was so very lucky to have the support of the science teacher and my co-teacher.  I was so proud of my students and got to see so many of their talents.  They enjoyed working on it, and the parents really appreciated coming in to see their kids shine.  I also learned a lot from this experience, and got many ideas for other project-based learning opportunities.  I hope to do something similar with my 7th graders for their current unit on statistics and probability.

Math Museum Field Trips
Tomorrow is my first of two field trips to the Math Museum this month. Tomorrow I am going with my 7th graders and in two weeks I'll be going with my 6th graders.  I am looking forward to and I think they'll have a good time exploring Mobuis strips, plus the weather has been so nice, we should be able to enjoy a nice lunch in the park afterwards.

Math Competitions
Next month, I'll also be taking two different groups of students to two different math competitions, the 2016 MoMathalon and the Girls Math Olympiad.  I was also looking forward to possibly going to Pi5NY this year, but I have another engagement that day, so maybe next year.  

Ten Marks Math Madness
Ten Marks Math Madness began again this week and interest has been OK.  We are taking a break from Khan Academy, which will be a nice change before the state test next month.  I am hoping that once my students see the week 1 standings they will be motivated to try for the grand prize, a class set of Amazon tablets, which would be awesome.  We'll see how they do....

Service Learning
My advisory will be volunteering with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen later on this month as part of their service learning project.  I am proud of them for picking a huge topic like homelessness and finding a way to give back.

Harry Potter Elective
Our current elective cycle is coming to an end at the end of the month, and I think I want to take a break from Math Club.  I was thinking about doing meditation/ yoga or photography, but some of my 6th graders asked me if I'd want to do a Harry Potter elective, and I told them I'd think about it.  Well, they were very persistent, sending me several documents that they created outlining inclusive activities, rules of conduct, and even a schedule.  So I did some of my own research (here, here, and here) and submitted a proposal to my AP and it looks like I will be a headmistress next month for our first Harry Potter elective and I am kinda super excited about it.  I will definitely be sharing more details as it develops.

Growing Professionally
One of the reasons I changed schools last year was because I felt I wasn't growing anymore.  Despite being Lead Teacher for the past two years, my thinking was stagnating, which is never really a good thing.  One of the best things I did was take on the new challenge of finding a new school to force me out of my comfort zone, which I am happy to say has worked.  So what next?  Well I finally started my application for the Summer Institute for Gifted Certification, which will get my my G&T certification, and I am also applying to the Math for America Master Teacher Fellowship for next year.  I went to an info session a few weeks ago, and I just had stars in my eyes!  Math for America sounds like an amazing organization to be involved with and I want to be amazing!  I started my application for there too and even signed up for the math Praxis exam next month.  I won't hear anything until the summer, but I think I have a decent shot of getting in.  I want this!  Lastly, I was also inspired by a former colleague to sign up for EdCampBROOKLYN next month.  It sounds like really amazing teacher-led PD, so I am looking forward to that.

So lots of good things happening and lots of good things to come!  Like I said before, every day may not be good, but there is some good in every day.  I am very lucky that I am in a place in my life where I can keep growing and learning.  Isn't that what education is all about?