Everyday Math

I've really tried to diversify the blogs I am reading. Most of the posts hitting my Google Reader are literacy or policy focused. I find that to be a little funny, as I have always been stronger mathematically than verbally (as much as I am strong verbal/linguistic person- I don't shut up!). Over the past two weeks I have been looking for good math blogs.

The one that got me thinking today was Exploring Mathematics Around, which reminded me a little bit of using Voicethreads in the way that it inspires conversation around images. At any rate, that got me thinking about math in my own life... (dy/dan is also really good!)

• You're at Costco and you want cereal. You'll eat either the Cheerios or the Honey Bunches of Oats. Both are tasty, but which is cheaper? Well Cheerios is $6.99 for 49 ounces, while H.B.O. is $6.95 for 48 ounces. Where do you get more bang for your buck?... How about comparing whether to get sugar at Costco versus at Fred Meyer (i.e. bulk vs non)? It can seem like splitting hairs, but we're in a recession!
• You've just run 15 miles in 1:28:30, and you are planning to run a 15K and a marathon (26.2 miles/42.2K) in the next 3 months. Assuming your fitness stays the same, and you ran the same pace for both of those runs, how would you finish? Would a 10 mile run in 54:00 yield the same results or different?

I use math everyday, and I am not sure I ever really considered that I would. It isn't just shapes but mental math and calculations we do on a daily basis.

Telling Stories

An interesting story was told to me by someone in another teaching certificate program. It goes like this... The intern was crafting a science unit for their student teaching, all the while the master teacher was planning to get a science kit for that same student teaching quarter. Hmmm.. Seems like a lack of communication.

That leads me to another point, how do universities ensure that master teachers are good models for the pedagogy they promote? How can universities be sure that these teachers are solid communicators as well? What exactly are their mechanisms for following up? I wonder (out loud of course) if universities shouldn't be more involved in selecting these teachers, and ensuring that the relationship leads to the growth of solid pedagogy. How prevalent is lack of followup that I perceive?

In a perfect world... I would like to see universities having their field instructors, or the school principals watching a lesson with the intern. They can then point out what the teacher is doing, and how it is evidence of good pedagogy for the intern. Additionally they can then evaluate the teacher at the same time. Another idea would be to interview each master teacher. By and large they receive a small stipend... shouldn't you interview for said position? Those are my 2 cents, take them for what you will.

How did you learn to read?

"How did you learn to read?"- Jack
"My mommy taught me."- Ben
from Lost last week...

Why is that on here? Well, aside from the fact that I enjoy the show, it gets at the idea of readiness to learn. I heard that quote and laughed! Not everyone learns to read in school. One of the big things in recent years has been readiness for school and readiness to learn... didn't we come out of the womb ready to learn? Weren't we learning before we hit elementary school? I understand the notion that there are different systems when it comes to home and school, but the idea that you need to be "ready to learn" to be in school ridiculous. Schools need to be ready for kids.

Social networking, but not with kids

I just read a day or two old post over at Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech. The post was in relation to an article in Wisconsin that was banning teachers from connecting with students via social networking websites (ie Facebook). To me it is an interesting dilemna. I see why schools would want to limit out of school contact between students and teachers, particularly in light of the many teachers getting themselves in hot water.

I am also reminded of Deborah Meier's In Schools We Trust, with the primary notion being that schools and students need to be connected. We have worked hard to disconnect students and schools/teachers. When it is after school hours kids aren't to be alone in the school, for fear that they might steal something or they might hurt themselves (and the district/school would be liable). But isn't it a positive thing that kids are at school and not on the street? How about connecting with a teacher and not with a stranger? Doesn't this also break down the walls of connectivity, giving students a chance to get help when it is convenient to them?

100 Days and Counting...

This week has been busy. I was observed on Monday, which also happened to be 100's Day. During the literacy time on Monday, I provided small group instruction that I had to follow-up with more instruction on Tuesday. I gave a math lesson and a science lesson on Tuesday too.

100's Day was great. I was surprised with how well it went. Students worked in cooperative groups in order to come up with 100 words. Sounds easy right? Well it went long, as kids got really interested in finding interesting and cool words. How awesome is that? I called an audible and had them share out when they were half done with their group sheets, and called them up to the butcher paper to write down their words. The result is seen below... I was excited about it!

Science in My Life

One of the assignments for my Teaching Science course is "Pictures of Science in Your Life." Back at the start of the course we classified how we felt about science at different points in life (ES, MS, HS, College, Post-College). When it came to Post-College I just felt ambivalent, largely because I didn't make the connection between science in my life. I run, which is physiology and physics, but I considered it to be more math than anything.... how about the mountain goats pictured to the left? Nah!

What a difference a few weeks makes. Taking the time to consider what science was, and how it infiltrated my life, I was able to see the many ways I encounter science (and largely for the better). I am not sure I really thought about habitats while I was hiking, but I was fearful of a possible encounter with a bear. This made it clear that the world is inhabited by many things other than humans. What is there just depends on the habitat! By the way... I was very scared of the mountain goats as they have horns!

Post of the Week!

In between watching the Ok Go video and checking my Google Reader, I found a fantastic blog post at Learning is Messy. The blogger, Brian, blogs with his students and is going to start a "Post of the Week" for their class blog. Why is that important? Well I just see how integral the idea is to getting kids to think about their own writing. You might say, "well they are thinking about other people's writing not their own." Ah but there is where you get into metacognition. Once they start thinking critically about the writing of their peers, even if it is just what they liked and how it was layed out, they start to take away ideas that can be applied to their own writing. If you are just simply writing and not thinking about your audience, then why even publish? I can't wait to bring that into my future classroom!