My Schedule

So I thought I would give you guys an overview of what my week looks
like and what the student's day looks like.

School starts at 7:50. Teachers are expected to be there at 7:20 if
they teach first period. I am always early because I like to use my
mornings prepping. Classes are segmented into 45 minute periods. I
believe the students have all of their Chinese classes for 45 minutes.
However we teach for 90 minutes. I love teaching block period so much
nicer and am enjoying my schedule so far. I teach three classes of
Calculus AB to High School juniors. I usually teach two classes a day.
However on Tuesdays I only teach one class. Class 3 meets Monday,
Wednesday, and Thursday during first and second period. Class 1 meets
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during third and fourth period. Class 2
meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during fifth and sixth period.
That means that I am teaching 4.5 hours each week. My center principal
requires us to stay at school for eight hours each day so that we are
available for students and seem like we want to be there. Therefore I
get around 35 hours of prep time during the week. I use the tons of
prep time wisely since Calculus is a difficult subject and I work
really hard to make each lesson interesting or fun.I believe this is
less teaching time and more prep time than most teachers get in the
States, but my salary is about the same as I would get as a first year
teacher in the States. But don't forget housing is getting paid for
and the cost of living is much lower. I think this makes it a real
nice job to have. I personally love it so far.

The students go to class for eight periods in the day. So they are in
class from 7:50 am until around 5:30. They have some breaks in the
middle and after lunch from 12:30 to 1:30 there is a break. That is
usually when students come into the office to ask questions. On
Tuesdays and Wednesdays the students have club meetings during 8th
period. So on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have to stay until around
5:30pm to be a club advisor. I am the adviser for Glee club. I will
talk about that more later. Students have dinner on campus at 5:30 and
then after dinner they have mandatory study halls. Then it is to bed.
Most of the students live on campus and are from different parts of
the country.

The students wear khaki capris or skirts for a uniform. They have
polos or button up shirts as the other part of the uniform. I have to
make students put on their uniform in class. If it becomes too much of
a problem I am supposed to inform their banzheren or homeroom teacher.

Speaking of homeroom teachers. Each grade is separated into two
homerooms. The students in that class stay in the same room the whole
day. The students in the homeroom become very close. So teachers have
their own desk and computer in an office and go to the room which the
students are in. This is quite different from American education. This
also means that the rooms are not really decorated or personalized. I
was really looking forward to when I got my own room. I guess I will
have to wait. However this year there were around 80 juniors and 40 in
each homeroom. This was too many for one class and would not give the
students a Western learning atmosphere. The two homerooms were
separated into three classes. The students were sad to be separated
from the people who they spend practically the whole day with. This
also meant that students had to move from room to room which was new
to them. I think it will give them a taste of what it is like to go to
classes in American high schools. However often students visit during
the breaks and hate to leave to go back to their homeroom. Both of the
homerooms our on the third floor of the building. However class one
has to go upstairs to the 4th floor to one of the spare rooms to take
Calculus from me. So when I teach in that room the desks are not
cluttered with books. The rooms in on the third floors have all the
students textbooks, SAT study books, and all of their school books on
their desks. They are stacked high with stuff. They live in those
classrooms so all of their stuff is there. But because of this
separation class sizes are 27 or 28. That is much more manageable.

Our school year started September 1st. The semester ends around the
16th or 17th of January. We had last Monday off for Mid-Autumn
festival. Then I think we get a week off for national holiday in
October or November. We get a day off around Christmas. We hold a
Christmas party so that the kids know about the holiday. Then we get
two or three weeks off and second semester starts in February. So then
I have the students until May 9th the day of the AP Calculus test.
After the test my students will study for the SAT or TOEFL. They will
also work on getting college apps and personal statements for college
apps. However I stay until the beginning of July which is the end of
the school year. So I guess their school year is shifted back a month
since "winter break" is shifted back a month. However since I don't
have students from May on I am told I am going to be super bored.
Right now the other math teacher is teaching the grade 10 classes. So
we may taking turns teaching them and collaborate on the curriculum.
Anyways that just means you can visit me after May 9th.

I mentioned students studying for tests. When they are bored in class
they will take out flash cards. They will use some loaded words in
class. When they do I just know it had to be some SAT or TOFEL vocab
word. Last week I had a student who looked at her test score during
the break in the middle of my class. She ended up crying and was upset
the entire second half of my class. She did above average and
considering she was only a junior it was a really good score. I told
how when I took the SAT my junior year I did ok. However the next time
I took it I improved my score greatly. Mainly because I had been
exposed to more math. So I told she has plenty of time to improve. The
students will keep taking these tests until they get a perfect score.
This is a very different environment then I am used to. It is
interesting seeing the differences.

The other things to note is that students have a mandatory 30 exercise
time after the first block. They also do things called eye exercises.
They happen a couple times during the day. I believe they happen near
the end of the second block. They are also at the beginning of 5th
period. They think students eyes are strained from being in school so
long that they need to work them. They rub their face, temples, and
massage the scalp. It takes about ten minutes out of my class. None of
the students really like doing them, but they have to. I told them it
is just another hoop to jump through. I explained the phrase to them.

So that is an overview of the schedule and some key points in the
different education systems. If you have questions or want to know
more about a topic. Feel free to comment. I got the comments as
e-mails and I think I can reply back.

So Much to Say

I have a lot to say about the difference between Chinese Education and American Education. There are some differences between how Chinese Students and American students learn. However all the best practices in America that I learned about in grad school are still best practice here, but for different reasons. When I have time I will write more on this topic because right now I am busy getting ready for the first day of school on Thursday Sept. 1st. 

Hopeful Posts from China and Ideas about my Curriculum

I have signed a contract to teach AP Calculus in Wuxi, China. I will be teaching the class in English and I am told that the students can speak English very well. I hope to keep you informed about my teaching and what is going on in my classroom in China by emailing my posts to this blog. I hope this e-mail method will work in China since I am very sure that blogspot is not available in China.

I will be taking my idea about math journals with me and try to implement it in China. I will have them writing every day to build their English skills. AP also requires students to justify their answers with words. They believe in Calculus with words. Therefore doing this will help them build their English skills and prepare for the AP test. I hope to continue researching the use of journals and hope to one day publish an article about math journals because it is a big passion of mine. I think I will start the class in the beginning about why we would write in math class? Then do a think, pair, share activity with the free response. I want to do this to help build student buy in. Although I think the Chinese students may not question it as much. There is a lot of possibilities. I am really curious if my idea of journals will be well received or how it will be received.

I am a little worried about teaching AP calculus. My calculus is kind of rusty and I know the Chinese students will expect me to be on top of the subject. It is tough material to teach and learn. I still don't think I have a deep enough grasp of it. My college Calculus course did not prepare me or give me a deep understanding of Calculus like the AP test requires. I just want to be the best teacher I can be and I know that will be hard to do teaching Calculus. However I can only do my best and try my hardest. I just hold myself to high standards and I am worried to fall below them in the Chinese culture.

I tried writing some lesson plans before I left, but I couldn't do it since I didn't have a feel for the students and the school. I want to get know my students better before I start planning. I also need to speak more in depth with the previous teacher about where the best place is to start, what to review, and where the students struggled previously.

So I am nervous and excited to start my teaching career. I just have to keep in mind that I am always learning and my teaching will keep improving. It will all become more natural and become a second nature. I am starting a fulfilling and rewarding career that I have always dreamed about.

Math Journals

I explored the use of journals and writing in math this year.  I am really excited to see how the journals change over my career and the activities that I use from year to year. I think that math journals will help to make my teaching new and different each year. Math journals will continue to inspire me and my teaching as they have done this year. This is a series of videos talking about what I did with my class and what I would like do next time.









Resources:
HotX: Algebra Exposed by Danica McKellar
Math Doesn't Suck by Danica McKellar
Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar
The Journal Book Edited by Toby Fulwiler
Frayer Model
Wolfram Alpha
Wordle

Student Teaching

So I am near the end of my student teaching at Silverton High School. It has been super busy and lots of responsibility. I taught two algebra concepts classes and algebra 1. This means I was teaching some basic algebra and some more advanced algebra. I got to teach some of my favorite topics. I really connected with a lot of the students and think I made some good relationships. The kids drove me crazy on some days and other days I reveled in their success. I enjoyed influencing students not only in their study of math, but helping students pick out good books to read. They told me some other good books to read as well. I am always looking for a good young adult book to read.

I even got to teach calculus when they were done with the AP test. I taught first order differential equations, integration by parts, and integration using partial fractions. It was very different experience than my algebra classes. The class often managed themselves since they were seniors and they were very vocal about questions. Some students of course were more vocal than others. It was sometimes hard to be put on the spot with questions and I had to put in a lot of hard thinking to prepare for those questions. I made sure I had a deep understanding of the meaning of each step. I never thought of teaching Calculus when I was growing up, but it was a lot of fun.

The thing that I love most about my time at Silverton is how much I impacted the community of the school. I encouraged teachers to use technology in their classes and because of conversations one teacher got funds for an ipad. He will look into how to incorporate using ipads in the classroom. I felt like a valued member of the PLC and took part in improving the math curriculum. I even helped raise money for the school choir. I also helped an English teacher incorporate a project involving yodio into her curriculum. I have become such a part of the community that I think I will miss working with the students and staff. I am happy that I have had an impact on the teachers, students, and staff. I will be sad to leave, but I know that I will still be influencing learning.

On to High School...

So getting back into the high school grove makes me miss middle school. I thought I would never really miss it. I just don't feel like I am making connections and relationships with students here at high school like I did in middle school. This might be because they are more subdued and ask less questions. However recently I did get talking to some students about my thesis on the average number of turns it takes to complete the game of candy land. I will have to share this fun fact when I introduce myself since it grabs students interest.

However I am really excited to teach two sections of Algebra Concepts next semester. That class has some of my favorite stuff in algebra included into the curriculum. Graphing equations, solving a system of equations, graphing inequalities, and graphing a system of inequalities. I loved graphing a system of inequalities because I always used different colors to shade the graph. I am going to bring in lots of color into my graphs for my students and make sure they use colored pencils as well.

However my other supervising teacher is still getting his teaching schedule rearranged. There is only one 47 minute period of calculus scheduled next semester. The students wanted more time to work with the difficult concepts and they are looking to add another period. So I will need to take one math class from him once his schedule is set. It will most likely be some basic algebra class which is cool with me because I love algebra. Hopefully I can bring in some Abstract algebra into the class as well. I am a little worried I will not have enough time to plan for this class since I won't have time to work with the curriculum and textbook until January 3rd.

I will also be working with the calculus class some once I have graduated and they have finished with the AP test. I am thinking of teaching them how to work with LaTeX and have them type up test corrections using it. LaTeX is used by professional mathematicians and almost every math textbook is written using the program. I think using it would allow students to understand how to problem solve when using technology and review math concepts. I think they will still be reviewing math problems as they type up old problems, but it will not be the focus of the activity. I think that they would love to spend some time in the computer lab learning something new after the test, but we will see. I will have to keep a vigilant eye on the use of facebook. I think I may introduce another math program that I used in my undergraduate program, but I am not sure what I would include just yet. I think I will have to talk to my professors and become more of an expert at the program. However playing around on the computers with math related programs that are used in college level math courses is something I hope the students will find interesting and will be able to learn from.

It seems that January 31st is drawing closer. I will become even more of a teacher after that time. I will be teaching three math classes for a whole semester. I think it will be a very different experience. It is also something I have dreamed of doing for over ten years. I am much more excited to work with the faculty, work in this high school, and teach this curriculum. Algebra is much more exciting and cool then stupid decimals. Now I just hope that I can show my students how exciting and cool algebra can be. I hope that I find my place and calling at the high school level.

My Final Day and Reflection

 On my last day I was sort of stupid and thought my students were passing a note. I took it away and put it in the recycling. My supervising teacher took it out and had the class pass it around again because it was actually a thank you note. I felt so bad about it when I opened it up to read it. It was very sweet and felt good to see the kids appreciate me. But I felt stupid for thinking it was a note.

 On my last day I played a math game called set with them. They seemed to like it. I asked them to step up to the front to find a set and often they got it wrong at first. I guided them to the answer so they didn't feel so bad. Everyone wanted to try and find a set in the cards. Play it online here.

So here is a reflection on my practicum time:

 During my practicum I could never really get my students to be quiet. They talked during tests and during my class. I think all of this talking may have thrown off my data. I did my best to be firm and get them to be quiet, but I did not have that command of the class. I also could not control the noise after the test. This loud testing environment may have impacted students testing abilities. I don’t think I observed them being quiet for my supervising teacher either, so I believe that this was not a group norm. I may not have this problem when I teach high school students. This just may be because they are sixth graders and have lots of hormones. If I was a student in that room I could not have worked in that class. I will need to work on being more firm about a quiet testing environment.

                I believe that I did too much direct instruction during my teaching. I was just more comfortable using direct instruction. I would have like to do more collaborative work, so that students were doing more of the learning and discovering knowledge for themselves. That is one of my theoretical beliefs that students need to discover and formulate ideas on their own. However I do not think the class had the group norms for doing collaborative work when I arrived. I therefore did not have time to teach them the group norms. I don’t think if I was ready to teach the group norms with everything else I had on my plate. I will have to make sure that I set up good group norms in my high school classroom and find ways to incorporate collaborative work into my curriculum.

                I also think I need to work on transitioning students from different activities. I had trouble giving directions and having students switch gears. It takes a lot of time to get the quiet and settled into the new activity. I think this is important to help them settle into the test and get the brains in gear. Plus that way I don’t have to say what page number and problem we are five different times. I will have to have a signal to help transition students and make sure my transition set is more solid.

               I will also have to make sure that I chunck up worksheets or assignments so that students do not get haywire after working on the same thing for too long. I learned that sixth grade students could not work on the same worksheet for very long. The next time I gave them a worksheet I made sure that I lead students through the worksheet step by step instead. This kept more students on task and most of them got the worksheet done. 

             After looking at my assessment data I saw real learning gains from students. I saw that the class as the whole improved their concept of decimal place value by a large amount. There was a 200 percent change from the pre test to the post test. I was really proud of that learning gain. However students were still struggling with adding and subtracting decimals that had a different number of place values. I think that is a hard concept to grasp when not using calculators and will take some time to understand. I will have to focus more on this learning target since it is what gives the students the most trouble.  I demanded my students to do this without a calculator so that they would become better mathematicians and have a solid foundation with decimals. However this is difficult and will take a while to learn. I did not think about how I would teach this concept and realized part way through that working with decimals with different place values was an important learning target. I think this showed me why teachers have to lay out concretely the learning goals and targets of each unit.

So all in all it was a difficult and stressful experience, but it was definitely worth while. I don't know how I would teach those students for longer than three weeks. I would like to teach at middle school because of the high energy, but some days that high energy is too much to handle.