Dear Learner - A letter to my students

Dear Learner:

I am sure you have heard from your parents, grandparents, teachers, counselors and other advice-givers-at-least-twice-your-age, that we know what’s best for your future and everything you do now will affect you later. I am not going to go on a long rant about the philosophical life-lesson part of that concept, but I am going to explain my reasons for holding you to high standards and expecting that you learn everything that I teach you in our Algebra 2 class.

I can not predict what you will do after you leave Schaumburg High School and while you may have some idea now what you want to do, it is entirely possible that will change. I can, however, predict what you will need to know mathematically in the years that you will spend at SHS taking mathematics courses. Actually, it is not a prediction at all. The government and school board have set a list of required concepts - called standards or learning targets or objectives - and each course in high school has 9 months to teach you a portion of that list. The skills and concepts are in a specific order and each course is designed to prepare you for the next.

Think of it like this: Little league baseball prepares you to make the freshman baseball team, where you continue to perfect your skills so you are prepared for the JV team which intern prepares you for Varsity. If you are really talented and passionate about baseball, you may get the opportunity to play in college or even make it your career. Now see if you can follow this metaphor for learning mathematics. Elementary school mathematics taught you the basics - the arithmetic and number sense. You used those skills when learning Algebra 1 and applied some of those skills in Geometry where you learned the mathematics of logical, orderly argument and justification. This year you are working your algebra skills again to deepen your understanding. Why? To prepare you for upcoming classes: Trigonometry and Calculus.

The road ahead for you while at SHS is already laid out. You will take Trigonometry/PreCalculus next year where, like geometry you will exercise only some of your algebra skills, but then you will take Calculus. Whether you take AP calculus or non-AP calculus , you will need to not only have a little experience with algebra but you will need to be really good at it. More than 70% of every calculus problem is algebraic manipulation - in other words - you most likely will not find calculus difficult unless you are unprepared algebraically. That is my job - to prepare you algebraically and to create thinkers rather than robots. I know this not just because “I was your age once”, but because I have taught the next course and I work with the teachers everyday that teach the courses that you will take after you successfully complete this one. I actually know what is ahead for you because it is my job to know and to prepare you.

Imagine if the coach of the JV baseball team only practiced batting skills and never addressed running the bases or outfielding? Maybe that year his team did alright, winning just over half the games - like 60%, a ‘passing’ rating. How will this bode for the Varsity team next year when all those skills are necessary to make it to state? Are those players going to be prepared for success?

I understand that in every other math class you have been given a percent that represents an average of scores on assessments and that seems comfortable and maybe logical. Here is why I no longer average my student’s learning. For simplicity sake we will keep it to 5 learning standards, although I hope you can see how this is magnified with more standards.

Skills/Learning Standards	Percent Accuracy on Test
Graphing Functions	75%
Solving Linear Equations	90%
Solving Quadratic Equations	50%
Solving Inequalities	75%
Writing Equations	85%
Average	75%

The student depicted above would earn a 75%, a C - a passing grade - if the scores were averaged. At first this appears fair and reasonable, but look more carefully and think about this student’s future. If a teacher “passes” this student on to the next course because he has an average of a 75% and never addresses the deficit of solving quadratic equations, this student will not be prepared when that concept is called upon in subsequent courses. This student may struggle not only with the new concepts in the next course but also with re-learning the skills of previous courses that were not learned when taught.

I don’t aim to make life or school more difficult for my students. Nor do I expect this course to take precedence over another at all times. I merely want to prepare my students to be successful for the future that I can predict for them - the upcoming mathematics courses at SHS.

If you share the same vision, that is being successful in future classes, then one thing you can do is take the preparation and learning opportunities that I am providing seriously. I will not average your scores because it lessens the importance of the concepts that you are not excelling at and increases the weight of those that you found success on. I will not ignore that “one standard” that you got a “2” on, because that means that I am sending you on to another course unprepared. I will provide you a safe learning environment, many learning opportunities and endless opportunities to demonstrate that you have learned the concepts - the concepts that I know you’ll need to be successful in the near future.  

Please feel free and comfortable to share a response by clicking here. My students are my job so I want to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Your teacher - Ms Moran

STEM and Flower Learning Consultants

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In Progress Grades for Athletic Eligibility

Today was the start of second semester. I asked my students what they liked about our class and what they would like to see changed. There were quite a few positive comments about retakes and the feedback that I provide on formative assessments. They liked the group work and the cup system I have in place for communicating levels of struggle as I walk around the room. Many students like the flipped videos and taking notes at home, which allow them class time to work on homework with their peers. Others would prefer if I taught in front of the class more often and suggested that I do that twice a week. All of their comments were thoughtful and it was good to see that my intentions were effective and well received.

Another suggestion, that breaks my heart a little, is the lingering desire for a traditional letter grade. The students that asked for this, and there were not many, explained why they felt they needed it. I still read their words and tear up because the reason they gave is athletic eligibility. To me this seems simple – if you’re making progress then you are eligible. Because learning is a process I don’t issue grades until I am required to do so. How do I capture a weekly grade while progress is being made but the last piece of evidence has not been submitted?

In perfect situation, I would mark “Making Progress” or “Progress Stalled” or “No Progress” for eligible or ineligible each week.  At the end of a grading period, I would only issue “Evidence of Proficiency Demonstrated” or “Has Not Yet Met Proficiency”. That’s right only two marks: Yes or Not Yet. To justify using this two-pronged approach, because I am on the SBL Island alone in my school, I can issue traditional letter grades at the end of the term. But only at the end. (I also wish there didn’t have to be an “end,” but there is an end in June-every year.) Every day before the last day of school is still an in-progress learning day – there is no grade – we are STILL learning.

So, I can stand on my Island and talk to myself and send messages in bottles hoping to be heard, but I really want my students and their parents to understand and be comfortable with my policies. The current concern seems slightly less focused on the grade for the sake of a grade, which warms me, but rather focused on the need for a grade for athletic eligibility. The thing is I am very committed to communicating with all parties involved so I complete athletic eligibility every week based on my student’s progress and use standards - “Making Progress” or “Progress Stalled” or “No Progress”.  Is this enough?  How do you determine athletic eligibility?

Please share your thoughts and the way that you address athletic eligibility for your standards based learners on twitter @stemflowerlc or by emailing Aric and Megan at stemflowerlc@gmail.com.

STEM and Flower Learning Consultants

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Asynchronous Classrooms

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you read the words “I run an asynchronous high school math classroom”? Do you think I am crazy or that it is impossible? Does the idea make you panicked or curious? When I first heard a high school science teacher tell me that his students work asynchronously, I had two questions: has anyone been seriously injured, and if he can do it, why can’t I? And of course, I wanted an answer to my first question before I moved on the second.

I have been running an asynchronous classroom for over three years, and it has been a great change for my students. It is also a mental workout for me. I found interest after running a flipped classroom for two years and wanted to utilize the flip for differentiation. So, how did I wrap my head around this seemingly insane concept? Well, contractually I have had a math tutor supervisory position for 10 out of the last 12 years. Our academic center is staffed by one science, one English and one math teacher all day everyday in 25 minute increments. In this position, I greet and tutor 5-15 students each day with needs from “can you just check this one question?” to “I’ve been absent for 3 days and have no idea what’s going on.” The topics are anything from basic Algebra 1 to AP Statistics to ACT preparation. That means that as I roll from student to student I need to switch topics, or more often courses, and I must be ready to meet the needs of each learner regardless where they are in their learning process.

I reflected on my hours of flexibility in the academic center as preparation for an asynchronous classroom everyday. I was really good at resetting for each learner so that whatever their needs were, I could meet them, pleasantly. But what does it look like? To some it may look chaotic and that can scare both young and experienced teachers away. But look closer with me. That chaos is actually active learning. When students are learning at their own pace, not only can the slower learners “keep up” but the faster learners are also permitted to “move ahead.” Those that get bored because they “get it” can move on to the next lesson instead of nodding off, distracting others, or tuning out. It is also great for students that are planning ahead because they have a busy weekend or a basketball tournament that will get them home too late to finish their homework.

How does it work? On a learning curve of my own, which involved too much freedom for the learners at first, I realized the asynchronous classroom could be the recipe for procrastination for students if not enough guidance is given in the beginning of the school year. My first year, I planned months in advance preparing a variety of practice opportunities, formative checkpoints that, if failed, would direct students back to more practice and multiple versions of practice-including a variety of methods of assessment. I was ready for learners to be up to 2 units ahead of my typical schedule if they were proficient and driven. At the start of the year, when setting the foundation for a positive learning environment and culture in my classroom, I introduced the asynchronous classroom. Reactions were generally positive, filled with excitement and a touch of apprehension.

The go-getters were thrilled to have permission to move ahead, asking what would happen if they finished before June. The apprehensive learners expressed their concerns about the freedom being too much. What I witnessed was many students working ahead and a few that would only use class time to work, as though 45 minutes in class was always going to be enough time to complete the learning, practice, and assessments. There was a group of students whose procrastination surfaced quickly and as the first 9-week grading period drew near, were struggling to complete the work. I issued more incompletes that year than I had in the lat 8 years combined. Of course, my first thought “Was I to blame for this?

As we entered the second quarter, I began to make workload recommendations daily and created a big picture timeline; I then suggested that students plan their week of learning every Monday with me and then reflect on Friday if they accomplished it. I advised that if they set the goal of four lessons and a formative assessment in the five days we spent together and they accomplished it, then they could take the weekend off. This made them much more at ease with the freedom of my classroom. I saw more students keeping up and others realizing how easy it would be to get ahead. The reward of a “math-free” weekend was appealing to many. Others liked the idea that they could plan around athletic events and other school related commitments including work for other classes.

As that quarter rolled on and we moved into second semester, more students needed less of my guidance. They were now in control of the pace of their learning with the safety net of their teacher: me. Still a small handful asked for a pacing guide to be spelled out for them with daily in class and out of class tasks.

For each year since, I have eased my students into the freedom of being asynchronous. I offer them the support and guidance that they need to be successful. I check in with each of them at least once a week specifically about their pace and learning. I make frequent contact to parents, to coaches, and to counselors when appropriate. I encourage them to assess when they are prepared rather than when the schedule dictates. Students approach learning with some ownership and enjoy the control they have in the classroom. Their confidence is higher when they assess because it is their choice when they demonstrate their knowledge.

If you are interested in learning more about asynchronous classrooms, please email Megan and Aric at stemflowerlc@gmail.com or visit stemandflowerlearning.com.

STEM and Flower Learning Consultants

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