Thus there will be no post on the blog tomorrow. It's a shame since tomorrow in my new district -- which will still be open tomorrow -- I will sub in a middle school math class. It's the sort of day that I'd like to describe here on the blog, but unfortunately it lands on a non-blogging day just because the other district happens to be closed.
On the other hand, today I subbed in a seventh grade science class. And so I am doing "A Day in the Life" today, first because it's middle school where I can focus on my classroom management, and second because it's a science class which I can compare to the (lack of) science I taught back at the old charter school.
Before I start, I point out that this regular teacher will be out tomorrow as well -- but of course, this isn't a multi-day assignment because I'm already covering math (at a different school) tomorrow. Still, keep this in mind as you read today's "A Day in the Life."
8:00 -- Once again the regular teacher has morning yard duty, which I must complete.
8:15 -- The day begins with homeroom. This is the middle school where all periods rotate, but today the classes just happen to be in their natural order 1-2-3-4-5-6. And indeed homeroom is not the same as first period here -- generally homeroom matches the third period class.
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8:20 -- Homeroom leaves. First period is the regular teacher's conference period.
9:20 -- Second period arrives. All classes are seventh grade science today.
Since there is no science text, we expect there to be some assignment on Chromebooks -- and indeed, it's on endangered species. Students must choose an endangered species and answer the questions in Google Classroom on their chosen species.
The second assignment is a written worksheet titled, "Got Habitat?" Students answer questions on the habitats of cougars in the Santa Ana Mountains right here in Southern California.
Finally, the students have a crossword puzzle to complete. All the assignments are to prepare the students for tomorrow's test.
I decide to place the students complete all three assignments on my good list, while to avoid the bad list, the first two assignments must be finished. This is convenient because it's difficult for me to check the first assignment on the Chromebooks, but it's easy to check the second one on paper.
But no one finishes the third assignment, the crossword puzzle. Meanwhile, a whopping ten students fail to complete the second assignment, thus making a very long bad list. One of them is a boy who pretends that he can only speak Spanish when I ask him to stop playing Minecraft on a Chromebook.
10:10 -- Second period leaves for snack.
10:20 -- Third period arrives. There is a brand new student transferring into this class. It's difficult for him to work since he doesn't have a Google Classroom password. Three girls try to help him out.
Once again, no one can finish the crossword puzzle. It's tricky because the students can't even figure out the first clue, which is a five-letter word for a place where organisms live. It might be biome, but this isn't a word that they've learned in this current unit.
Thus I lower the bar for my good and bad lists. Now students who complete only two assignments are on the good list, while to avoid the bad list they must finish "1+" assignment -- that is, they must finish the first assignment online and have at least one valid answer on the second worksheet. And so I'm able to write some names on my good list for third period -- and I go back and retroactively add four names from second period to my good list as well.
I make it 1+ rather than just one to avoid the bad list because I want to see something written on the actual paper rather than rely on just an online assignment. In hindsight, I wonder whether I should have made it two to avoid the bad list and 2+ for the good list -- that is, at least something on the crossword puzzle must be filled in. But with eight students in this class failing to clear even the 1+ bar, there was no need to make it two full assignments. And this doesn't even include the three girls who claim that they're helping out the new student but don't even finish their own first assignment.
11:15 -- Third period leaves and fourth period arrives. And this class begins with yet another argument about the seating chart.
The regular teacher specifies that there is a seating chart to use. But as usual, students claim that the seats have been changed and the teacher never marked it on the seating chart. In those earlier classes, I take the liberty of creating a new seating chart based on where they actually are sitting. The idea is to leave it for tomorrow's sub so that no one will try to change seats during tomorrow's test. But then in each class after I create the chart, another student tries to switch seats -- and their justification is that the original seat changers have lied about the changes. In other words, why should they have to adhere to the chart if the others don't?
So when fourth period arrives, I seek to avoid students who lie about the seating chart. I announce that anyone not following the chart will receive an hour of detention. But then many students start to complain that they don't even remember where they sit because everyday, the regular teacher just says "Sit wherever you want!" and never punishes anyone for being in another seat.
At this point an eighth grader -- the TA for this class -- chimes in. He tells me an open secret -- the regular teacher plans on leaving this school at the end of the year. He probably has already made the decision months ago but is just waiting for the year to end. In many ways, he's already checked out and is no longer strongly interested in classroom management or student success. Indeed, the reason he's out today is a science meeting, but then he takes tomorrow off as well. (Once again, this isn't the other district where tomorrow's a holiday.) I don't want to speak ill of other teachers, but this is the sort of teacher the traditionalists often warn us about. (So tomorrow is spring Floyd Thursby day?)
Sometimes when I focus on improving my own classroom management, I tend to assume that all other teachers have perfect management skills, but this isn't always the case. It's difficult, if not impossible, to enforce a rule that the regular teacher himself doesn't enforce. He might have had a seating chart that he enforced at the start of the year before he made his decision to leave, but once again he doesn't enforce it now. The question I wonder is, how will the lack of a seating chart affect tomorrow's sub and test?
I think back to my own days at the old charter school -- where as you already well know, my management was less than perfect. Now suppose on the day of a test, I became ill, and so a sub had to give the test. How would my old students have behaved?
Actually, the seating chart was one of the rules I meticulously enforced that year. But of course, the students were very loud during the test. So my students could have claimed to that sub, "Our teacher, Mr. Walker, lets us talk during tests." And it would have been impossible for a sub to counter that claim enough for them to be quiet during the test.
But here's another fictional scenario regarding today's class. Suppose that new student in third period has accommodations that require him to sit near the front of the class -- and for him not to be told the reason why. (Once again this is a counterfactual -- I don't know of any accommodations needed for the new student in class today.) The best way to handle this is to hide his accommodation under the general rule "sit in your assigned seat" -- but this teacher doesn't enforce seat assignments. Thus we're in a bind, since of course the student would complain, "Why do I have to sit in the front when everyone else gets to sit anywhere?"
Now let's return to reality and what actually happens today. An argument is starting, and I've resolved to avoid arguments. So how can I get out of this one? I decide that since today isn't the actual test, it's not as important to enforce a seating chart as it will be for tomorrow's test. Then I leave a note for tomorrow's sub that the regular teacher doesn't enforce the chart, so it's up to that sub's discretion how to handle seating for the test.
After the argument ends, the class is a bit subdued. This actually ends up being the quietest class of the day, though I wish I could have achieved this without an argument. What doesn't drop is the number of students who fail to finish 1+ assignment -- another nine names go on the bad list.
12:05 -- Fourth period leaves for lunch.
12:50 -- Fifth period arrives. The class after lunch at this school is silent reading -- but since there are already Chromebooks out on the desks, some students start using them instead of reading. Someone (likely multiple kids) play YouTube videos one second at a time -- just to make noise during the silent reading and get everyone else to laugh.
Since so far I've written down too many names on the bad list, for this class I decide to return to my musical incentive. This time I choose Square One TV's "Mathematics of Love." I sing one verse at the start of class and tell them that there must be no more than one student on the bad list for me to sing the rest of the song. But it doesn't work -- another ten kids fail to complete 1+ assignment. On the other hand, it's the hardest-working class with about half the students finishing two assignments.
2:00 -- Fifth period leaves and sixth period arrives.
This time, many students don't want to work. By this period, I'm no longer enforcing a seating chart, but this means that the students take "sit wherever you want" up to the next level. Now many of them are no longer sitting in seats -- that is, there are 5-6 sitting down in a group that's designed for four, or they switch seats multiple times during the class. And these seat switchers don't do the work -- they either play games on the Chromebooks or just open up the first assignment and then talk instead of researching an animal.
For this class, only two students make the good list with two assignments, and only about a third of the class seems to be working at all.
At this point, I don't want to write two-thirds of the class on the bad list. So instead, I pass out the second worksheet and go over the answers on the board. Students must copy my answers onto their paper in order to avoid the bad list. Here are the three questions:
1. List several reasons why wildlife habitat is shrinking.
2. Why do cougars prefer riparian habitat?
3. What is the meaning of corridors used in this exploration?
Notice that this runs afoul of another resolution:
5. Engage the students in the learning process instead of lecturing excessively.
The situation today is similar to the one at the old charter school that led me to include this in the list of resolutions. In both cases, students are supposed to work independently, but most aren't. Unless I give them the answers to copy down, they're going to leave the paper blank. And while copying answers isn't the same as learning, at least having my answers on the paper will give them something to study for tomorrow's test, while a blank paper will give them nothing to study.
Notice that in all classes, the only assignment I actually check to determine the good and bad lists is the second assignment. In most cases, I'm using the honor system and assuming that if the students claim that they finished the first assignment online that they actually did. Yet most students in sixth period don't even pretend to be working on the first assignment online!
Well, you can't blame this class for acting as if school is already out After all, the regular teacher seems to be doing the same!
After we go over the three questions, less than one minute remains in class. The students ask me to sing "Mathematics of Love" -- and technically they did work, though not independently. There's only enough time to sing the first verse again -- which is good, since they haven't earned another verse.
2:55 -- Sixth period leaves. I put the Chromebooks away before leaving.
I feel sorry for tomorrow's sub. These are the classes that he or she must deal with and get them to be quiet for the test. What's worse is that due to the period rotation, sixth period will be the class that meets in the after-lunch silent reading position. After today's sixth period class, what are the odds that this class will be silently reading for a sub tomorrow?
Suppose I were returning to this class tomorrow. I ask myself, how would I handle it, knowing exactly what's coming?
This might be the time for a candy incentive. Normally I save the big candy incentives for holidays -- the ones associated with candy, such as Halloween or Christmas. There really isn't any Memorial Day candy (though some companies have started making Fourth of July candy and then selling it in time for Memorial Day). But there is precedent for me to bring candy to an especially difficult class. I once brought some to a class on the day between the regular teacher leaving and a long-term sub taking over. This is arguably a similar situation.
I would begin tomorrow's classes by handing out candy to all students on my good list. Depending on how much candy I purchase, I could even give two candies to those on the good list and one to those who avoid the bad list.
Then another candy would be given to each student who silently completes the test. Many might not like the idea of rewarding acceptable behavior (as opposed to outstanding behavior), but in a class where the regular teacher is leaving, there's really no other way to get the students to exhibit acceptable behavior.
The music incentive might fit here as well -- after everyone has finished the test and there's no problem with talking during the test, I sing the entire "Mathematics of Love" song.
OK, that ends what I would have tomorrow. The next question is, what should I have done today to get through today's classes better. What adjustments could I have made as the day progressed to get the students to do the work.
First of all, it would have helped if I knew the students' names -- but since none of them are following a seating chart, I don't know them. Notice that in periods 2-3, I have their names because I took the liberty of making a seating chart, but I stop after the fourth period argument and I find out that they're allowed to sit in any seat. But nothing is preventing me from creating a seating chart anyway. This time I wouldn't leave it for tomorrow's sub to enforce during the test -- it's just for my information to help me manage the class.
Also, I can change the order of the assignments. I've done so in the past when the second assignment requires extra explanation, but I fear that they won't reach it after doing the first assignment.
I can still have the students begin with the online assignment while I'm going around the room to create the seating chart. But then after I take attendance, I would immediately pass out the second worksheet and have them copy the answers from the board. If there's time left, they could return to the online assignment and then attempt the crossword.
The music incentive fits this plan better. One problem I have today with the song is that it requires too much from the students to obtain the incentive. Each student starts the class not working, and by I remind them about the incentive, class is half over and he or she feels there's not enough time to complete 1+ assignments. And even if a student thinks there is enough time for him or her to do it, the assumption that most of the others won't do it, so the incentive still won't be attained. Thus there's no point in that individual even trying.
One thing I like about the Quadratic Weasel song is that since it's so short, I can sing it multiple times during the class. I can go over each quadratic equation and sing it after every problem -- I just check all the papers to make sure all students have completed it. Thus today I could have sung a verse of the song after each of the three questions on the worksheet and checking all the papers.
Indeed, "Mathematics of Love" also fits this plan. Just as in the YouTube video, I open the class with the Roman numeral version of the song ("eye night, eye-eye hearts, III words"). Then after checking each question, I sing another verse of the song pronouncing the numbers correctly in English. Since there are three questions, we can consider the first "verse" starting with the first line ("one night, two hearts, three words"), the second "verse" (actually a bridge) with "1-2-3-forever," and the third verse with "7-8-9-tenderly."
Is it possible to establish a good and bad list under this plan? Well, I might be able to get some students to answer each question, so then I have at least three names on the good list. It might be possible to add names for finishing the online assignment -- but this time I'd have to check to make sure that the online assignment is actually complete. As we've seen before, there's no point in using the crossword as a criterion for the good list, since no one will finish it. As for the bad list, clearly those who don't write down answers the three questions belong there -- but they'd now have a bigger incentive to write, since they don't want to be the individual who blocks me from singing. The hope is that no one would land on the bad list under this plan.
I've written so much about classroom management that I've said little about the science. Anyway, assume that the teacher announced his intention to leave around the same time of year that I left the old charter (around late February or early March). Now compare how much science these seventh graders learned from August to February to how much my seventh graders from two years ago did. It is no contest -- my students learned much less, especially the seventh graders who learned hardly any.
Both this district and the old charter lack written science texts. At this school, I hear that even tomorrow's test is to be given online. I don't recall whether the Illinois State text required the science tests to be taken online. But once again, it shows that my failure to embrace technology and the online science curriculum is what cost me in the end.
This is what I wrote last year about today's lesson:
Question 25 of the SBAC Practice Exam is on inequalities:
A student earns $7.50 an hour at her part-time job. She wants to earn at least $200.
Enter an inequality that represents all of the hours (h) the student could work to meet her goal. Enter your response in the first response box.
Enter the least whole number of hours the student needs to work to earn at least $200. Enter your response in the second response box.
This is a first-semester inequality problem.
7.50h > 200
h > 26 2/3
So the inequality is 7.50h > 200 ("at least" = "greater than or equal to") and the smallest whole number value that satisfies it is 27 hours.
Both the girl and the guy from the Pre-Calc class fail to write the correct inequality. Both of them are confused by "at least" and write "7.50h < 200." Actually, the guy writes 200 > 7.50x, which is equivalent to the girl's inequality. The guy doesn't bother solving his inequality. The girl solves it by writing "at least 26.67" hours -- she missed the words whole number. Notice that no inequality needs to be written in the box -- all that's necessary is the single whole number 27.
Question 26 of the SBAC Practice Exam is on comparing statistics:
Michael took 12 tests in his math class. His lowest test score was 78. His highest test score was 98. On the 13th test, he earned a 64. Select whether the value of each statistic for test scores increased, decreased, or could not be determined when the last test score was added.
(The possible stats are standard deviation, median, and mean.)
Stats appears in the last chapter of Glencoe Algebra I, and so this is a second-semester question.
Anyway, the mean must decrease because Michael's last test score is lower than that of any previous test that he has taken. The standard deviation must increase when that low value is added. But we can't be sure about the median. The median of 12 values is the mean of the 6th and 7th value, but the median of 13 values is the 7th value (the old 6th value before the 64 happened). So median could decrease if the original 6th test is less than the 7th -- but the median could stay the same if the original 6th and 7th scores were equal. (It's impossible for the median to increase here!)
The girl from the Pre-Calc class gives the correct responses for the mean and median, but she incorrectly writes that the standard deviation decreased. Then again, most students are less familiar with standard deviation than with the measures of central tendency. But at least she tries -- the guy just leaves it blank.
SBAC Practice Exam Question 25
Common Core Standard:
Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. Include equations arising from linear and quadratic functions, and simple rational and exponential functions.
SBAC Practice Exam Question 26
Common Core Standard:
Use statistics appropriate to the shape of the data distribution to compare center (median, mean) and spread (interquartile range, standard deviation) of two or more different data sets.
Commentary: The inequality I wrote for h can be solved as early as Lesson 4-6 of the U of Chicago Algebra I text. Meanwhile, stats isn't covered in the text at all, except for Lesson 1-2 where mean and median appear, but not standard deviation.
My next post will be on Tuesday. I hope you enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, since I certainly will -- but not until after tomorrow's math class, of course.
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