Keep-Change-Start-Stop

A little reflection to help keep me focused...

KEEP

•  Setting aside time for me - This year, for the first time ever, I closed my classroom door and used my prep period to actually prep.  It was so refreshing, and so peaceful.  I have always dedicated my prep periods to helping students, but what usually ends up happening is that the period that I offer to provide extra help to students becomes the period that I babysit students that don't want to be in their study hall.  I need to put my needs first a little more.  (Trying to get a measly bathroom break has become a real struggle.)

CHANGE

• My Attitude! - I'm certain that a vicious cycle was started and perpetuated this past year (in one class period in particular).  My students made me miserable, I was a miserable teacher, I did not create the classroom environment that I usually have, my students were miserable, and round and round we go.  There's a quote (I love my inspirational quotes!) that I found on Pinterest:  "Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our hearts rather than a piece of our minds."  Teaching teenagers, it feels like every little thing needs to be a teachable moment (ie:  "You're teachers/professors won't let you ____________ next year/in college," "If you had done X, Y, and Z, you wouldn't be in this predicament now," "If you cared about your grade from the beginning of the quarter you wouldn't be begging for extra credit now," etc.)  I do it all time, other teachers in my building do it all the time; it is our default setting.  From the student's perspective it must be extremely negative.  I'm certain that they tune us out when we say these things, especially if they are being said out of anger and frustration.  And ultimately, the student needs help, and these comments are dismissive.  I am determined to change my behavior this year.  I will let my actions say these things instead of my mouth.  (ie:  "I'm sorry, but it is too late for you to turn in the assignment," and "We cannot change it now, but what can we do differently next time?")  If any of the above things need to be said (because sometimes they really do), I will save them for a heart-to-heart.
• Seating Arrangements - I think I'm finally ready to put my desks into groups.  So many teachers advocate for group seating, and newer teachers fear the classroom management repercussions.  My desks are not really conducive to anything other than rows, but you know what?  Students will adjust.  They did just that each time we did a group activity.  I'd rather just keep them in groups all year long to allow for regular collaboration.  (Bonus:  When my desks are arranged in groups, my room feels so much more spacious!)

START

•  Using Twitter more often - So as I mentioned in a previous post, I am teaching SAT Math Prep for the first time this year.  I literally just threw out a quick question into the MTBoS if anyone had anything to help a newbie SAT Prep teacher.  Ask and you shall receive.  You may even receive a three-part blog post.  I am forever grateful to @MathCurmudgeon, and I am feeling encouraged to use Twitter more often.  I just need to integrate it into my daily routine.
• Integrating GeoGebra & Desmos into my classroom - Truthfully I have not done so because I have not had the time to learn how to use them.  Also, in the spirit of full disclosure, I was a Geometer's Sketchpad loyalist simply because I already know how to use it.  Thanks to a one-hour GeoGebra session at a math conference last spring (given by my favorite college professor), I am no longer intimidated by a new application.  I think GeoGebra is more user friendly, and we all know that being free gives it a huge advantage.  (I also learned this year that the Chrome carts in my school are not difficult to obtain.)  Desmos is something that I need to look into more.  What does it do for Geometry?  At the very least, I would like my students to learn how to graph on it, since we don't have enough graphing calculators for each student to take home.  I am going to spend some time this summer learning more about these applications.  (Perhaps I will consult some MTBoS peeps on Twitter.)

STOP

• Using interactive notebooks in General Geometry - It just doesn't make sense, and I cannot get the same buy-in that I do from my regents-level Geometry students.  I just finished re-formatting my notes yesterday.  (I will instead provide guided notes, and teach students how to organize a binder.  On the plus side, I will be able to teach them organization skills that are more universally transferable to their other classes.)
• Letting students use my microwave - They leave a big mess, and it's not worth my time to have to continuously clean the microwave.  Also, I'd like to be rid of the smells that linger.

Overall, I am feeling much more optimistic about this new year.  I just want to keep up my momentum.  I suspect that since this past school year was so dreadful, I was ready to start fresh for the new year right away.  I mean, it was early May, and I was already starting to plan for the next school year. I'm not writing this to complain, but just to affirm that something good came out of something bad.  I am so excited to start the next school year, and I haven't felt this much enthusiasm about a new school year since when I first started teaching.

Summer Plans

I like posting these "what I am going to do this summer" posts to keep me accountable.  Plus, I like to read about what other teachers are doing with their summers.  I, of course, have a physical to do list as well.

I'm proud to say that I've already accomplished some things that were on my do list, such as:

• Updating my Geometry scope and sequence.  I did the same for my General Geometry scope and sequence.
• This year I learned a little more about how to budget my time effectively.  I read other math teacher blogs where they ran out of time to teach everything.  I had the opposite problem.  I had a month and a half to review this year.  This means I can teach some topics better and not have to worry about spending too much time on a topic.  I picked out the topics that are more important for student success in the course, and created/found activities for them to help students learn them more thoroughly.  I did the same for General Geometry.  I really want my General Geometry class to be more activities and less worksheets in general.
• I put together a "Handbook" for the Math Team and the Prom Dress Drive that I run each year.  Both of these "duties" were handed to me with varying degrees of verbal direction.  I had to ask many questions to perform my duties for both of these endeavors, so I decided to write everything down.  Now I have (almost) everything I need to know for both, and something to pass on to the person that takes over these duties after me.
• Next year I am teaching SAT Prep for the first time ever.  So far I have a rough scope and sequence done.

The following are things that are "In Progress":

• I am reformatting the notes for General Geometry.  Last year we did Interactive Notebooks, and it really didn't suit the students in the course.  Since they are not "moving on" in math, they have no interest in putting together and keeping a notebook.  I'm reformatting the notes into guided note sheets.  This year I am going to have these students keep a binder so they can still learn basic organization skills.
• As mentioned above, I am going to keep working on my SAT Prep course scope and sequence.
• I am going to finish my SAT Prep syllabus.  I started it during the last few days of school.  I'm still not sure about how I am going assign work for this class.  Will projects work?  Should there be homework?  How often should I quiz?  Etc.  (I completed and copied my syllabi for Geometry and General Geometry before the school year ended.  Yay me!)
• I am planning on making some new posters for my classroom.  I will post about those when I make them.  This is one of those things that I could do at any time.
• I always save blog posts with ideas that I like.  I want to start keeping the ideas in a notebook.  It will give me time to plan to use them and to reflect on how the ideas will work in my classroom.
• I am going to make a professional development log to keep track of my hours.  (In order to maintain certification in New York state, we must complete 100 hours of professional development every 5 years - which is an improvement over the 175 hours that were previously required.  My school will keep track, but I really need to keep track of all of the extra webinars I do outside of school.)
• I am trying to read 3 books before summer ends:  "Classroom Chef", "Mathematical Mindsets", and "Designing Groupwork".  Right now I am in the middle of Classroom Chef.
• In August, when I go in to school for the August Regents Review, I will put together a new absent work board.  I am also thinking about re-doing my homework board.  (Just because it's in mixed patterns, and I want to unify it a bit more.)

I have been working on things for next year since early in June.  I am so determined to get the bulk of my summer work done as soon as possible because my husband and I are in the process of buying a house.  I know that once we close, all of our time will be devoted to settling in, and I will have very little time for school work.  I am basically expecting moving in to take up most of August because I'm the type of person that will want everything set up perfectly right away.  I am praying that we close before the end of July.  I feel that getting everything done now is essential to maintaining my sanity.

2016-2017 Geometry Scope & Sequence

I started sharing the scope and sequences and its changes for my Geometry course because I remember how difficult it was to find one when I first started teaching Geometry.  Now it has become a nice way to reflect and see how my course has evolved over the years.  (See the progression here:  July 2013(1), July 2013(2), Aug 2013, June 2014, Nov 2014, July 2015, Aug 2015)

Here is a run down of this year's changes:

• I eliminated my review unit.  It was a great way to ease students back into school, to get to know them, and for them to get used to me.  However, it leads students into a false sense of ease.  They expect Geometry to be easy, no matter how much I tell them it can become challenging.  This has created a problem for many students that decided to stay in the course based on the first week, although the course will be too challenging for them.  By the time they realize they've made a mistake it is too late for them to switch out.  Also, we will have to review simplifying radicals and completing the square during the school year again anyway, so why waste the time at the beginning?  This year I'm starting the year off with solving for angles in triangles and polygons so we can learn Geometry, and review solving equations.  I'm excited to get these two topics out of the way because they have a way of coming up before they are taught anyway, and it will allow me more options when we get to proofs.
• There seem to be some topics that are not included in Common Core (yet; just going by what has been on the tests), but I am afraid to abandon them in case they do come up.  (Plus, they are topics that I enjoy teaching.)  I've moved these topics (Midsegment of Triangles and Triangle Inequality Theorem) to the first unit (Introduction to Geometry). 
• Constructions has it's own unit.  After moving some of the topics to the beginning of the year unit 1 was pretty full, and constructions was the natural place to divide the unit into two.
• Dilations of a line has been added to my Coordinate Geometry unit.  I was not sure where to place it last year.  It's about dilations and similarity and should be in that unit, but students have not yet learned about slope of parallel lines.  So this just seemed like the logical placement for this topic.

  Overall, I feel like the changes are minimal, but should hopefully help the course run more smoothly in the beginning.