Category Archives: learning through discovery

Starting a Rugby Team at Carondelet Is Like Teaching a Course No One Has Heard Of

Posted on by

I won’t bore you with my background with Rugby, or even with the steps I had to get enough girls out to practice to learn the game. Rather I want to share my experiences with teaching a game that no one knew how to play.

Think about it, you have in depth knowledge of something, you want others to enjoy what you’ve enjoyed, but every time you explain something you find you’re using words they’ve never heard of (lol, it sounds like my classroom). Wrapping in the tackle is extremely important, as is protecting the ball in the ruck, but these words become meaningless without an understanding of the game. So we began with some fundamental basics and built upon it.

Our first practice we had one football (Rugby not Gridiron) and we were practicing catching and passing. It was funny because the girls didn’t want to pass the ball backwards (everyone want to pass forward like in American Football) and more balls were dropped than caught. Fast forward one month and you’ll see a team of young ladies and one or two dropped balls a practice. It has become quite amazing. And so we conquered a skill that is imperative to the game, and we moved forward.

Rugby is a contact sport and so tackling is something that has to be taught. Imagining that tackling is a natural skill is foolish. It can be dangerous to not position your body correctly, so again we started with basics. Now we are at the point where we are playing games against each other and they are doing really well. These skills are important, ordering jerseys is exciting, but the biggest victory is seeing that the girls are seeing growth in the game.

After the first practice we brought the team in to a circle to give a team cry (the cheering kind) on 3. Instead of the usual, “Cougars on 3”, one of the players came up with something different that has become somewhat thematic. She called out “Potentials on 3”. I thought this was cute. They realized they didn’t know how to play the game, but they saw potential in each other. Two practices ago this changed. I expected the potentials on three again (sort of like our unofficial name), but our team captain thought differently. She recognized that the team was actually playing the game, not just having the potential to. So the new cry became, “Skills on 3”.

These labels might seem small, but this shows what the girls know. and their growth. They’ve taken ownership of the team, which is the goal. I’m there to facilitate, but I’m not the one playing, they are. They’ve done what I can’t. They’ve made themselves a team and they’re proud of the progress that they’re making.

I’m excited for our first official game to see what these girls can do, but regardless I’m proud of the small family that they’re creating. I also excited for what comes after “skills”.

When Ven a Ver Experiences Are Equally Beneficial To The Teacher

Posted on by

So far this year I have had the privilege of experiencing two Ven A Ver Trips, Washington D.C. and Appalachia (West Virginia). Although both experiences were very different (conference vs an immersion), but spoke to me in a way that I was able to bring what I learned back into the classroom. Although I teach Religious Studies, I don’t believe that this is the only discipline that can do this. Areas of Science, Social Studies, English and Modern Languages can all apply the information that I gained on these experiences. I will touch on the parallels in these disciplines in the following paragraphs. In Washington D.C. the Teach-In had its emphasis on Immigration (especially DACA), and Racism and it’s links to Mass Incarceration. This experience was eye opening for a number of reasons. Hearing first hand about the lives of those effected by racism and outdated legislation created a fire in me to not be silent to and make it a priority to educate those who can help make those changes; our students. We can often be blind to legislation that exists in other states because it doesn’t effect us, but in reality those pieces of legislation are a part of the problem because they increase the numbers in the prison system. When we met with our local California Representatives they received us in a very positive way and were supportive of the causes we were advocating for. But the legislation problems lie outside of our state boarders. This trip opened our group up to see a responsibility to not only speak with our Representative, but also seek to contact Representatives from other areas. It also allowed us to not be ignorant regarding racism and how it is effecting this country today.
The stories that were told by other students and presenters emphasized the need to be educated in these areas and to not be content with saying it is better now, so let’s focus on something else. I am sure that these issues are already being discussed in our Modern Language classes. Our English classes already write letters to our Representatives, and this is another confirmation that we need to keep doing this. The message we received from our Representatives was that they want to hear from us regarding specific legislation that they can focus on. In Appalachia the effects of the Opioid epidemic and the decline of the Coal and Steel industry were clearly visible. Unemployment rates in statistics can allow us to oversee the issues in a state such as West Virginia where two counties have unemployment as high as 9.5%. Being in the state makes it even more real, and emphasized the importance of helping our students realize the reality that fellow Americans face. The sources of energy per state differs and we need to be mindful of the environmental impact from those different sources. Mountain Top Removal and environmental disasters such as coal slurry pits are covered in Science courses. The moral dilemmas of how much to effect our natural environment is also covered in Religious Studies courses. The Ven a Ver to Appalachia helps the students see first hand what they had been studying. It also help me bring what I discovered there back to Carondelet to help the students understand the issues from another point of view. Although it may appear that these trips portray a sense of hopelessness, slivers of hope can be found in the stories we heard. One Post-Graduate student in West Virginia is experimenting with Coal and the properties it has when it is superheated. It turns into a non-flammable substance that is an incredible insulator. What this Post-Graduate student has created is not being looked in to by NASA. I have been incredibly happy to have been able to experience these two Ven a Ver trips and to bring back what I have learned to Carondelet and the classroom. These trips allow for the problems and solutions to be seen through the lens of a variety of disciplines, which helps me teach to a broader pool of students (and their interests). I am looking forward to being a part of more trips and to help see the solutions through the fog of despair.

Using Classic Coca Cola Bottles to Understand Volume of Revolution

Posted on by
The final concept covered in AP Calculus AB is finding
volumes of solids. Since solid figures and

volumes are three dimensional, it is
sometimes difficult for the students to visualize a 3-dimensional figure drawn
on a 2-dimensional whiteboard. When I attended an AP Calculus Institute, I came
home with several activities and labs that I could use with my students. Some
were helpful and some were less so, but I was intrigued by the one that had
students calculate the volume of the liquid contained in a classic Coca Cola
bottle. Calculating the volume of a can is pretty simple because cans are cylindrical and their radii remain constant. The volume would be equal to the
area of the base (a circle) multiplied by the height of the can. On the other
hand, a Coca Cola bottle is curvy and while any cross section of the bottle
would be circular, the radius changes at different heights of the bottle. In
Calculus, we learn that we can find this volume by defining the area of the
cross section (a circle) as a function of the radius (written in terms of the
variable x) integrated along the height (x) of the bottle. This is not an easy
idea to convey while drawing functions on the board and trying to simulate the
function rotating around the x-axis. I hoped that having something tangible
like a bottle to demonstrate the concept would be helpful for the students so I
decided to try the activity.

I split the activity over two days. On the first day, I
handed out Coca Cola and Diet Coke bottles (they were two different sizes),
markers, tape measures and a worksheet to record data. I explained that we
would be calculating the volume and we spent a little time discussing why
calculating the volume might be difficult. The students then worked with
partners to measure the circumference of the bottles at regular heights
measured from the bottom of the bottle to the height of the liquid inside. They
entered their data into their calculators using lists and then back calculated
the varying radii using the circumference data. This allowed them to graph
their height vs. radius of their bottles and they were able to see an approximation
of the profile of one side of their bottles. They then used a quartic
regression to find an equation that best fit the data graphed. This was
completed on day one.
On the next double block period, I had planned to teach them
the lesson on calculating volumes of revolution and then afterwards ask them to
calculate the volumes of their bottles. At the last second I decided to have
them calculate the volumes before I taught the lesson. I am so glad I did this!
We were able to spend some time hypothesizing on how we could use our data to
calculate volume. Eventually we were able to draw a picture of our bottle on
the board correctly aligned with our x and y axes. They were able to see the
relationship of the varying radii of the bottle to the volume of the bottle.
When we finally determined that we were supposed to integrate, the process made
sense to them! When I then taught them the lesson (Using the disk and washer
methods to finds volumes of solids of revolution), they were able to visualize
what was happening and I didn’t have to overcome so many objections to the
process that I normally would hear from the students each year.
Actual Volumes: Diet Coke 237mL and Coke 355mL

I will admit, the lesson did not go perfectly. Everybody
overestimated the volumes significantly. We tried to adjust by estimating the
thickness of the glass, which helped, but I still think the students were not
careful enough when measuring the circumferences. In the future, I think I
would give them lengths of string to use to wrap around the bottles and then
have them measure the string with the tape measures. I think the tape measures
were too stiff for them to work with accurately.  I also think I would let the students wrestle
with the problem longer before I guided them toward integrating the area of the
cross section. However, even without these minor tweaks, I think the lesson
achieved even more than I had hoped for!