Day 25

Today I spent time making sure the parent of a student with special needs knows what to do to help her son get admitted to TCC and accommodations identified.

I am also working to plan an outdoor navigation activity to help students to understand navigation which is used in many work problems in unit 2.

Day 21 - September 18

The past two days I have have numerous contacts with an under achieving student who by the end of class today made the final decision to stay in my class.  After he made his decision a very complementary email was sent to his parent about my willingness to work with and fight for the success of my students.

We worked another day to work on raising the last 10% of fundraising for united way.  

I worked to confirm a location for our trigonometric treasure hunt used to introduce navigation.  We will be using the center of the track field. I have also placed the order for the trundles needed for the project, Thank you to the Education Foundation for the $1000 grant!

I followed up with another parent to let them know that their student has made significant progress.

I worked the Math Lab after school.  Many of our students need help from another math teacher to help them understand in a different way.  The Math Lab is in jeopardy of being eliminated since teachers are not willing to work it.  Each person agreed to work one day in September.  Today was my day to work for the good of the school.

Day 19 - Sept 16, 2013

Today our students experienced a meeting with a TCC instructor to prepare them for online college algebra this spring.  In the same class periods we asked the administrator over student life to speak to our students. She spoke about how students can get their family financial needs taken care of as well as the costs of academic and social activities at school.  At the end of the day we were informed that one of our students went to the administrator today to discuss issues with her family and she is now able to have her needs met.  

I also spoke with a parent about a student who was having difficulty.  The parent informed me that the student had been misplaced into my class and needs a lower leveled course.  The student will be moved tomorrow as a result of my parent contact.

Day??? September 13, 2013

It has been a crazy 2 weeks.  So crazy that I forgot to post anything!  So, here are a few highlights.

I had my first administrative walk through.  I have a different evaluating administrator this year.  It was a computer lab day.  Usually I like to take a minute to explain about using MyMathLab.com, but my students kept me busy answering questions.  Our administration has created a great checklist of information to look for during every walk through.  When I received my copy of the checklist, it prompted a quick visit with my administrator.  He had not seen the objectives for the day.  So, I took the opportunity to explain that my students write the objectives for the lesson each instructional day.  But, in the computer lab, the students are working on different objectives for the day.  The students know what their objectives for the day are, based on the assignments that they are working on.  

I had the opportunity to help at the pep rally set up Thursday night.  My job was to keep order and make sure that the students were not splattering paint.  The students were very respectful.  Me and 4 leadership student, one who is in my class this year, sat and visited for about half an hour.  I learned that the one of my students career aspiration is to be a TV newscaster.  

I have spent the last 2 weeks focused on our school's United Way Pledge Campaign.  We have not met our goal yet, but there are still 2 weeks to keep trying!  We have about $1600 to go!

My students took their first test this week on my math lab.  I had a variety of results, but in 3 classes of Trig/Alg 3 there were only 5 F's.  I can fix that!  Now I know which students need more one-on-one and which students, who ask lots of questions, can master more than than they believe.  It is time to focus on mathematical confidence.

Last night I attended the biggest rival football game in the nation!  To the best of my knowledge there were no major injuries and only one minor injury (both teams combined).  Lots of students were there.  Many in the student section, band, cheer Pom, high steppers, teepee crew, cookie girls, ROTC, and others spread throughout the stands.  It was great to see them outside of school.  

PD Day - September 3' 2013

I attended the required PD Day.  The morning was a review of engagement and literacy.  In the afternoon, I was in a group of 3 teachers who were asked to write a question (or two)that corresponds to a CCSS and is similar to the sample questions provided by PARCC.  These questions are to be used with Algebra 2 even though only one of the three of us teach Algebra 2.  We decided after creating the first question that our second question should be one that is similar so that we can use one as an in class assignment/discussion and the other as a CRT question.  Our group ended the day with a total of 6 questions written!

It took us several years to create CRTs that gave us true indicators of students potential for the EOI.  When I last taught Algebra 2, I discovered that our 3rd quarter CRT was a predictor of number correct on the EOI within 4 questions for about 90% of my students.  Of the 10% whose CRT did not predict the EOI, most were ELL students.

Day 10 - August 30, 2013

I have assisted in finding an Internet solution for a special needs student using her iPad.   

I spent the last day with all of my virtual students.  I have the unique opportunity to help students when they need it instead of teaching all students the same.  I am able to spend less time reviewing every topic needed and only focus on students's individual needs.

Day 9 - August 29, 2013

After going over the formulas of the six trig functions, I asked the students to pick one of 4 problems within instruction based on their confidence level with respect to using the trig formulas.  The 4 problems varied in difficulty.  The students were able to find success at their own level.  I was able to not only have students work different problems throughout the room but also identify the students feelings of understanding. This enabled me to reteach throughout the classroom on an individual basis.  The even the students working on the easiest problem were wiling to ask for help.

I attended the kickoff for the United Way fundraiser month.  I will be working with 2 others to raise $16,500.  We will work together to make a difference in our community.

I have worked with Cathy to arrange for the TCC Online College Algebra coordinator to speak to our classes about being prepared.  I also assisted Cathy in getting MyMathLab access for a student with severe physical disabilities.