Three Reflections On Year One In The Open Space

Year one in our open academic setting with a full staff is in the books and was a resounding success. Enrollment is up,  our space is being expanded and the student exit surveys show a high satisfaction with the set up, delivery and approach. That being said there is always things that can be improved. As we move into the summer here are some things we as a team will be reflecting on:

Testing
One of the biggest issues this year with students working at their own  was having a quiet space to take assessments and an easy place to monitor students to maintain test integrity. Some ideas we had to remedy this:

1. Dedicating part of the new space to be a quiet work/test area monitored by different staff members throughout the day
2. Dedicating a specific chunk of the day as "Quiet Hour" where the whole space would be quiet to complete any assessments that required monitoring.

We are waiting to see the new spaces before making a final decision.

Pull Out Sessions

A three hour block of time can be quiet awhile for kids to be working independently on various tasks. A goal for next year will be finding the right balance between independent work days and days that have more direct instructions. Feedback from the students show that they would like to meet as a class at least once or twice a week. As we meet this summer finding the right balance will definitely be something to discuss. 

Cross Curricular Projects/Activities

The open concept has provided more opportunity for collaboration amongst peers than I have had combined in my 5 years of teaching. The team did a fantastic job in monitoring students and gaging progress throughout the year. An area for us to improve on is creation of projects or activities that incorporate the different disciplines within one project, unit or activity. Personally, I'm looking forward to being able to collaborate with the English teachers next year. My schedule this year had me in the opposite campus as my English counterpart. Being in the same space with 2 next year will be great especially with the heavy focus to the examination of primary sources. 

Another great resource we will have next year is a STEAM lab with a 3D printer. I would love to design a project that ends with the creation of something with the printer, nothing like making student learning tangible.

Have any great cross curricular projects or ideas for a 3D printer? Share them with in the comments or on twitter.

@mrbhale

@mathmitchellr

@MrsBKelley1

The Dynamics of Desmos

If you teach math in a blended environment and have never used Desmos, you are missing out!



As an Algebra 2 and Precalculus teacher, I've embedded this free online graphing calculator into the curriculum. I taught the students how to use it (which doesn't take much time because it's really intuitive!) and encourage them to use it in lessons.

Though I could spend days on this topic, for now I'll provide you the basics. Keep in mind this resource does so much more than just graphing functions, which I encourage you to explore.

This year in Precalculus, students have used Desmos to explore the following types of functions -

Polynomial, Exponential, and Radical 
 

Conic



Trigonometric


Parametric


Polar


As mentioned before, this is just a small taste of the power of this FREE online resource. Enjoy!

@MathMitchellr

Piktochart: An Alternative to the common visual aid

In the age of Pinterest and other social media students are becoming more and more visual with their learning and wanting that. A great app I found for the easy creation of infographs can be found in the Google Chrome Web Store. The app has a free "Lite" version that provides the ability to make a completely customizable infograph or templates that can be used. The app also provides easy to use templates for presentations, posters and reports. 

My financial literacy class are using it this week as an introduction to investments and will be creating infographs on the different types of accounts that are available. The app can be used for a multitude of different purposes such as comparing and contrasting different viewpoints, visual aid for presentations or in place of the always popular PowerPoint or Google Slides. 

Anyone ever used Piktochart before? Leave us a comment and let us know your successes in the classroom. 

Student Summer Plans

As a teacher to juniors and seniors in high school, it’s important to encourage students to use their summer wisely as potentially one of the last extended breaks of their life. Students should focus on activities that will prepare them for the future, and activities that they enjoy and love to do. Here is a great list of ideas for students to keep them active and engaged for the summer months!

Get a Job: With open availability, this is a great time of year for students to work, earn, and save. Typical jobs for high-school students include retail and food industry. Some jobs might be future interest based, like a paid internship, working in an office, or as an apprentice for a labor position. There are also seasonal positions like lifeguarding, summer camp counselor, child care, zoos, golf courses, etc. Students would be wise to look at their potential earnings and coming up with a goal or savings plan. Check out this article for ideas on high school part time jobs.

Classes: I know, I know: classes kind of defeats the whole definition of summer. However, with the extended expectations of degrees in college, many students opt to earn dual credit at community colleges or take summer school classes that free up their school year for more advanced opportunities.  Students still have a break from the full school day experience, and don’t feel as overwhelmed having work for just one or two courses in the summer as opposed to a full course load.

Hobbies and Talents: with the great weather, and the flexible schedule, students should take full advantage of doing something they really love.  Like I said, this may be the last time in the near future to take advantage of a break. Play a sport, take up running, join a theater group, take up an instrument,... just do something you love.

Volunteer: Junior and Senior year is when students are in full swing of college applications.  Students should have a few volunteer and extra-curricular activities in their back pocket.  There are great opportunities at libraries, churches, child care facilities, parks, and community centers. Make sure to log or have documentation of the hours completed and a description of the event or task. Check out this article for community service ideas.

Prepare for Future: There is no time like the present to start working for the future. Summer is a perfect time to prepare for college entrance exams, visit college campuses (although there might not be as much activity in the summer), save money, or research scholarships. Here is a great resource for college planning.

Teacher Appreciation

Happy teacher appreciation week! I have been very fortunate to work with such a great innovative staff of teachers at DACC south campus- here is a little shout out and introduction to our great team.

Brian Hale- Social Studies teacher at DACC north and south campuses. Brian teaches Psychology, Sociology, Economics/ Personal Finance, and Government at South Campus. His courses are primarily online through google classrooms. Many of the topics from the courses create great small group educational discussions throughout the learning environment. Brian is a go to person for google information and has helped several academic and lab teachers with all things GAFE! @MrBHale

Briana Kelley- Intervention Specialist at DACC south campus. Briana meets regularly with students on IEP’s, 504s, and other students who need assistance with course work. She is an excellent data collector and tracks student progress using Google Sheets. Time management can be a huge transition for students moving from a traditional classroom to the online and flexible time in the academic area at south campus. She is ready to help any student with assistance in work completion and time management skills. @MrsBKelley1

Emily Hardy- Science teacher at DACC South campus and Zoo satellite class.  Emily teaches Chemistry, Physics, Forensics and Zoo Science. This is her second year teaching. Recently, she has created a great unit in Google Classroom for her Chemistry class including hyperdocs, interactive slide presentations, and several ways to assess student learning even though the material is online. @HardyeDACC

Greg Carpenter- Math teacher at DACC South campus and Zoo satellite class.  Greg teaches Algebra 2, Transitional Math, Pre Calc, and college level Statistics for Zoo and Bio Science programs. This year he has transitioned most of his curriculum from Blackboard to Google Classroom. Greg is definitely a content specialist! I have watched him take any math topic on the fly and create direct instruction lessons for students, all while tiering the information in complexity. The school values Greg as a leader, especially with the new South campus concept. @CarpenterofMath

Heather Pitzer- English teacher at DACC North and South campuses. Heather teaches English 11 and English 12. Her classes are run through Google classroom and she is a queen at differentiation. Students learn a variety of writing styles in her course where proper formatting and grammar is thoroughly edited. This year she has put on an art show, facilitated researched debates, read through multiple short stories, and even started a book club! @Heather_Pitzer

Ryan Mitchell- Math teacher at DACC North and South campuses. At South campus Ryan teaches Algebra 2 and Geometry to juniors. Even though Ryan is a young teacher, he is a valued member of the school and is a leader in the google initiative. The students value his one on one and small group lessons to break down complex math problems. He has an extreme amount of patience with the students and will give as much time or examples needed for students to master the content. @MathMitchellR