What did he discover?  Well for one, if multitasking is hard enough for adults, it is definitely going to be hard for kids.  This especially applies to moments in class when students are supposed to be taking notes and the teacher continues talking, as he writes "Students can either copy something down, or listen. Most can’t do both. I know I couldn’t. As I was sitting there in class copying down notes, that’s all that was going through my brain. I was saying the words, thinking about spelling, making sure I had copied correctly, re-reading it to myself. I heard the teacher talking, but I had no clue what he or she was saying, and I was really trying to pay attention..."

 

Another thing to note is the importance of student discussion in the classroom.  Having kids sit and take notes is "usually pretty boring (for both students and teachers)."  But, having a discussion with his middle school "classmates" actually helped him become a better problem solver.  "One of the most obvious examples of beneficial student-to-student talk during my day involved the warm-up in my math class. ... it was a number puzzle with 3 levels of difficulty. I got through the first two levels quickly, but had to really think about the most difficult one. We got a chance to share our thinking with our group, and none of us had figured it out yet. However, when we all started sharing what we noticed about the problem, one of the other students said something that immediately helped me figure out how to solve the problem. If I had been sitting there on my own thinking about it by myself, I may never have figured it out."

 

This post details his entire day and has more insights than I can list here. The post is definitely worth a read, and the experiment is perhaps worth replicating at your own school. 

Written by:  Carl Oliver (@Carloliwitter)

 

I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Bejarano aka Crazy Math Teacher Lady at TMC 13, and have followed her blog ever since.  No - I have read her blog avidly and BORROWED substantially from her clear, creative and thorough lesson descriptions, which every geometry teacher should check out.  She's written great lessons on vocabulary, similarity, and special quadrilaterals, just to name a few.  Lisa is clear on giving credit her sources, and generous in sharing her product.  She is also reflects honestly and thoughtfully about what has and has not worked in her classroom.

 

 A few weeks ago, Lisa shared a Geometry curriculum map, complete with Common Core standards, links to activities, and learning targets.   What an awesome document!  It's a model for anyone who needs to organize a course (before or after), chock full of ideas and suggestions, or for any teacher looking for inspiration. 

 

And, of course, while writing this little review, I got to see Lisa's latest - the Coordinate Proof Tetraflexagon (which she has uploaded to Scribd).  The #MTBoS is a treasure trove for teaching philosophies, ideas, and real classroom practice.  Lisa's blog is one of the gems.

Written by:  Wendy Menard (@wmukluk)

February is historically known as Black History Month.  Although it's important to celebrate the history of our black brothers and sisters every month, it's important to give these events extra focus as often as possible.  Justin Aion's recent blog post on race highlights the conversations he has had with his students regarding teachers, students, and race in the classroom.  
Written by:  Megan Schmidt (@veganmathbeagle)