Let's teach for mastery -- not test scores

Key Points:

The traditional academic model groups students together by age and perceived ability and all learn at the same pace.  No matter what grade a student receives on a test , the whole class will then move on to the next subject, a more advanced subject that's going to build gaps  

in knowledge

Sal Khan believes students need to be given the option to practice a piece over and over again until students master an idea before they move on to a more advanced one to avoid creating gaps in knowledge.     

Game Based Learning

A MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAME (MMOG) WITH SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) TOPICS FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM.

https://www.radixendeavor.org/ from the MIT Education Arcade, a research group at MIT.

I just signed up for this research project/game-based learning opportunity. Its a game that teaches math and biology concepts for middle and high school. They teach through exploration which supports the strength of the subjects being taught rather than drilling facts for points which is a more common style of game-based learning. The research and game are from MIT. Teacher registration has to be accepted but I have mine now. I am anxious to see what it has to offer.
I don't think this is a targeted audience, but I am curious if this type of game would be good for kids with ADHD since they can often focus pretty well in in rich multimedia environments like computer games.

High School Math Curriculum

In this video, Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover, the author brings to light a flaw in the current math curriculum. While a little old, March 2010, this author suggests that math teachers need to allow students the ability to actually think when working through math problems. This video seems to be for anyone who is willing to think about the ways math curriculum could be changed. Even though this video is a little old, I feel that the authors points are still valuable. Lastly, here is the link!

Flipped classroom: Southridge High students learn lessons at home, do homework in class

Flipped classroom: Southridge High students learn lessons at home, do homework in class
Published in The Oregonian on March 25th, 2015
By Wendy Owen
http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2015/03/flipped_classroom_southridge_h.html#incart_river

I listened to this on the way home from class last night.  It affects both gen ed. and sped teachers and has some good insight to common core in Oregon.

Working with One iPad

I really liked how this teacher has found a way to use her only iPad in her classroom. She uses an app called "Show Me" to write math problems on it then pairs students up. She has a student who is strong in math teach their partner how to do it on the iPad. Then the other student does a similar math problem. The teacher then saves it and gives it to another pair of students while the rest of the class does a worksheet or a similar task on paper. I thought this would be relevant because not everyone has access to a classroom set of iPads or laptops and this was a creative way to include tech in the classroom with limited resources.

Can Sal Khan Reform Education in America?

Alex Wagner
"Can Sal Khan Reform Education in America?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/04/the-khan-academy-and-educ_n_844390.html
The Huffington Post
April 11, 2011

Sal Khan has created an website (http://www.khanacademy.org/) with extensive videos (2,100 to be exact) and 100 self-paced exercises translated in many languages to assist children with mathematics.  This website was recommended to me by a co-worker at Bank of America whose kids were having trouble with math.  Once they started using Mr. Khan's website their math problems went away.  I was a little skeptical about it, but once I started seeing him appear on TED videos and being promoted by Bill Gates (which may or may not be a good thing) I started to pay attention to Khan's Academy.

As the article points out what Mr. Khan is doing (assisting with math) is not new, but he has found a way to make learning math easy to do, easy to access and something that will benefit both the student and the teacher.  And Mr. Khan points out people cannot just rely on his videos, but capable teachers are needed to provide one-on-one time with their students and to be technically savvy so to effectively use the program.

As we talked about on Saturday this website is not intended to replace teachers or to be used for technology's sake, but is a useful tool to assist and engage kids that either do poorly and/or are not engaged in math.  And if there are no computers in school the videos can be handed out on memory sticks so the videos can be used at home.  This is a very useful program and who do we have to thank for it?  As Captain Kirk once famously shouted, "Khan!!!!"

Old School Math

“The Way You Learned Math Is So Old School”
NPR, March 5, 2011

Topic: Elementary math is being taught in a much different way than in the past.

Summary: Less emphasis is being placed on arithmetic than in the past. Even though “arithmetic is the gateway to algebra”, elementary math lessons are being taught differently and are now geared towards teaching students to think algebraically at a very young age. “There is nothing elementary about elementary mathematics education.”

Intended audience: Teachers, parents, general public.

Key Points:

• Students are being taught math in a way that makes them think algebraically at a young age.
• Often, parents don’t understand even elementary math homework, because it is so much different from the way they were taught as kids.
• Everyone is capable of understanding math and kids are brilliant!

Relevance: I know only a few of us are going into elementary education, but I thought this piece was really interesting. I took a couple of elementary math classes over the Summer/Fall at Portland Community College and noticed many people struggling with the ideas and methods. I think the way I was taught and the way kids are taught today was a mix of the “old school” and the “new school” methods. Good to remember as teachers that parents might not always be able to help students with some of what we may perceive to be easy topics!