It’s midterm time and that means a day administering oral interviews. It’s a small class (only 16 students) and I scheduled them all for one day. Today. They started at 9 am and ended at 7 pm. The process hasn’t changed. The questions are variations on previous themes. It really shouldn’t have seemed much differentContinue reading “February 8 Day 702: Oral Midterms Again”
Tag Archives: affirmations
February 5 Day 699: Catching My Breath
I pushed myself pretty hard last week—working into the wee hours of the morning, sleeping a handful of hours, and starting the cycle all over again. It definitely took a toll on my blog productivity. To the point that my friend Allison and I had this exchange: The urgent commitments have been met and IContinue reading “February 5 Day 699: Catching My Breath”
December 1 Day 633: Suspicions Confirmed
I was curious after my last post, so I asked. None of my students knew the 80s sitcom Cheers. One politely inquired “What was it about?” Another responded, “I think it was like Friends but in a bar.” Instead, we found common TV viewing experiences watching Blues Clues. The consensus was that Steve was theContinue reading “December 1 Day 633: Suspicions Confirmed”
November 8 Day 610: Oral Assessment Redux
Oral assessment was something I adopted during remote teaching mostly to reduce the adversarial relationship between me and my students. By giving the problems in advance and allowing all resources (including Chegg and other online services) for preparation, no one was violating academic conduct rules. However, each student must individually present solutions to a smallContinue reading “November 8 Day 610: Oral Assessment Redux”
October 30 Day 601: Amazing
Tomorrow I talk about mathematical affirmations and humanizing assessment. So I knew I had to find this mural in Downtown Phoenix during a break in the action. On the way I encountered other fun public art. But the most amazing part of the day was connecting with Talithia Williams—she is a wonder. Dynamic storyteller. ImpactfulContinue reading “October 30 Day 601: Amazing”
August 20 Day 530: Affirmations in Focus
I admit, I was grumpy and feeling down yesterday. But I bounced back after seeing the newest issue of MAA Focus released online. The President’s message that I wrote was about using affirmations to help students address mathematical anxiety, especially associated with assessments. Reading it again, helped relieve my own anxiety of the moment. EvenContinue reading “August 20 Day 530: Affirmations in Focus”
December 3 Day 270: This Time It’s Personal
The past three days (and by that I mean mostly today), I have been conducting the third round of interviews for oral assessments in Calculus II. The first one occurred in the second week of the quarter in groups of 3-4. The second one occurred in the fifth week of the quarter in groups ofContinue reading “December 3 Day 270: This Time It’s Personal”
May 26 Day 79: Staying Positive
I thought the first day back after a three day weekend might be challenging for me and my students. As predicted, energy and attendance was low. To inject positivity, I asked for help with the following Google slide: Students were asked to share motivational thoughts, quotes, or memes. Not everyone participated but it brightened myContinue reading “May 26 Day 79: Staying Positive”
Math in the Time of Corona 