Friday evening. Hallelujah. It’s been… a week. Again. Let’s talk about oral assessments. I finished interviews for the second group oral assessment of the quarter. There were 21 small group interviews over the week with the final interview concluding this evening at 6:30 pm. Today was a marathon; I completed thirteen 25-minutes interviews—for a totalContinue reading “October 30 Day 236. “Everything is Terrible But I Guess That’s Okay””
Category Archives: teaching
October 28 Day 234: Flummoxed
For the second time this week, my Wi-Fi has let me down. During my second afternoon class, my iPad was incapable of connecting to my Zoom meeting. I tried everything I could think of. Screen sharing the iPad through the laptop directly; Having the iPad join the Zoom meeting as a guest user; Connecting theContinue reading “October 28 Day 234: Flummoxed”
October 27 Day 233: Talking about Revolution
I panicked just a little when I realized that tomorrow in Calculus II class we will be starting volumes of solids of revolution and all my visual aids are in the office. What’s a mathematician to do? Thankfully, mathgrrl (AKA Dr. Laura Taalman at James Madison University) has several 3D models available in Thingiverse thatContinue reading “October 27 Day 233: Talking about Revolution”
October 26 Day 232: Long Day
Even though the days are getting shorter, you know its been a long one when… …you realize that you have been sitting in your desk chair more than 10 hours with only three trips downstairs all day. …the reports due this Friday are in pretty good shape but you don’t want to spend the lastContinue reading “October 26 Day 232: Long Day”
October 23 Day 229: Continuation of Collaboration Continuum
I like the alliteration. Just a brief update. Students that did not attend class on Wednesday, when the group selection exercise was featured, still have not formed groups. The deadline is midnight tonight. I set up a discussion board for them to declare their collaboration preferences but no one has used it. All I canContinue reading “October 23 Day 229: Continuation of Collaboration Continuum”
October 21 Day 227: Collaboration Continuum
The late night revisions were implemented. Every person that attended class successfully self-selected a group with similar collaboration tendencies and booked an interview time for next week. They traded contact information and spent over sixty minutes working together. The sound level in low numbered rooms was less than that in the higher numbered rooms, asContinue reading “October 21 Day 227: Collaboration Continuum”
October 20 Day 226: Group Dynamics
I’m preparing to give the second round of group oral assessments next week . The feedback on the first experience showed general dissatisfaction with random groups. So I’m going to spend some time in class facilitating group formation—helping like minded students find their people. I’m asking students to decide what type of group they wantContinue reading “October 20 Day 226: Group Dynamics”
October 18 Day 224: Meet My Nemesis
G.R.A.D.I.N.G. Protocols from Spring have been modified to safeguard my sanity. Across the board reductions has been taken (similar to what is happening in academic budgets. ) This formidable opponent remains two or three problems ahead of me at all times. I have yet to defeat my grading by completely clearly the decks for evenContinue reading “October 18 Day 224: Meet My Nemesis”
October 14 Day 220: Not Limitless
I am so excited to bring you my first guest blogger for Math in the Time of Corona, Dr. Brandy Wiegers. She is an award winning Associate Professor at Central Washington University interested in supporting students’ mathematical exploration, the growth of Math Circles, and a broader national research on the impact of Math Circles. IContinue reading “October 14 Day 220: Not Limitless”
October 9 Day 215: One Down….
Today I finished the last eleven of the seventeen interviews, completing the first oral assessment in Calculus II. Spread out between 9 am and 6 pm, you might think it would make me feel exhausted. To the contrary, I found it exhilarating. More lessons moving forward: For future group assessments, I must make some timeContinue reading “October 9 Day 215: One Down….”
Math Belongs to All of Us 