7/28/15 - How Will You Survive? My Favorite 1st Day of School Activity.

Every year teachers, myself included, struggle with that first day of school activity. As a math teacher I find the first week or so particularly stressful because there is so much material to "cover" in a year. Often I begin the year already feeling weeks behind.  Despite the Sword of Damocles that is high stakes testing hanging over me, I decided to change the way I approached the beginning of the year.

Last year I found a first day activity that I just fell in love with (1st Day of School Activity: Ranking Survival Supplies). It isn't math related, but the critical thinking, communication and decision making skills required are without question.  I didn't do the activity exactly as described (shocking, I know), but overall I was very pleased with the results.

To the best of my recollection, this is what happened during my first attempt with this activity.  I began by showing the beginning of the pilot episode of Lost. For those of you not familiar with Lost, this scene begins with the main character, Jack, waking up in the middle of what looks to be a jungle. He fights his way into a clearing only to be confronted with the chaos and wreckage of the plane he was on.  The scene lasts about five minutes, during which Jack courageously works to rescue survivors, revive the unconscious, prevent premature labor and save two of the shows main characters from horrible deaths, only to have the wreckage of the plane explode in true spectacular Hollywood fashion.

Students were divided into groups of four. A list of sixteen supplies that survived the explosion (first aid kit, knife, flares, vanity mirror, iPhone with 87% charge to name a few) were distributed and students were asked to order them from most to least important in a disaster situation, explaining that they would be required to justify their choices to the class.

I gave the groups fifteen minutes to work, circulated to observe and answered questions as needed. Last year, our first day schedule was a minimum day so I had 35 minutes to take roll, distribute paperwork, work on this activity and debrief.  As you can imagine, it was not nearly enough time, so I ended up settling for groups reporting out on their top five items and why.  I wrapped up the activity by briefly review the suggested ranking provided by the author in the activity instructions.

I ended the first day with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I had tried something new and completely outside of my normal first day activity. Students were excited, engaged and eager to see what would happen next. On the other hand, I felt like things could have gone much better. Given enough time, class time and planning time, I could make this activity so much more than what it ended up being on my first attempt.

So a year goes by and I don't so much as think about this activity. Again, shocking, I know. But Laurie, you say, you have plenty of time to revamp this activity and make it into something spectacular. Not so. Last Wednesday was my first day back with students!! We're on a modified year round schedule giving us just six short weeks of summer vacation. During my pre-service days, I took a look at this activity and decided I wanted to try it again. This time I knew I had an extra 10 minutes to play with so I took the opportunity and made a couple of subtle, but important, changes.

I decided I wanted to emphasis critical thinking, collaboration, independence and communication.
Here's how it went . . .

After I showed the opening scene, I asked students to recall what seems like a rather insignificant part when a fellow survivor, Boone, is attempting mouth to mouth on an unconscious passenger. Jack intervenes, pointing out his ineffective technique and overall incompetence. The inept Boone then suggests finding a pen to "do the pen in the throat thing." Jack, seeing his opportunity to get rid of this nuisance, sends Boone off in search of a pen.

At this point, most of the class giggles, remembering Boone running around asking, "Does anyone have a pen?" I ask if anyone knows what he was talking about. Luckily someone in each class could provide a rudimentary explanation as to why Boone wanted the pen. I shared that this procedure is called a tracheotomy and why it is performed (in 8th grade friendly terms). This opened up a discussion about the intended use of items and how versatility increases the "value" of an item in a survival situation.

At this point, I provide the list of 16 items as before. Students were then allowed to ask clarifying questions about the items before beginning the ranking process. The questions they asked gave me insight into their thought processes. Some common questions were,

"Does the canteen have water in it?"

"How many matches do you have?"

"What is in the first aid kit?"

Despite the extra ten minutes, this was still not enough time to really delve into the activity to the level I was hoping to go. I decided to spend another day on it. 

Then I left for Twitter Math Camp for four days ;-)

My TMC15 experience was amazing. I met so many inspiring people and spent three days trying to survive a zombie apocalypse (which i did - the sole survivor btw) ala @approx_normal and @jdmahlstedt . One thing I took away from TMC experience directly affected how I proceeded with this activity upon my return to school. My big takeaway (Sorry, I don't remember who said it :-( ) is you have to get students thinking before you can get them thinking about math. This idea seems so obvious but I've always felt so pressured to begin the curriculum I didn't take the time to have students practice just thinking critically and expressing their thoughts to each other. I am dedicated to changing that. I was not going to rush through this just to jump into the curriculum. 

Upon returning on Monday, I asked my students to collaborate with their teams to pick their top five items. We reviewed the concept of versatility and students researched items they were unsure about (salt tablets was a stumper), using their iPads.  After picking their top five, each group divided up their items and performed in-depth research as to alternate uses for each item.  

We continued the activity Tuesday. I asked students to convince their teammates that their item was the most versatile, and thus the most valuable to have in a survival situation. Once each team member presented their argument, groups had to come to consensus as to the most desirable item. As you can imagine their was some lively discussions. In several groups, consensus was not possible so we had to settle on compromise.  Teams then planned a short presentation using the Explain Everything app and presented their argument to two other groups, the goal being to persuade others that their item should be everyone's top pick.

The final component of this activity differed drastically from my first attempt. I realized for what I was trying to accomplish, practice of critical think, decision making and communication skills, knowing the author's ranking was unimportant. Instead, I concluded the activity with a whole group discussion and debrief about what students learned.  Many students felt they were better prepared for a survival situation (adorable) but even more felt they were more able to justify their ideas to others and "think outside of the box" (ie. construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of other. Yes!!) Overall, I feel my second attempt was far more successful then the first (and yes, I have some ideas on how to make it even better for next year).

Here are links to other similar activities.

1.) Survival Scenario Games

2.) Lost at Sea

3.) Survival on the Moon

4.) Winter Survival Exercise

5.) Survival, A Simulation Game

6.) Survivor: Practicing Group Deliberation & Decision Making

7/2/15 - How Did I Get Here? My Journey From Teen Parent to Math Teacher

How did you know that you wanted to be a teacher? A seemingly simple question but one, at least for me, requiring more than a few minutes to explain.  This was one of the first questions on my Teacher of the Year application packet. I was asked to write a number of essays covering a variety of topics in education, including a personal biography that outlined my journey to become the math teacher I am today.  Like many of you, my journey into the exciting world of education wasn't a direct one. I didn't know I wanted to be a teacher from an early age. I tried other things, some successfully and some, not so much.  When I began writing this essay, which I have turned into this post, I would have said that nothing out of the ordinary led me here. I just sort of fell into being a teacher.  Looking back, I now realize that there were a number of decisions I made, and experience I had, that put me on my current path.

I have had the pleasure of teaching students of all ability levels, beginning my first year with two Math 7 Collaboration classes of 45 students each and, most recently, teaching FLAGS (Foreign Language and Global Studies) Accelerated Integrated Math 8 and Integrated Math 2.  During these years, the Compact for Success has been in place in my district.  The underlying assumption of the Compact being college is in the future of every student.  I am in awe of a program designed to facilitate a growth mindset in all students, not only those traditionally considered to be college bound.  This was not my middle and high school experience.  In school, despite having a high GPA and taking advanced classes, I never considered what I might do after high school. No one ever had a conversation about college with me.  During the summer of my senior year, instead of finishing up college applications, I became pregnant.  Despite previous academic success, my parents, teachers, and counselors viewed my chances of graduating on time as slim to none.  This was a huge blow to my self-esteem.  It never occurred to me that I wouldn't graduate.

Shortly after the school year began, I was transferred to Garfield Secondary School's Pregnant Minor Program.  I felt like a failure. Embarrassed at being hidden away so no one would see my shame.  Fortunately, this was far from the attitude of the staff and teachers at Garfield.  When I arrived, I had a one-on-one interview with my teacher/case manager, Harriet Thompson.  She told me there was no reason why college would not be in my future.  She made it her goal to help me continue my education by attending our local junior college in the fall. It became clear to me that she was truly interested in me as a person, not just for the few hours a day I was in her class.  She could see my potential and helped me see it as well.  With her help and support, I completed my senior year of high school in three and a half months, earning a small scholarship, which I used to complete my first two years of college.  Without Mrs. Thompson, I don't know if I would have gone to college.  She changed the way I felt about myself and the way I view the relationship between students and teachers forever.  Mrs. Thompson embodied the importance of making connections with students.  She is my role model and the person I think of when I struggle bonding with a student.  

Attending college as a single, teen parent had its own set of challenges.  The stress of balancing my responsibility to my son, Travis, while pursuing an education was overwhelming at times. Top that off with my own immaturity, lack of parenting experience and a variety of family issues and those first few years could only be described as less than ideal. Looking back, I think it was a combination of good friends, luck and stubbornness that got Travis and I through those years. I graduated from UCSD with a BA in Psychology.

Despite having my degree, I really had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up.  While at UCSD I co-facilitated a women's discussion group and was a TA for one of my favorite professors.  I really enjoyed both. Helping people.  Listening to their problems. Offering advice.  It was pretty awesome.  I started thinking I wanted to go into social work so I applied to the School of Social Work at SDSU. I was denied acceptance.  This was a blow to my ego, but I had no time to wallow in self pity. I started looking for work.  I noticed a number of positions available for life skills/job training coaches for juvenile offenders and gang affiliated youth.  I was hesitant, having absolutely no experience in this field, but I needed a job badly, so I applied.  Over the course of the next 8 years I went from one program to another.  I helped my clients find jobs, housing, daycare, transportation, family planning resources, drug treatment, anger management, legal aid, counseling, healthcare, etc.  It was very rewarding, but also very draining. Seeing someone you work tirelessly to help end up homeless, incarcerated, or dead was too much at times. I was reaching my limit.  

A friend, and coworker, of mine was studying for the entrance exam for the teaching credential program. She was really struggling with the math portion.  She failed it 3 times. Her frustration was mounting.  I offered to tutor her in an attempt to help her pass.  I'm not going to say that it was easy, but after many long hours and a couple more attempts, she finally passed. She remarked, several times, that I should consider teaching. I shrugged it off as a statement of gratitude from a friend I helped.  Inside I was thinking, "Me?! A teacher?! Yeah, right!!" I could barely get my 10 year old son to listen to me much less a room full of teenagers. 

A few months passed, during which time I continued working with my clients, facilitating resume and interview skills workshops. This was the hardest part of the job for me.  I hated standing in front of a group and having all those eyes on me. I was so nervous every time I had to do it, I didn't sleep the night before.  I had, and to some extent still have, a fear of public speaking.  I can now admit this was the reason I discounted the idea of teaching.

I don't exactly remember how I decided to enroll in the credential program. I just remember how exhausted I felt every day, trying to pretend I was making a difference.  Couple that with the physical and emotional drain of attending night classes and nurturing my home life. Something had to give.  One evening, my wife, Janet, and our son, Travis, sat me down told me, in no uncertain terms, it was either school or the job. I couldn't do both.  My initial reaction was panic. I was sure they were asking me to quit school. It was at that moment that I realized how much I wanted to be a teacher.  You can probably imagine how how surprised and happy I was when they told me they had discussed it and decided I should quit my job and focus on school. 

I consider myself fortunate everyday.  Janet and Travis are, and have always been, my biggest fans.  They were willing to support me and make sacrifices so I could pursue teaching, a path I wasn't totally sure about at this point.  For two years, Janet and Travis supported our family financially and emotionally by keeping a positive attitude, never complaining and never asking for anything while I studied and studied and studied (and got hypnotized

for my fear and public speaking) and studied some more.  Over the last 10 years, they have continued to be my fan-base.  Grading projects, rescheduling activities around my tutoring an listening, without complaint (most of the time), to my endless chatter about the amazing things my students do or some cool lesson I wanted to try.  They are such wonderful people.  I owe everything I am to them.  I probably don't tell them that enough.