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?

CMP3/ Curriculum, Standards-Based Grading, School Visit, Math Club, Spring Electives

Some things that have been on my math & art teacher mind lately...

CMP3/ Curriculum

I love teaching algebra!  It is truly where my heart is.  I am finishing up Moving Straight Ahead with my 7th graders and I think next year I'm just going to skip 8th grade and do Algebra 1 with them because it's so much more fun.  I love teaching slope and graphing and equations!

My 6th graders started Covering & Surrounding this week and I am getting more comfortable with what I can skip.  I'll also be doing the 7th grade package design project with them and have parents come in for their final presentations in the beginning of March.  Variables & Patterns will be our last unit before the state test in April, so more algebra!  Yay!

Standards-Based Grading

My independent PL cycle is going to be on standards-based grading.  I am hoping to start small this year, and see what works for me so I can fully implement it next year.  I've gotten some good input from the Facebook group that I've joined.

School Visit

Next week I'll be visiting the Brooklyn School of Inquiry with my AP.  I hope it is a productive visit and that I get some good ideas.

Math Club & Other Math Stuff

My Math Club is in the middle of their Gold-level project for the National Math Club.  I am looking forward to seeing their final presentations next week.  I've never been a gold level club before, which is kinda cool.  I also launched the St. Jude Mathathon this week, and the kids seemed interested.  Turn in has been slow so far, but I am optimistic.  I also told my 7th graders about the 2016 MoMathlon competition in April, and there is some interest, so hopefully we can get a team of 5 together and compete.  I've brought students to the Bronx one for a few years, so I know it's a great experience.  I'm waiting for the pi5ny competition to open up for this year so I can finally bring kids to that for the first time.   

Electives

The Math Club elective will end at the end of March, and I am thinking about what I should do next.  I could do a shorter Math Club elective with new kids, or I was thinking about meditation/ yoga, or maybe photography... decisions, decisions...  

Formal Observation Feedback

Only have time for a quick post tonight...

Formal Observation Feedback
I received my AP's feedback from my formal observation earlier this week: Effective in 1e designing coherent instruction, 2a creating an environment of respect and rapport, 3b using questioning and discussion techniques, 3c engaging students in learning, 3d using assessment in instruction, and 4e growing and developing professionally; and Highly Effective in 1a demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy, and 2d managing student behavior.  In addition to component-specific feedback, my "glows" centered around activities, assignments, and discussion techniques.  My "grows" and next steps centered around instructional materials and resources.

Being that this is my first year teaching in a G&T school, a personal goal of mine is to visit another middle school G&T math classroom, specifically to learn how to better structure class time and curriculum, so that all students are engaged on intellectually challenging material.  I think a key component of this will be a move towards standard-based grading, where students are working on different material, while mastering the content.  My next 7th grade unit is on statistics and probability, and since I feel more comfortable modifying the 7th grade curriculum than the 6th grade, I think I may change up my current class structure.  I also signed up for a 6-week online PD from the NY Hall of Science on Design Thinking, which I will hopefully be able to get ideas on.  I also started applying to G&T certification programs for the summer.  I also began looking into NCTM conferences, Math in the City programs, NYC Math Project programs, and Math for America programs.  Must continue growing because I want to be the best!