Mathematics+2009

What does it take to be the best school in math? What are the 20 best math schools? How do we become the best math school? How do we integrate math and science? How does that look? How does the future of education look? How would we approach teaching kids if school is closed? > Geometry and Biology project? Physics/ Pre-Cal connections with vectors... Afternoon session: Action Plan:
 * **Hockaday School**- One of her best math students who went on to be very successful, never really liked the class; We are not successful unless the girls are really enjoying the classes. Success is not just performance, it is also enjoying what you do.
 * **Laurel**- Constructivist math department does not believe that all students can attain calculus by the time they are seniors. Expectation of parents is calculus. Conflicting because colleges expect this, but not all students are able to attain...
 * **Jackson, MS**- Suggests doubling up on math classes when students decide to move to the honors level. Summer program is an option if done at the school. **Marymount** in CA does this before students enter school in Algebra I.
 * **Ellis**- offer geometry in the summer program through their school with their curriculum. Unless a middle schooler has an A coming out of Alegbra, she cannot participate in the geometry summer program.
 * Another question: How do you communicate cross divisionally... most say that they do lots of communication at the transitional levels. **Hutchison** says that they have reps from each grade level who sit in on meetings to discuss curriculum, changes in curriculum, adoption, etc. Observing teachers at different levels/ cross divisionally is important. Ellis- lower school math specialist works with students and meets with teachers in the lower school.
 * **Differentiation**- How are schools dealing with developmental differences? **Flexible grouping**...students can be moved up or down at every time. Still a drama with the parents. Parents want the student in the higher math class. Enrichment groups are established without being labeled. The enrichment class does units within the unit. They spend a lot of time talking with parents. Top math student in the end is not always a student who was in the top math class in 6th grade.
 * Catherine takes the freshman physics course with the kids, and she takes what she learns back to her math class. She sees many teachable moments and connections between the two subjects. Nobody currently uses an integrated math and science curriculum.
 * St. Mary's- students have a hard time transferring the understanding of the math concepts to science concepts. We need a way to help students make connections across the curriculum...
 * Integrated math- Basics come back up year after year improves recall. Kids are better problem solvers. Teachers have to be fully trained. Parents have to be educated.
 * Plan with the end results in mind; help students think across the boundaries of a curriculum.
 * Atlanta Girls School- CPM program. Spiraling program. Standardized test scores have improved.
 * Dim Dim- free for up to 20 participants. Audio/ phone lines/ website/ interactive online white board/ online conferencing where you can share your computer screen.
 * Jing
 * Lecture Scribe
 * Imagination Cubed
 * Web X
 * Phillips-Exeter (problem solving)- teaching materials for grades 9-12- integrated math
 * Group really likes the idea of integrated math.
 * Go back to school and meet cross curricularly and cross divisionally.
 * Possibly research and visit schools who use integrated math.
 * Brain based research and backward design lend themselves to using a more integrated format for math.
 * Focus on the process not the content especially in younger grades.

Tell us what your Chinese students said about learning math in China:
 * There are more expectations and they are driven to do well in order to make it in to a specific school.
 * Learning goes on after school as well.

Using calculators vs. using your brain:
 * Rolling dice to practice basic arithmetic skills
 * It was pointed out in Science session that students don't know how to estimate. At Vanderbilt yesterday the science teacher said that the students all seem to want an example and then to repeat the problem. They are lacking the critical thinking. She wants students to jump in to a problem willing to work hard and understand that progress is good and there isn't always a cut and dry question and an obvious solution.
 * Question: after hearing all of this discussion is it better to integrate mathematically or math/science? Text book limitations
 * Cara loves the Everyday Math program philosophically and it has made the math make more sense to the math teachers themselves. Would integrating in the middle/upper levels help math make more sense to these teachers as well.
 * Hock-a-Math: Hockaday uses Singapore Math, Everyday Math, Mad Minutes, etc. They incorporate LOTS of good methods.

Back to the Vandy teacher's comment, how do we get kids to think and encourage them to do so when we were not taught that way? We were taught in a formula/solution style?
 * I work my students' homework but some nights I don't do it so that if the students have a question I am working on the spot. I like to struggle sometimes in front of them as well.
 * I agree, I LOVE to mess up or have to come back to a problem in front of the girls. It makes them feel that it is okay to have to come back and explain it later.
 * I want my classroom to be an environment where it is okay to mess up as long as we can fix it together.
 * I found a college syllabus online and want to show my girls what they are in for. They spend approx. 3 hrs. per week in class but they are expected to spend 3 hrs. on their own for every one hour in class. I want them to see that they will have to think for themselves and learn to read the book.
 * Holton-Arms: does ungraded critical thinking problems and the girls LOVE it.
 * How do we work on using innovative ideas when these kids are going to college where teachers are even further behind? International students seem to do well at American Colleges so maybe it will be great.

What does a 21st century classroom look like?
 * Stack of problems?
 * So much "get it now" mentality and instant gratification that they are not willing to think. We want to use technology but we also want to use it productively and still encourage them to think for themselves. Examples: Math Cache, Recording Lessons on Smartboard (with Audio), Everyday Math Online, MathBits.com, YouTube (when they don't understand or are absent), Sketchpad (Lesson Links) available for all levels - Can take Key Curriculum's Online Course to learn Sketchpad, Algebra in Motion and Calculus in Motion, TI-Activities, IXL.com, WebAssign.net, thatquiz.org, HotMath.
 * One teacher is insisting that Algebra 1 students cannot take notes. She gives them the notes but they are to remain focused. It has been wonderful!
 * Another teacher prerecords pertinent information to read ahead of time (and cuts down the HW).
 * Maybe AP teachers could record lectures to get those extra lectures in. Where do the teachers find the time? It saves so much time in class that is worth a couple of minutes ahead of time.
 * Has anyone read the book The Triple Bind? Outliers?

__11/13/09__
 * mixed responses to whether or not there should be STEM departments rather than individual content-related departments
 * for those against it, a suggestion included having a STEM coordinator/Dean, etc. - someone overseeing the collaboration, activities students could be involved in, internships, etc.
 * issue of time should be considered - have a STEM-focused meeting replace another meeting (i.e. dept. mtg) instead of something being piled on top of meetings that are already required
 * Hockaday - jeri and science teachers are pursuing study grants
 * Gail - they also talked about study groups; felt as is MS teachers are probably more willing to collaborate and tends to be more compartmentalized in US
 * one school has students who are assigned to help teachers, they re-image machines, they fix things, they connect smartboards around the school; they tend to be kids who don't take on additional leadership roles - nice outcome; they help with the laptops when they arrive and get set up, etc.
 * hockaday - student runs for the position of "leader of student tech board"


 * catherine - thinks its important for STEM (and collaboration around it) and a school's commitment to it should be mentioned in a school's publications, profile, etc.


 * jennifer - they got off topic and decided they're dropping AP classes!

__Online School for Girls__ What can we do to compete with the on-line schools?

Brad talked about "blended learning" - what are out thoughts about this?
 * gail - her daughter had brad as a teacher in an art history class. said it was a fabulous class - google earth to zoom in on where the art was coming from, discussion boards, etc. she had never seen her daughter more engaged in a class before.
 * some teachers have electronic class forums (in finance classes) - articles they should read, a book, kids read and post their comments, respond to what teachers and other students write
 * jennifer - likes the idea of recording classes for when you are absent (and jeri - they have the girls bring their laptops and headphones so that the girls can listen/watch at their own pace, can stop it as needed while they're watching, etc.). works well when someone can't cover your class and/or for kids who are absent. (last year, she pod cast her lessons, but it took too long to download it)
 * jing - records voice and screen captures (jing-pro - maybe $14-$25 / year )
 * or can record using your smartboard

Ideas on how to blend:
 * jen has used a lot of you tube videos. (i.e. vectors - wanted them to understand the notation.) MIT has their entire college curriculum on you tube. she recorded herself teaching and then posted on you tube. she also found some actual college lectures to show to them to give them an indication of what it's like to sit in a college lecture. kids have really liked the videos of other teachers.
 * jen also uses lecture scribe (saves as a flash file and its compatible for everyone. for smartnotes, kids have to have that software to be able to open)
 * jen has found it difficult to use the discussion boards in her class (because of the notation?). (not all kids in the class have tablets. electronic pens available to use on special paper "livescribe" or separate tablet/screen you can write on that attaches to your computer)
 * she's been focusing on the collaboration with the kids
 * writing in math classes - kids are resistant
 * suggested to have the girls make up the problems (instead of the teacher). helps them to appreciate the need to writing well in math.
 * polly knows someone whose teacher required them to post to a message board so many times per semester.
 * calculus teacher - posts questions on a blog and requires students to respond to them. (blog on word press)
 * hilary - wikis, voicethread with 5th graders, but not with math
 * jennifer - she thinks using techonology with younger students would be appealing (i.e. responding to blog posts, etc.)
 * jennifer - saves everything as word documents and then posts them to help avoid incompatibility issues with the kids from different schools having different technology that they are using.
 * jennifer - originally had office hours, but no one ever took advantage of them/their schedules didn't mesh.

What will a blended classroom look like?
 * gail - 6th grade teacher played "austin powers" video when talking about powers.
 * hilary - learning doesn't take place from 8-3 in the classroom. you have resources available to them to use outside of the classroom
 * jeri - utilizing the best resources to help you teach at that moment - searching constantly - is it beneficial for me to use this or not? do i need to tweak this and will it be helfpul?
 * marcy - using similations, webquests, anything (not just talking among students); finding resources on-line to use
 * jeri - french teacher skyped with her niece in french
 * if not beneficial, shouldn't be forced to do it.
 * gail - "labrynth?" scavenger hunt - focusing on ratio and proportions, etc.
 * jess - should involve problem solving
 * hilary - goal is helping them make connections
 * jeri - kids we work with have grown up in an electronic world
 * gail (GSP lesson links - trying to incorporate more)
 * jennifer - noodle, blackboard - uses to post lectures, extra problems, notes only right now - what more can she do with these? (games, problems, etc.) thinking of which unit she could start with and take it from there. remind herself that she wants to be the facilitator. (noodle does embed things nicely.)
 * polly - noodle's nice because you can put all of your stuff for one chapter right there (weblinks, a jing, lecture scribe, etc.)
 * polly - has used classroom presenter - kids sign on to her class. fun for kids with laptops that have stylus pens. uses when teaching word problems - can write on the slides, they can send their submissions, and then she can respond to their submissions.
 * jennifer - calculus phobe - descriptions and annotations (used as an intro to calc)
 * jeri - play clip from "mean girls" to talk about limits (l'hopitals rule)
 * jeri - someone gave her a site that included lots of examples of where math was used in movies
 * http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/mathmovies/

How does everyone keep up with everything/all the different technologies?
 * harpeth hall - tech support people taught the math teachers jing, dim dim, classroom presenter, etc. (tech people look for the stuff and then brings it to them) most of it doesn't need a lot of explanation - just being able to find it what's out there
 * lausanne - technology conference at their school in memphis (harpeth hall sends teachers to it every summer) always gets rave reviews.
 * gail - at holton-arms, stipend to spend 5 days with their tech-savvy people at beginning of summer. you come with your ideas and/or they share their ideas with you.
 * works well when your own teachers teach each other - good opportunities for collaboration.
 * some social networking sites are helpful for sharing resources, ideas, etc.

www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/mathmovies/ - Mathematics in the Movies

Actions as we head back to our schools?
 * collaboration with science teachers
 * study grants for summer
 * try to do something in a geometry project (research, bring it in)
 * trying to focus on problem solving
 * investigate an integrated math program - can we incorporate, what will it take, etc. (gail - went on NCTM's site and had some difficulty finding much information)
 * look into ways to have more blended learning opportunities
 * explore dim dim (because so many of their students use outside tutors - she wants to play with it and try a couple of sessions) (alternative
 * sharing within departments, with heads of school, division directors, etc. (that this is something they need to pay attention to); help them see the value in it
 * get more people to attend this (or other) professional development opportunities that focus on STEM areas and girls