ImagineIT: Phase 5
For phase 5 of my ImagineIT project, I received insight from colleagues and students on the dilemmas I described in phase 4. The dilemmas were: how can I have students embrace growth mindset, how can I teach students to believe that they are mathematicians, how can I spark mathematical interest in the heart of the students, how can I have students take ownership of their learning inside and outside of the classroom, how can I create lifelong learners who explore, create and share, how can I have students believe in themselves? I narrowed down the focus to the two big ideas of my project: focusing on the big picture of mathematics and students’ misconceptions.
My colleagues enjoyed hearing about my ImagineIT project and are excited to see the full implementation. We discussed the dilemmas above and I shared how I planned to focus on the Standards of Mathematical Practices 1, 3 and 4. One colleague suggested not to create the videos like Khan Academy but have students communicate their understanding of the performance task through Screencastify on the Chromebook. Missy had suggested this earlier. I have already started implementing part of my ImagineIt with performance tasks and My Favorite Mistake. Seeing the time and effort students spend on the performance tasks, it seems logical for them to explain their work instead of creating a separate project. Also, I would rather have the students focus on a real world task than the procedural skills. The other colleague suggested to show more examples of My Favorite Mistake to highlight the strengths of others and help those who are still struggling.
My students were surprised by the dilemma questions that I asked them. A few of the students were silent at first and later discussed that no one had ever asked them these types questions about their learning and asked how would they know the answers. I told them that their opinions matter and that I was there to listen. Some of the comments I received about the big picture of math include: “relate the math to things teens are interested in”, “you can create lifelong learners who explore, create, and share by making us do more hands-on learning or more discussions”, “by challenging them academically and teach them lessons that will help them later on in life” and “do more group activities with harder questions”. Other comments about students’ misconceptions included: “keep showing that you have confidence in us and making us feel as if we can accomplish anything”, “keep asking for feedback”, “applaud those who struggle and get something right”, “by encouraging more mistakes, and showing steps to avoid them”, “by showing how making mistakes always has a path to getting on the right track. So it can be okay we make mistakes and not feel pressured” and “making the class more involved with more healthy communication, instead of who's wrong and who's right”. I was impressed by the maturity of the responses and feel that I am on the right path.
One of the comments that made me pause was “to embrace the growth mindset the student must develop the desire to learn”. That struck a chord with me. It’s the elephant in the room. I believe that everyone does have a desire to learn but that at times that desire may be overshadowed by outside factors. Some unexpected comments were: “no way possible if they don't like math they just won’t get it”, “how you can have students believe in themselves? I honestly don't know. You can’t help a non-believer”, “You really can't.” - spark mathematical interest in students. These were disheartening but I have heard them before from students, teachers and those outside of education. I hope that at the end of the year the student will no longer feel this way and will help change others’ negative beliefs about learning and mathematics.
My colleagues enjoyed hearing about my ImagineIT project and are excited to see the full implementation. We discussed the dilemmas above and I shared how I planned to focus on the Standards of Mathematical Practices 1, 3 and 4. One colleague suggested not to create the videos like Khan Academy but have students communicate their understanding of the performance task through Screencastify on the Chromebook. Missy had suggested this earlier. I have already started implementing part of my ImagineIt with performance tasks and My Favorite Mistake. Seeing the time and effort students spend on the performance tasks, it seems logical for them to explain their work instead of creating a separate project. Also, I would rather have the students focus on a real world task than the procedural skills. The other colleague suggested to show more examples of My Favorite Mistake to highlight the strengths of others and help those who are still struggling.
My students were surprised by the dilemma questions that I asked them. A few of the students were silent at first and later discussed that no one had ever asked them these types questions about their learning and asked how would they know the answers. I told them that their opinions matter and that I was there to listen. Some of the comments I received about the big picture of math include: “relate the math to things teens are interested in”, “you can create lifelong learners who explore, create, and share by making us do more hands-on learning or more discussions”, “by challenging them academically and teach them lessons that will help them later on in life” and “do more group activities with harder questions”. Other comments about students’ misconceptions included: “keep showing that you have confidence in us and making us feel as if we can accomplish anything”, “keep asking for feedback”, “applaud those who struggle and get something right”, “by encouraging more mistakes, and showing steps to avoid them”, “by showing how making mistakes always has a path to getting on the right track. So it can be okay we make mistakes and not feel pressured” and “making the class more involved with more healthy communication, instead of who's wrong and who's right”. I was impressed by the maturity of the responses and feel that I am on the right path.
One of the comments that made me pause was “to embrace the growth mindset the student must develop the desire to learn”. That struck a chord with me. It’s the elephant in the room. I believe that everyone does have a desire to learn but that at times that desire may be overshadowed by outside factors. Some unexpected comments were: “no way possible if they don't like math they just won’t get it”, “how you can have students believe in themselves? I honestly don't know. You can’t help a non-believer”, “You really can't.” - spark mathematical interest in students. These were disheartening but I have heard them before from students, teachers and those outside of education. I hope that at the end of the year the student will no longer feel this way and will help change others’ negative beliefs about learning and mathematics.