In Mr. Ambrose's physics class, he taught for a while - about light - and then gave the class time to work on their bridges. Some of them are having trouble, but others are coming along quite well. He built one himself, and we tested it with a 1-kg weight (2.2 pounds) - it held. The weight specified is 2 pounds, so if someone wants to see an example of a bridge that will withstand the weight, we have one. The due date for the assignment will be the Monday after spring break - that way, if they can't finish in class, they can make arrangements to meet their teammates to work over the break. Some of them work very well, but others need to learn how to use time wisely - it's a skill that will serve them well throughout their lives.
In Ms. Colwell's advanced algebra class, there was a substitute teacher. She's expected back Monday, so she just left a worksheet for the students to work on, and I spent my time there helping them when they got stuck. As I talked to the students, it became clear that some of them are still confused about what my purpose in the classroom is - they can't quite understand the difference between a U of M teaching fellow/graduate student and a student teacher. I wonder if there's some way we could build up a clear identity for the program in the students' minds... the obvious first thought is something like polo shirts with the OE^2 logo on them. There may be a better idea, but it's definitely something to think about, because part of the impact of giving them a role model could be lost if they aren't sure what the model's role is in the first place.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Starting to build
Today in Mr. Ambrose's physics class, the students started building their bridges. They all seemed to be having fun with it, even the young lady who wasn't paying attention on Friday. Some of them got farther than others; gluing toothpicks together takes a bit of practice, to avoid disturbing other toothpicks while placing new ones. Some students did try to get the project changed - asking if we could use tape, or straws, or Popsicle sticks, or some other modification that would make it easier. Of course, if the bridges were easier to build, we'd require them to hold more than 2 pounds - after all, 2 pounds isn't all that much.
Having a project like this also makes it easy to walk around and talk to the students, and see how they're doing in general. One very bright, ambitious young lady is planning to visit the colleges that have admitted her, so she can figure out which one to attend. She's got quite a tour planned, including both Yale and Harvard. She's also begun to consider graduate school. I'm encouraging that - she's smart enough that she'd be able to get funding from any kind of graduate program, particularly with a degree from a well-known university. She's the type of student who will take advantage of every opportunity that's available to her, work hard, and make the most of it.
In Ms. Colwell's advanced algebra class, they were working on a review worksheet for an upcoming test. Some of the students were stuck on particular problems; for some of them, radical equations were a massive headache, so we worked through a few of them together. They also got a quiz back. One young woman was really frustrated with herself - she got a B on the quiz, and quite a solid one, but she saw that all of her mistakes were avoidable. For example, the square root of five, squared, is five; she had written down 25 in that step of the problem. She's determined NOT to do that on the test. At least, since her handwriting is nice and neat, she'd get partial credit because it's possible to see where the error is.
Some of the students still don't want to use their class time productively, to get actual work done. Some of them say that they're tired. I always sympathize with that, because I'm often tired, too. I've gone in to YHS sometimes when I've had only four hours' sleep, and if I wasn't so busy, I could have easily fallen asleep. Once some of them found out how often I'm up half the night, they knew that I understand what it's like to be tired. When I try to get them to work through something, they'll usually at least make an effort, even if they were up half the night themselves.
Their Spring Break will be coming up in a few weeks, but in the immediate future, they get a long weekend - they have both Friday and Monday off for Easter weekend. It seems to me that, second semester, they get a lot more long weekends than they did during the first semester.
Having a project like this also makes it easy to walk around and talk to the students, and see how they're doing in general. One very bright, ambitious young lady is planning to visit the colleges that have admitted her, so she can figure out which one to attend. She's got quite a tour planned, including both Yale and Harvard. She's also begun to consider graduate school. I'm encouraging that - she's smart enough that she'd be able to get funding from any kind of graduate program, particularly with a degree from a well-known university. She's the type of student who will take advantage of every opportunity that's available to her, work hard, and make the most of it.
In Ms. Colwell's advanced algebra class, they were working on a review worksheet for an upcoming test. Some of the students were stuck on particular problems; for some of them, radical equations were a massive headache, so we worked through a few of them together. They also got a quiz back. One young woman was really frustrated with herself - she got a B on the quiz, and quite a solid one, but she saw that all of her mistakes were avoidable. For example, the square root of five, squared, is five; she had written down 25 in that step of the problem. She's determined NOT to do that on the test. At least, since her handwriting is nice and neat, she'd get partial credit because it's possible to see where the error is.
Some of the students still don't want to use their class time productively, to get actual work done. Some of them say that they're tired. I always sympathize with that, because I'm often tired, too. I've gone in to YHS sometimes when I've had only four hours' sleep, and if I wasn't so busy, I could have easily fallen asleep. Once some of them found out how often I'm up half the night, they knew that I understand what it's like to be tired. When I try to get them to work through something, they'll usually at least make an effort, even if they were up half the night themselves.
Their Spring Break will be coming up in a few weeks, but in the immediate future, they get a long weekend - they have both Friday and Monday off for Easter weekend. It seems to me that, second semester, they get a lot more long weekends than they did during the first semester.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Beginning on Bridges
Today, in Mr. Ambrose's physics class, we introduced the bridges project. I went through the handout, and then showed them how you could work through a bridge truss, with the knowledge they already have, to find the forces present in each link. The point I wanted them to take away, and I think most of them got it, is that it's really just an application of what they already know. Then, they were instructed to form groups of up to three, and on Monday we'll start building. When the project is done, we'll test them to make sure they hold the required 2 pounds of weight, and then the lightest one that meets specifications gets extra credit points. Some of the students seem very enthusiastic, but there are a few who aren't. One young woman was not only not paying attention as the project was described, she was actively ignoring me and working on something else. That's a little bit discouraging - not only does it show a lack of interest, but I feel it shows a lack of respect. On the other hand, some of them were jumping in enthusiastically. They were a bit unruly - jumping in and interrupting at times - but at least it was obvious they were paying attention to what was going on, and they cared. I just wish I had a good way to handle people who are very obvious about their disinterest - a sarcastic remark isn't very adult or very professional, and a request to pay attention gets ignored.
In Ms. Colwell's advanced algebra class, they learned about radical equations, and how to solve them. She also pointed out that in these equations it's possible to find false solutions - things that fall out of totally valid math when you solve them, but are not themselves correct solutions when you plug them back in to check. She also gave a quiz, and while the students took the quiz, we talked about logs. They're going to be getting into logarithms, and she'd like me to give them some perspective on what logs are used for. I can certainly do that - starting with the log scale, which is used so often to plot things, and then logs fall naturally out of so many other things. On Monday, I'll have to talk to her about when would be the best time for that.
Next week, I'll be in on Monday, but not on Friday - it's Good Friday, and like University of Michigan, the Ypsilanti Public Schools are closed.
In Ms. Colwell's advanced algebra class, they learned about radical equations, and how to solve them. She also pointed out that in these equations it's possible to find false solutions - things that fall out of totally valid math when you solve them, but are not themselves correct solutions when you plug them back in to check. She also gave a quiz, and while the students took the quiz, we talked about logs. They're going to be getting into logarithms, and she'd like me to give them some perspective on what logs are used for. I can certainly do that - starting with the log scale, which is used so often to plot things, and then logs fall naturally out of so many other things. On Monday, I'll have to talk to her about when would be the best time for that.
Next week, I'll be in on Monday, but not on Friday - it's Good Friday, and like University of Michigan, the Ypsilanti Public Schools are closed.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Bridges of Ypsilanti High
We were planning, originally, to start on a design project today in Mr. Ambrose's physics class, but that's been put off till next week - Ypsilanti High School had a snow day on Wednesday, and that pushed back other things, including a test. While I'm sure many students would prefer to work on a design project, the test really had to be given before the end of the marking period. Everything is ready to go, though, so next week we can start on the project. The students will be learning about trusses, using the physics they've learned to understand how a truss works, and then designing and building truss bridges out of toothpicks. The handout that they're going to be given will be posed on the CTOOLS site, in case any of the other Teaching Fellows want to look at it.
I did, unexpectedly, end up helping briefly in another physics class. The other physics teacher is out for a while, so her class has a substitute. The substitute doesn't have any background in physics, so during Mr. Ambrose's preparation period, we both went over there for a few minutes to help those students get started on their worksheets. I also put in a plug for the U of M tutoring - I told them that if they're having trouble, they should go to the tutoring and get help. With their regular teacher out, it would be especially useful. I can remember when I was in high school (back in the ages of stone tablets and quill pens), and we had substitutes, sometimes it was hard to learn the material. It could be very frustrating.
In Ms. Colwell's class, they're going to be having a test next week sometime. Today, they were working with radical notation. Some of them were having a little trouble figuring out problems like the square root of the square root of the square root of the square root of a variable to the power 256 - it really isn't hard once someone catches on that the square root sign is the same thing as the 1/2 exponent, which they've worked with before. Sometimes it seems notation trips up a lot of people - they take some time to really catch on to the fact that sometimes, two seemingly different things are just the same concept dressed up a little differently.
I did, unexpectedly, end up helping briefly in another physics class. The other physics teacher is out for a while, so her class has a substitute. The substitute doesn't have any background in physics, so during Mr. Ambrose's preparation period, we both went over there for a few minutes to help those students get started on their worksheets. I also put in a plug for the U of M tutoring - I told them that if they're having trouble, they should go to the tutoring and get help. With their regular teacher out, it would be especially useful. I can remember when I was in high school (back in the ages of stone tablets and quill pens), and we had substitutes, sometimes it was hard to learn the material. It could be very frustrating.
In Ms. Colwell's class, they're going to be having a test next week sometime. Today, they were working with radical notation. Some of them were having a little trouble figuring out problems like the square root of the square root of the square root of the square root of a variable to the power 256 - it really isn't hard once someone catches on that the square root sign is the same thing as the 1/2 exponent, which they've worked with before. Sometimes it seems notation trips up a lot of people - they take some time to really catch on to the fact that sometimes, two seemingly different things are just the same concept dressed up a little differently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)