0 First on the Drop Pile

I wrote about this once before. Go back and read that if you want. Or don't. I'm about to summarize here anyway. :)

Yesterday the math PLC at our school did a "Keep. Drop. Create" activity. Among other things, "questions at the beginning of class" ended up in the drop pile. This is something I have felt strongly about for a while, so I am very happy that our whole department is in agreement.

I am probably preaching to the choir here, but if you give practice assignments on a regular basis and you're using the first ten or fifteen minutes of class to answer questions about yesterday's assignment, you should consider using that time for something else. Here's why:

Low student engagement. During question time, most of our students fit into one of three categories:

1. Students who didn't do much (or any) of the practice. They are now sitting there writing down the problems while you work them out. They're not thinking. They're transcribing.

2. Students who did most of the practice. When they got to a tough problem, they gave up because "I'll just ask that one in class". They learn to wait for help rather than persevering.

3. Students who did all of the practice before coming to class. They are now bored to tears while they watch your performance of math problems they already know how to do. Not learning.

(There may be a fourth category of students who legitimately have a question and are now eagerly anticipating your answer. But there are maybe two students in that category. Also, I would suggest that doing the problem for them while they watch is not the best kind of help.)

They're ready to learn. If there is a portion of the class period that students are most ready to do something, it is at the beginning. Don't lose them here.

Opportunity cost.  Instructional time is precious. Let's use those ten minutes for something else. Something that engages all students. We are working on a list.

In the mean time, we have decided to have little slips of scrap paper cut up and ready to go. At any moment we can do a quick formative assessment by posting a problem, collecting the slips, sorting them into piles, and identifying where students are having trouble.

What will you do with your extra ten minutes?

Or, an even better question, what other "math class traditions" need to go on the drop pile?

Detail: First on the Drop Pile

0 Bell Work Bliss Gone Bad

I am testing out a new bell work procedure this year, like so:

1.  Student picks up the bell work when she walks in the room. It's right by the door.
2.  Student works out bell work and raises a hand to check.
3.  I check the bell work and give out a green star. Student receives a green pen of her own.
4.  Student checks in with partner to assist as needed and gives the partner a green star.
5.  Student checks in with people sitting nearby to see if green stars/assistance are needed.
6.  I continue passing out green stars and green pens until pretty soon, the green pens and green stars have branched out through the whole room and bell work is done.

The first three or four weeks of this method were completely blissful. Students were self-starting.  Students who understood the problem were coaching the struggling students. I was super proud of myself for putting the responsibility of bell work completion into the hands of the students. Yay for me doing less while students do more!

Weeks 4-6 started going downhill a bit. There is a little lag time between the first and the last students who finish. Students started finishing and chatting. Loudly. Then they started chatting before they got started.

Now, at the 8th week I am frustrated and wondering where it all went wrong. What was different about the first few weeks compared to now? Is the honeymoon over? Or did something else change?

I realized that during the first few weeks I had an extra step at the end of the bell work . . . I directed students toward the few problems I'd put on that day's practice assignment that were review. These were problems they could work on right away without any instruction. So they were doing the bell work, coaching and starring their neighbors, and then moving on to those extra problems. Since it was part of the day's assignment, they were motivated to keep moving along and get that done.

The moral of the story is that if I want to continue to do bell work this way, I need to supply my students with something to do after they finish all the steps. Not busy work. Something worth the time. Something productive that will fill the short gap.

I am thinking I might start using some type of guided questions where they could go ahead and start thinking about the day's lesson, or some ACT practice questions, or maybe just continue with review like before. Maybe some extension or challenge problems for them to think about?

I am not sure which way I will go, but writing this post helped me identify the problem so that now I can figure out a solution.

Yay for blogging!

Detail: Bell Work Bliss Gone Bad