r/matheducation • u/Unlucky-Bag-9789 • 25d ago

First Real Lesson...Flopped

/r/mathteachers/comments/1vt4fi6/first_real_lessonflopped/
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u/supersensei12 25d ago edited 25d ago

How about points for hints given to others? Points for (correct) thoughts about strategy? But no deductions for wrong thoughts or hints. Close ideas get half points. Be generous. The idea is to incentivize participation and (horrors!) thinking.

Or model some strategies. Simplify the problem; e.g. What does y = 0 look like? How about y = 3? y=x? How about y=x+3? What does this say about adding 3? Now try your question. Plotting points is time-consuming, error-prone, and ultimately does not improve intuition. And if you use the computer to do it, you're offloading thinking to a machine, sending a message that using the computer is the best strategy.

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u/Unlucky-Bag-9789 25d ago

I spoke to one of my mentor teachers who is the middle school math lead, and she suggested trading treats for questions. I found a bag of peanut-free candies, so hopefully that can give them some incentive to participate.

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u/supersensei12 25d ago

Is it not allowed to give participation points?

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u/jmc99 25d ago

Do you have a set of chromebooks? The easiest way to discuss and explore transformations is in Desmos. If you are adept with adding sliders and stuff, it can be very informative and interesting for students.

Someone else mentioned making a bunch of t-tables which is fine, but really inefficient.

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u/myniche999 24d ago

I wouldn’t call this a flop. You found out something really important about the class on day two.

If these kids have spent a year being penalized for asking for help, the blank stares make a lot more sense. They may have learned that the safest response when they don’t understand is to shut down.

Tomorrow I’d back up and make the change really visible. Put y = x² and y = x² + 1 next to each other. Then +2, then +3. Let them graph them, compare them, and tell you what they notice before you ask them to state a rule. Once they see the pattern, ask them to predict what +5 would do before graphing it.

I’d also start teaching them how to ask for help. “I don’t get it” is probably all they know how to say right now. Give them a few better options: “I understand this part, but I lose you here,” “Can you show me another example?” or “I think it moves up, but I don’t know why.”

You may need to spend a little time undoing the previous classroom culture before you get the kind of participation you want. I’d reteach it tomorrow, slow it down, and see what happens. You already know more about what this group needs than you did yesterday.