Year 2 begins in T minus 5 days

Wednesday, August 22nd. That's the date that has been at the front of my mind ever since school ended on June 14th.  It's the date that I get to start a school year "flipped" from Day 1.  I'm so excited.


Big changes I am making:

• Starting from day 1. That's a pretty big change!
• My plans for Math Analysis.  All week we are also reviewing Units A-D, the four summer mini-units of Algebra 2 they reviewed (with videos, online WSQs, etc to get them ready)
• Wednesday Day 1 - introducing myself, getting to know each other in groups, introducing KIRCH strategies for success, introducing WSQ and the basics of the flipped classroom
• At home: Watch Intro to flipped class video and take guided notes/ complete WSQ
• Thursday Day 2 - Q/A about flipped classroom from intro video, coming up together w/ expectations for students, teachers, and parents in the flipped class, coming up together with out to watch a video for education and not entertainment
• At home: review a classmate's summer MM playlist (notes to fill out).  Explore website, online WSQ, spreadsheet, Thinkbinder, etc (still haven't put this together yet)
• Friday Day 3 - Q/A about completing WSQs in general + online and using ThinkBinder study group
• At home: review a classmate's summer MM playlist (notes to fill out), complete WPP #1
• Monday Day 4 - Q/A on completing MentorMob WPP
• At home: review a classmate's summer MM playlist (notes to fill out)
• Tuesday Day 5 - How to watch a video model lesson
• At home: Prepare for Units A-D Test from summer work.
• My plans for Algebra 1
• Wednesday Day 1 - introducing myself, getting to know each other in groups, introducing KIRCH strategies for success, introducing WSQ and the basics of the flipped classroom
• At home: Watch Intro to flipped class video and take guided notes/ complete WSQ
• Thursday Day 2 - Q/A about flipped classroom from intro video, coming up together w/ expectations for students, teachers, and parents in the flipped class, coming up together with out to watch a video for education and not entertainment
• At home: tbd
• Friday Day 3 - Q/A about completing WSQs in general + online and using ThinkBinder study group
• At home: tbd
• Monday Day 4 - Q/A on completing MentorMob WPP
• At home: tbd
• Tuesday Day 5 - How to watch a video model lesson
• At home: tbd
• WSQ charts by unit instead of by week
• Students will be given all their assignments and expectations for the whole unit.  See samples for Algebra 1 here and Math Analysis here. 
• Students will still need to get all grey boxes signed off, but they have until the test to complete everything.  I'm not going to sign off in red and blue this year, as I don't want to penalize for late work - I'd rather it get done well than rushed through just to get a blue signature.
• If students do not stay on track (discussion dates are their "deadlines" to be on track) they will receive a "warning" and that will be noted on their WSQ chart.  The warning will include a date they need to be caught up by. If they don't meet that deadline, they will receive a second warning.  After that, they will receive the "homework card" for our school.
• Flexible testing days in class
• Each WSQ chart includes a date for "testing day in class".  That is the day students can take the exam in class, like a "normal" exam day.  If students want to take it earlier or later for whatever reason (within reason), they can.
• This is the biggest experiment I am doing this year and I have no idea how it will turn out. My goal in doing this has many faces:
• Students don't waste their time taking a test they aren't ready for
• I don't waste my time grading F tests (they take SO much longer!)
• Students feel more confident when taking tests
• Students learn to metacognitively self-evaluate their learning and understanding of the material
• Assessment is not a "gotcha", but a "let me prove to you I know this!"
• WSQ charts as "ticket to the test" 
• Another experiment...
• Students will not be able to participate in "testing day in class" if their WSQ charts are not complete.  If they show up not complete, they will work on those assignments in class while their classmates take the test . They will have to come in on their own time to take a different version of the test once they show they are ready.
• Online WSQs for everyone
• Even my freshmen :).  I was a little nervous about this, but after talking with 3-4 of last year's freshmen this week while they were in for community service, they seem to think it is an amazing idea and will really help hold students more accountable.
• I really feel the online WSQ makes the WSQ what I want it to be:
• Organization - students can re-access their responses at any time...and they are all legible!!  I don't have to waste time in class signing off this part of their WSQ chart in class because it's kept track of online via my awesome VLOOKUP and IMPORTRANGE spreadsheets!
• Accountability - because I can (if I want to and have time) read every single response, and their classmates will be reading their responses... that just increases the level of accountability.
• Processing - Again, because of the increased accountability I think students will do a better job with this leading to a higher degree of processing.
• Discussion - Students will have to discuss the material without their answers directly in front of them, which means they will have to take good notes (and add to them as needed) and actually really remember what they wrote down!
• Google Voice number
• "What if your students don't have internet? How can you require them to submit something online every night?"  Welcome to the beauty of Google Voice sent directly to voicemail!  Students can submit their WSQs via a phone call!!! woo-hoo!
• I will also be using this for student accountability.  No student should show up without watching the video and me not knowing about it.  If for some reason they can't watch the video (computer broke down, family emergency, etc), they must call and leave a voicemail.  Everyone has a phone!
• "Regions" of room for group work, quizzing, small group work, and video watching.
• I'm very excited about my new classroom setup.  It's still a mess (see the pictures in previous posts), but once it is put together and cleaned up I will post more pictures.  I'm getting my screen moved from the side of the room covering the big whiteboard to cover up a bulletin board when pulled down.  That means I can still have instructions on the screen and students can still be using the whiteboards for work.  
• I've transitioned my 3 supply tables into student desks (6 per table) and used student desks for smaller supply tables. This also leaves me with 10 extra desks to have in rows on one side of the room for quizzes!
• I currently have 3 extra laptops and just talked to our tech guy about getting 2-3 more in the next 2-3 weeks. I'm crossing my fingers!
• Students creating and curating own content
• My math analysis students did a little video creation last year, but this year my algebra 1 kids will be doing it as well.  One major change is that all videos students make will also include the problem itself being created by the student.  All problems will be posted publicly.
• Students will be responsible for finding their own resources and putting them in a playlist, which will be embedded on the class blog (at this point)
• Student Blogging
• I hope. District still hasn't gotten back to me. argh.
• I may not be able to do "beginning of year" blog posts like I wanted to. I suppose I could have them do it and just not post it anywhere.
• Blogging topics to include:
• Unit Reflections (pre and post test)
• Curated content playlist
• Created content playlist
• "Math Mistakes" blog analysis
• Solve a problem and explain their solution
• Special Posts - if I find an interesting article, post, video, etc that I want my students to reflect and respond to.
• School-Wide Writing - we do this 4x a year and I could have my students post their essays online instead of turning them in on paper. I would want to provide a way for students to submit it privately as well if it is a prompt that might be somewhat personal.
• Creating FAQ pages on curriculum topics
• Beginning of the year blog
• Students write about their expectations for the year
• Goals and dreams for the year (September; revisit in January and June) 

Important things I'm keeping the same:

• WSQ chats synchronously
• I feel that this is a huge part of my flipped class - structured time to demonstrate TWIRLS daily.  I will start with 3-5 minutes for Math Analysis and 2 minutes for Algebra 1 and work my way up as the year goes on.
• I would like each chat to have a "leader" - one group member who guides the discussion and makes sure all the questions get covered.  This leader would rotate (probably daily)
• Quizzing when they are ready
• Quizzes will be taken whenever students feel they are ready, but they do have to have them all taken before they take the test.
• Different versions of the quiz every day
• Still record progress in quiz packet (bar graph)
• Same grading scale of 2-8, with 6,7,8 passing scores.
• Waiving PQ assignments if they show mastery on the concept quiz
• Students don't have to finish a PQ assignment if they get an 8 on the concept quiz.  They can do this at any time (after trying most, some, or none of the problems), although I will always suggest/remind that they should at least try one all the way through first.

Quotes and thoughts I really want to emphasize this year:

• It's okay to not understand something.  We all need help sometimes.  Don't be afraid to ask, and don't be afraid to be wrong at first.  Just don't be okay with staying there.
• All assignments I ask you to do have a purpose and are there to support your learning and understanding.  If you feel something is busy work and isn't helping you, then communicate that with me and we'll find something that helps you understand the material more deeply.
• "Better late than never.  But, never late is better" (from one of my students who was super sorry for turning in something late)
• I hate the excuse "I forgot". Take responsibility and just say "I didn't do it" or something like that :)
• You can work ahead but you can't fall behind.
• "If it's important to you, you will find a way, if not, you'll find an excuse"
• Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice:
• Standard 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
• Standard 2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively
• Standard 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
• Standard 4: Model with mathematics
• Standard 5: Use appropriate tools strategically
• Standard 6: Attend to precision
• Standard 7: Look for and make use of structure
• Standard 8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
• TWIRLS - I want students to know what that means and why it's important

• HOT - I want students to know what that means and how to challenge themselves