Johhny Math Teacher

Striving to Teach Middle School Math at a Heisman-Caliber Level

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Gremlin fences and Square Roots

Gremlin fences and Square Roots

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on January 8, 2013

It’s time to cover square roots in preparation for the Pythagorean Theorem.  I’ve written before about some of the struggles I have teaching the concept of a square root.  I believe that if a concept cannot be briefly defined to a student, then that is a signal that the student does not have the necessary foundation and is likely to… Read more →

Posted in Engagement, Pedagogy, Real World, Technology | Tagged geometry, ipod, square root
The broader impact of Power Standards

The broader impact of Power Standards

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on January 2, 2013

Our campus teachers have been following the model of Professional Learning Communities: We focus on Learning, Collaboration, and Results.  This year, many of us realized our weakest link was our Power Standards, our curriculum.  As the year has rolled on, I continue to see how shoring up our Power Standards has paid dividends I never anticipated. Power Standards:  The Solution… Read more →

Posted in Grading, Pedagogy, PLCs at Work | Tagged grading, intervention, plc, power standards
Picture day

Picture day

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 28, 2012

My last post shared students’ writing about their grades.  Now, in a lighthearted Christmas break post, here are some student messages in pictures. I sometimes ask students to draw what they look like in math class.  The results are sometimes rich and insightful. Obviously, some students enjoy their math class:Students often show that they understand the strengths and weaknesses of… Read more →

Posted in Engagement, Pedagogy | Tagged art, draw, feedback, fun
Student perceptions about grading

Student perceptions about grading

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 22, 2012

I asked students to write about their grades, and their responses reflect student thinking about grades, school, and learning. Students have a hard time getting used to my policy on grading and reteaching.  When I announced it at the beginning of school, one student was vocally opposed to students who pass a test using up tutoring resources to improve a… Read more →

Posted in Grading, Pedagogy | Tagged assessment, grading, intervention, retest
Book Study & Writing in the classroom

Book Study & Writing in the classroom

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 21, 2012

This year’s campus book study is Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College.  In a twist on our usual book studies, this year each teacher on campus has selected one of the book’s classroom strategies and filmed videotaped video recorded it in action.  Watching the videos is a great way to… Read more →

Posted in Engagement, Pedagogy | Tagged book study, writing

The courage to lower grades.

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 19, 2012

Here’s the grading system my students expected at the beginning of the year:As Rick DuFour points out, a big part of this process was “immature people making immature decisions.” Think for a second about what a grade means in this system. Think about terms like “grade inflation” and “standards” in the context of this system. I began the school year… Read more →

Posted in Grading | Tagged assessment, grading, plc
Student writing to develop procedural understanding

Student writing to develop procedural understanding

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 18, 2012

This morning several students on campus participated in a panel, answering staff questions about learning styles and classroom environments.  We learned a lot.  At one point, students were asked about reading and writing in non-Language Arts classes.  One of my students described an activity that we do, and he got all the major points.  Made me feel good.  Here’s the… Read more →

Posted in Engagement, Pedagogy, Problem Solving, Quick Hits, Technology | Tagged ell, elps, esl, lep, problem sovling, word problems, writing

Holiday Sales and a Math Lesson

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 17, 2012

A friend forwarded me an email for an online holiday sale: We’ll be offering a coupon code for 10% off which will be in addition to the up to 20% you can take off your products. That’ll mean up to 28% off 1000s of products. Our promo code will be CMT12. The reason it is up to 28% off and… Read more →

Posted in Quick Hits, Real World | Tagged percents, real world

Why the progressive nature of mathematics is so important…

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 17, 2012

I propose a simple account of how we generate intuitive opinions on complex matters. If a satisfactory answer to a hard question is not found quickly, [the intuitive capacity] will find a related question that is easier and will answer it. I call the operation of answering one question in place of another substitution.  -Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow… Read more →

Posted in Engagement, Pedagogy | Tagged brain research, square root

Blurring the line between formative and summative

Published by Johnny Math Teacher on December 16, 2012

If we define “formative assessments” as those that impact instruction, I am hard-pressed to decide what is not a formative assessment!  This year, my PLC teachers have developed a targeted, proactive system of reteach and retest.  Students cannot retest if they have not had a new learning experience, and a student cannot keep a grade lower than an 80.  While… Read more →

Posted in Grading | Tagged grading, plc
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Recent Posts

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