Students came back to school this week, but not until Wednesday. That means that I only saw them for 3 days and the beginning of school generally means going through routines (pretty general), but I AM EXHAUSTED! I got home last night after junior high volleyball practice and then working the football gate, and I was asleep by about 9:30pm.
While I'm tired, it was a good week. And, I'm happy to report that I think incorporating the mathematical reflections on the photographs is going to be a success! Friday, while describing the assignment in class, we got into some good discussions about whether or not the columns in a photograph were truly parallel because of the shape of the columns. They also debated what might be the best term to describe the columns. They weren't cylinders because the diameter changed throughout the column, but they weren't "shape" that would be.
In another class, I got great participation and a wide spectrum of ideas, all about the same photograph. Needless to say, I'm excited!!!
Now it's on to less exciting things like taking recycling to the drop-off, scrubbing my floors, and trying to get my apartment super clean! Because I know it won't happen again until the end of October when volleyball season is complete! Hope you all have a good weekend!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
MathFest 2011 Presentation
I know this won't share the whole experience with you since you won't hear the presentation that goes with it, but here are my presentation slides.
Outdoors with Math in the National Parks, MathFest 2011
There is much more to be developed and detailed with this project, but I've got a start!
Outdoors with Math in the National Parks, MathFest 2011
There is much more to be developed and detailed with this project, but I've got a start!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
MAA's MathFest 2011: as nerdy and wonderful as it sounds
Yesterday, I traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, to attend MAA's MathFest 2011. MAA is the Mathematical Association of America in case that's an acronym with which you're not familiar. Mathematicians from across the country (and some internationally), and mostly from colleges and universities, come together to talk math, all kinds of math. Because I'm one of them, I can comfortably say that mathematicians have a style all of their own. Actually, there are about 2-3 styles, but they all very much scream, "I live for math!" Let's just say it wasn't difficult to spot which individuals in the airport were headed to MathFest. And now I'm wondering how easy I am to spot.
Today, I went to a variety of presentations. One professor used the popularity of zombies to grab his students' attention and practice using the SIR model (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) which is typically used with infectious diseases. Another discussed research on how teachers' mathematics content knowledge explains their teaching practices. And, I have to say I experienced that "student" feeling today: when it came time for questions in some of the presentations, I wasn't even sure what I would need to ask to begin to understand! A great reminder to put yourself in your students' shoes once in awhile. My favorite way to do this in junior high is to ask for a volunteer to be the teacher for an example problem. I take a seat and ask every single question I can think of to be sure they explain each step, especially the ones I know are out there but just aren't being asked. The students think it's fun, maybe because I tend to play it up and be borderline ridiculous.
The very best part of my day was seeing my undergraduate college advisor, Dr. Lisa Townsley. She's at the University of Georgia now, and I haven't had the chance to see her in person since shortly after graduation. She continues to be an inspiration and mentor for me, and I'm hoping I'll have the chance to see her (or at least talk with her) much more frequently in the future. I have her to thank for encouraging me to submit an abstract to speak at MathFest. Thank you, Lisa!
After a few more presentations, I walked into "Thursday Night Live" in Lexington's Fifth Third Pavilion where I listened to some live music and grabbed crepes from a local restaurant for dinner. And then back to the hotel to look up my students' MAP (standardized tests) scores from last year, and possibly start planning a new hair color if they did well....
Today, I went to a variety of presentations. One professor used the popularity of zombies to grab his students' attention and practice using the SIR model (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) which is typically used with infectious diseases. Another discussed research on how teachers' mathematics content knowledge explains their teaching practices. And, I have to say I experienced that "student" feeling today: when it came time for questions in some of the presentations, I wasn't even sure what I would need to ask to begin to understand! A great reminder to put yourself in your students' shoes once in awhile. My favorite way to do this in junior high is to ask for a volunteer to be the teacher for an example problem. I take a seat and ask every single question I can think of to be sure they explain each step, especially the ones I know are out there but just aren't being asked. The students think it's fun, maybe because I tend to play it up and be borderline ridiculous.
The very best part of my day was seeing my undergraduate college advisor, Dr. Lisa Townsley. She's at the University of Georgia now, and I haven't had the chance to see her in person since shortly after graduation. She continues to be an inspiration and mentor for me, and I'm hoping I'll have the chance to see her (or at least talk with her) much more frequently in the future. I have her to thank for encouraging me to submit an abstract to speak at MathFest. Thank you, Lisa!
After a few more presentations, I walked into "Thursday Night Live" in Lexington's Fifth Third Pavilion where I listened to some live music and grabbed crepes from a local restaurant for dinner. And then back to the hotel to look up my students' MAP (standardized tests) scores from last year, and possibly start planning a new hair color if they did well....
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