Author: Geoff
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Your 2014 Math Blogging Retrospectus
Compiled a tad too late for the Winter break, but just in time for January in-service, here’s your 2014 collection of posts shared by people who came across my post. [2014 Math Blogging Retrospectus] Be sure to check out previous years’ retrospecti as well.
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Calling for 2014 Math Blogging Retrospectus Posts!
Ah it’s the time of year again. The time of year when we all start looking forward to fireplaces, family, and chewing up reams of your school’s printer-paper by printing out the Math Blogging Retrospectus. The impetus of creating the Retrospectus was that it’s so damn hard to keep up with all the great math…
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Critiquing the Common Core on its Merits and Demerits
Criticism of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has sadly devolved into theater, when it and schools would benefit from critical analysis. CCSS criticism is all-too-often hyperbolic while CCSS defense delves in dismissal of concerns or even ridicule. That’s a shame because CCSS could use a critical eye: one that understands the standards as an…
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Where inquiry and methods intersect
Had a nice, quick twitter conversation with Anna (@borschtwithanna) yesterday morning. Anna reached out with a question about providing methods in an inquiry-based classroom. If you teach PBL or PrBL, do you teach students standard algorithms too? @emergentmath @SchettinoPBL @NatBanting — Anna Blinstein (@Borschtwithanna) October 23, 2014 Anna was conflicted due to her students’ unwillingness…
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Quick Hits: Razor Blades and Fractions
A potential fractions task because because middle schoolers probably really struggle with the high cost of shaving blades. Not a super complex task, but maybe good for a warm-up? Artifact: Suggested Knows/Need-to-Knows: We know… Dollar shave club sells razors at a price of four for $6. “Their” razors cost 1 1/2 for $6. We need-to-know…
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Assessment via audibles: OMAHA! OMAHA!
It’s both the first question and the last one when developing an inquiry-driven classroom, ostensibly featuring significant groupwork: How do you keep individual students accountable while working in groups? While that’s a huge bear of a question that is better addressed via a book, I want to take a stab at a small slice of…
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Designing Problems: Linking a standard to a context
Context isn’t everything, but it’s often a good thing. Or at least, it’s a thing, sometimes only a starting point. While contextualized scenarios aren’t necessarily the key that unlocks engagement they may allow students to model, activate students’ interests, activate your own interest, or simply serve as a starting point from which to develop a non-routine problem…
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Reduced Fat ‘Nilla Wafers are an Empty Canvas for Problem-Based Learning Models
It’s probably not exactly the Great Double Stuf Oreo Controversy of 2013. We’ll be bouncing our grandchildren on our knees talking about that one. But here I am with some Reduced Fat ‘Nilla Wafers, thinking about multiplying percents and fractions. Rest assured, I purchased these on accident. I meant to get the Original Wafers in all…
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Larry Ellison, billionaire CEO, makes unsound business decisions with regards to his basketball playing on his yacht.
Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle, has gobs and gobs of money. How much money? Well enough that he can do this. Boy that seems wasteful, doesn’t it. I mean, when I’m playing basketball on my yacht and I lose a ball into the ocean I just purchase an extra basketball. Wouldn’t it make…
emergent math 