Category Archives: Grit

Fun Friday in Math

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One of our goals in the math department this year is to foster a culture of math that is collaborative, accessible and most importantly, fun!  Several times throughout the year we have planned Fun Fridays with today being our first one.  During these days, students from different classes work together in small groups on one challenging problem during their usual class period.  Students are purposefully placed in mixed groups to help encourage students to leverage their unique skill-sets and perspectives to come together to solve a problem they may otherwise not be able to solve on their own.  We hope students experience the value of teamwork and problem-solving on these Fun Fridays and that they realize that math is much broader than what they might currently be studying in their current math class.  We also hope this gives them a chance to practice grit, resilience, and resourcefulness.  Our whole department is working hard to promote the growth mindset with our students and this is one way we are modeling it.

Today was our first Fun Friday.  Each group received a bag with 27 cubes in total – 9 different colors, 3 of each color.  They were instructed to create a 3x3x3 cube with each of the 9 colors represented on each face, similar to a 3-D Sudoku puzzle. 

 

This was a problem that had multiple ways to solve or strategies to implement.  It was so fun as teachers to watch students work together to try and solve this.  They would think they had it solved only to realize their last cube wouldn’t work.  Many students tried and tried again with some finding success in the end and others not being able to solve it. 

 





































As students were working you could hear teachers telling students that it was OK if they didn’t solve it.  Their brains were growing as they learned from their mistakes!  Synapses were firing!  

 It was great to listen to their different strategies and ways of approaching the problem.  
 
Mr. Cushing and Mr. Schooler stopped by to try their hand at solving it.

   


They were modeling to our students the struggle of working on a problem that they couldn’t immediate see the solution to and also the joy that comes when you finally solve it.  
  
We would love to invite any faculty and staff members to come join us on our next Fun Friday October 5th.  It will take place in every period in rooms 2, 5, 6, 7, & 8.  Our first Fun Friday was a success and we are already excited about planning our next one!

How Do We Use Our Long Blocks?

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After a great long block yesterday in my Algebra 2 class followed by an inspiring meeting with my Math Department colleagues, I’m thinking a lot about how we do (and should) use our long blocks.  Yesterday, during our long block we spent 80 minutes on one problem, which is linked here.   I organized the class as follows:

  • 0-20 minutes:  Students worked in groups and were not allowed to ask me (or any other group) questions.  It’s during this time that the students need to show grit, perseverance and confidence in their ability to handle new and challenging tasks, on their own and without me showing them the way.  Here are two videos showing what this looked like yesterday:

  • 20-30 mins:  I opened the class to public questions to me, meaning I would take questions and provide feedback with everyone listening.  The rules were that the questions had to be specific, (i.e. not “I don’t know how to start this”) but not so specific that they gave away the answer (i.e. not “This is what we did.  Is it right?”).  My feedback was strategically reflective during this time.  If they asked, “Do we need to make equations?” I answered, “What do you think?”  “What might the variables be?”  “How many equations might we need?”  “What might they represent?”  
  • 30-40 mins:  Another period of time to work in groups without any help from me.  It’s during this time that they should reflect and think critically about the feedback I’ve given them.
  • 40-80 mins:  I circulate and offer help and feedback to the groups individually until they finish the problem.
In all reality, I could use 1.5-2 hours to complete a problem like this really well.  Toward the end, it becomes a mad dash to complete the problem.  The groups are active, spirited and the adrenaline is running.  To make sure they really understand the problem, I wish I could give them more space to come to an understanding on their own but as the period comes to a close I end up giving more help than I’d like because I want them to have the satisfaction of completing the problem and finishing the task.  
I share this experience because, after our Math discussion yesterday, I’m thinking a lot about how we use these long blocks.  I know that many of my colleagues like to use the long blocks to give tests, and I understand the appeal:  there’s more time for students to work and more time to give a longer test (i.e. more questions/variability in what we ask).  But, I wonder how this reflects our recent discussions about making our math teaching less focused on discrete, right/wrong answer tasks and more focused on larger, open-ended tasks that require critical thinking, innovation, grit and perseverance.  What does this say about our priorities if we devote our longest class period to an assessment?  Could we (should we) commit as a department to devote our long blocks to more open-ended tasks?  
I know the first reason to say “No” to this question is time, and that is a real concern.  The problem that I describe above could have been taught by me in about 15 minutes, if I had used a traditional format of me demonstrating the answer on the board.  Instead I chose to spend more than five times that amount of class time because I believe that teaching skills is a worthwhile investment and if I have to sacrifice some content later, I can live with that.  In other words, at the end of my course, I want my students to have grown in their critical thinking skills, their problem-solving skills, their ability to collaborate and their understanding that math is all about modeling the world around them.  If focusing on this means I don’t get to Conic Sections or Coordinate Geometry, that is a sacrifice I’m willing to make because I believe they are better served by learning and practicing skills than by learning content.  I am aware that not everyone shares this view.  And, I am aware that this becomes really difficult when we start to talk about AP courses, or even sequential courses, where skipping content could have real consequences.  
I wonder how other departments make use of their long blocks.  How many of us only assess in a long block?  How many of us give double lessons in a long block as a way to keep our sections together (or simply as a way to cover all of the content of our courses)?  In what ways can we leverage these extended periods of time to do the 21st century teaching and learning that we keep talking about?

Women of Heart, Courage, Faith, and GRIT!

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Before you begin reading, predict the numbers that complete this equation.

        Intelligence =_____% effort vs.  _____% ability*



Consider this quote from Michael Jordan: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot. . .and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Michael Jordan (1997 Nike commercial)

     What are mindsets and how do they affect our classrooms? What are ways we can build a growth mindset within our classroom? What are some ways to help students adopt a growth mindset? As I continue to research and read, these questions appear to urgently be in need of answers and more importantly transformed into daily classroom practice in every classroom beginning in preschool.  As I write this blog, I think about how the world watched an entire global celebration of grit and growth mindset during the summer Olympics in Rio. Bring it on!

The growth mindset confirms that intelligence can be developed, and expertise can be built by 
means of deliberate practice.

      Back in August I read about teachers allowing their students to struggle to help them understand that learning often times involves struggle and failure; however, with continued effort and perseverance the likelihood of success increases. One of our own teachers, Amanda Jain, actually experimented with this idea during one of her exams. The problem I see is, if one teacher focuses on grit, the students will be influenced while in that particular teacher’s classroom. For a genuine shift to occur, the students need consistency over time and within different contexts. The idea of a school-wide campaign on grit appeals to me and what the mission of the CSJ’s represents. 


       In August, our department started a “How to Learn Math For Teachers” course constructed by Jo Boaler, a Stanford University Maths professor. Through the continuing discussions we have about the growth mindset, the idea of grit was also apparent. It led many of us to a TED talk video from Angela Duckworth about grit and her findings of how it was such a key factor in student success. As a department we have discussed what grit means to us and how we could apply that in our classroom to help make our students more successful. 

Have you used the idea of grit in your classroom this year yet?

       My focus for grit in the classroom is on building their stamina and confidence in their own abilities, as well as building cognition. My job is to give them tools and skill sets to do the very best they can and to not feel overwhelmed/ready to quit before they even begin. I model grit as often as possible for my students, and have found myself on many occasions using it myself. Often times, I find myself overwhelmed with all of the things I have to do that have nothing to do with planning quality lessons. I also am overwhelmed with continuously trying to differentiate my craft so that I meet all of the individual needs of every student. I to feel like giving up some days due to the fear that I will fail the monumental task entrusted to me, but know that I need to push on and push through (use grit) because the job I have is so very important. 

       Teaching reeks stress and havoc as a result of juggling so many priorities, and yes, they all are priorities that all need our time and attention. Right now. And faster is better. The reality is that our accelerated pace truly does not serve anyone (teachers and/or students). It is not how fast students master learning but rather their persistence, grit, and effort they put forth along with the right menu of teaching strategies. The growth mindset of a teacher contributes greatly to his or her responsiveness to the needs of students. Let us all step back, take a deep breath, be reminded that teaching is the most noble of all professions. We are truly the fortunate who can call themselves teachers. Thanks for stopping by and strengthening some neurons.


* Depending on your mindset:  
Fixed mindset = 35% effort vs. 65% ability
Growth mindset = 65% effort vs. 35% ability