MentorTeacherObservations

April87,2016,HBlock
Ohmigodyouaregivingthemgoldtheabiogenesisminilecture.Itiskillingmethatso
fewarerealizingit.S.C.was!K.G.,A.F.,J.F.,O.V.,I.H.,Z.P.,E.D.notsomuch.
Iddefineyourvariablesontheboardforfolks.IlovedC.M.squestionaboutdefiningx
astimeitbringsuptheissuesofeveryonebeingasuniformaspossible.

April7,2016,DBlock
Ilovehowyoufirstbuilta1way,andthena2waytablewiththem!Socompletely
understandable.Ihadntthoughtaboutdoingitthatway,butIloveit.
Warmup.Hmm.Itwaslong,andfewknewhowtodoit.IknowIoftendothatincalc
anditbecomesa20minutething.Withfreshmen,Idunno.Itwasgoodtoseethatmost
kidsdidntknowhowtodoitthatsgoodinfo,andtheygotoneexposuretoit,thats
good.Ifthatwasyourmission,cool,thoughjustthisexposurewontensuremastery.
Andmasteryiswhatyoutypicallywantfromthem.IfIsawthattheywerecluelessonit,
Idprobablygiveanotherexposure,getafewkidsatleastuptocompetence,ifnot
mastery.
Anyway,lotsoftimeswarmupsaresomethingthekidscandoindependentlythat
givesyouachancetodoattendance,passoutpapers,talkwithkids,etc.
HaIlovethatyouaskedthemwheredoyoustart?whenyoudjusttoldthem,and
then,boom,youhadtheirattentionagain.Greatinstinctsaboutpossibleinattentionand
agreatremedyforit.
Ooh,andgreatuseofB.M.squestiontohelpthemseeaneedfortheboxaroundthe
circles.B.M.willbuyintoourclass,itsmyopinion,themorehefeelslikehessuccessful
init.Well,everyoneislikethat,butIthinkB.M.isreadytocheckoutatthefirstsignof
failure,somakinghimspecialgood.
Wowlookatthisclassparticipation(duringsuperheroVenndiagrams)!Greattapping
oftheirinterests!

April6,2016,HBlock
ImjustwatchingasyoudoVenndiagramwithlikeswinter/summer.Theexplanationis
crystalclear,andyetImsensingnoteveryoneispayingattentionand/or
comprehending.(Actually,IknowforsureO.V.,J.F.andS.L.arentpayingattention).I
thinkmyinnersenseoftheteachertalk/studentthinkratioisdinging.Talkaslittleas
possible,havethemthinkandrespondasmuchaspossible.Forinstance,whenonly
Taylorgotthattherewere19wholikedeither,havethekidsdefendtheirotheranswers
oftenindoingthattheyrealizetheirlogicalerrors.Or,insteadoftalking,askaquestion
forthepairswherewhatyouwanttoexplainwillendupgettingexplainedbythekids?
Notalwayspossible,Iknow.
DidyoumentionthatVenndiagramsareyetanotherwaytomapthesamplespace?

Excellentworkontheformativeassessment!Iwasreallyfeelingtheneedforthemto
independentlypracticeeverythingyoudbeengoingover.
ImrealizingasIwatchtheclassthatIvedevelopedaspideysenseovertheyears.It
wasdingingasyoutalkedinthefirstbulletIsensedthatunderstandingwasnottaking
place.AndthenIwassensinganeedforthemtopractice(andboom,yougaveitto
them).Howthisbulletisusefultoyou,um,Ihavenoidea.
Ithinkideallyyouwouldhaveletthempracticethesenewskillsintheirpairs,letthem
ironoutproblemsthatway,thendoindependentformativeassessment.AnFAafteronly
wholeclassdiscussionisprobablynotasaccurate.
Hey!A.F.justcameinwithherjacketdidyougiveherpermission?Isuredidnt.

March31,2016,HBlock
Absent:A.F.,T.T.,C.M.,Z.C.forthelasthalfhour
Notthatyoudonthaveanythingelsetothinkabout,butI.H.,S.W.andZ.P.areoften
goingtohavetheiriPadsopenunlessyoutelltheclasstoputthemaway.
Keepittightonthegroupdiscussion.Twothings:
Makesureeachgroupknowstheirmissionbeforeyoureleasethemfor
discussion.(Oh,andmakesureeachkidhasagroup.Z.P.andH.D.andT.P.are
alone).
Thediscussiontimewentformorethan5minutes,Imguessing.Idkeepitto2
foraquestionlikethis.Morelikeathinkpairshare.
Imsensing.YoujustwroteouttheAdditionRuleontheboard.Areyousensingthey
dontgetityet?Iam.Gladyouredoinganexamplenow(withmarbles).Ideally,Ithink
thisexamplewouldgobeforetheformaldefinitionIdontsensethatmanyofthem
understandtheyredoublecounting,andIdwantthemtounderstandthatsotheytruly
understandtheformaldefratherthandutifullywritingitdown.Wouldithavebeenworth
ittoactuallydraw,usingtheappropriatewhiteboardmarkers,themarblesandcubesso
theycould
seetheobjects
thataregettingdoublecounted?
IfyoufindtheydontdowellontheFA,Iwonderifoneapproach.Iwonderifyoucould
tellthemHey,Imgoingtofigureouttheprobabilitythatyourolladieandgetaneven.
Letssee,youcangeta2,a4anda6,butImgoingtocountthe6twice,sothatsa
probabilityof4/6!Getthemtoseeyougetthewronganswerifyoudoublecount.Then
doaP(AorB)examplewithsomevisualcuesofwhatsgettingdoublecounted.
Doyouwanttocorrectthemwhentheysayaprobabilityis,say,2outof6?
Technically,theyshouldbesaying2/6.
Usetheboardasavisualbackupofwhatyouresayingverbally.Ifyouwantthemto
figureoutP(brownorfreckles),Idwritethatdown.

March29,2016,HBlock

Itsoccurringtomejustnow:itsprobablygoodatthestartofeachunittogiveita
justification,oranexplanationofhowitfitsin,orsomeproblemthatcantbesolved
withoutit.I.e.,anintroductionofsomesort.
Hmm,Iforgottomentionthistothemnofood,noheadphones.IlldoitonThursday.
Z.P.hasaheadphonein,buthesalreadytickedatmeforaskinghimtodohisquizthis
morning,plusIjusttoldhimtoputhisipadawaysincehewastextingonit,soyeah,Ill
justletthatheadphoneslide:)
Rats,watchE.D.zoningout.AndS.W.andheriPad.

March28,2016,DBlock
FirstdayofProbabilityUnit
HagreathandlingofV.M.squestioncanyouexplaineverythingagain.
Wanttohavearubricintheclassroom?
Yesexcellentideatoheadoffmumblychattertheygetagroupanswer.Hmm,
makesmethinkIshouldhavesomethingcalledagroupanswerthatIcaneasilyask
for.Itwouldmeana)thegroupcomesupwithananswerandb)Icanaskanyofthem
forit.Promotesaccountabilityandencouragesmathdialog.
Youvebuiltagreatrapportwiththekids.Lovehowtheyrerespondingtoyou,youre
jokingwiththem,etc.
Youredoingtreestructuresrightnow.Ithink.IthinkwhatIwantismorecommitment
fromthemthanmerelistening.Rightnowasyoustart,theydontknowthatjustgetting
thesamplespacerightcanbeachallenge,anditsworthusingmethodsoforganizingto
getitright.Iwonderifaprelimquestionbeforedicegraphicorgcanbetoaskgroups
howmanyoutcomesthereareonarollof2dice.Askthemtoorganizetheoutcomes.
THENpassoutthechart.Then,whenintroingtrees,thentheyllbeinagreementthat
gettingthesamplespacerightcanbetricky.Gettingthesamplespacerightisoneof
thoseBigTopicsitprobablyoughttobeonyouragenda,youpointtoit,yousayit,that
givesthemlotsofcuestoformtheirmentaloutlinesofprobability.Didyouconsider
havingthemorganizethediceexperimentusingatreechart?Nicewaytocompareand
contrast.
Beawareofwaittime.J.K.questionwasgreat,youranswerwasgreat,youhada
secondbetweenthem.
Ithinkitskindanicetocheckoffagendaitemsasyougettothem.
Slowyourselfdownsometimes,orjustbeawareofthedifferencebetweenonekid
whohastheanswertoyourquestionrightawayvseveryoneknowing.Youjustaskeda
questionaboutnumberofheads,onekidansweredrightaway,andthenyouwenton,
butImnotsureeveryonewaswithyou.SometimesIwillstop,actsurprised,andaskthe
groupsiftheyagreewithaquicklygivenrightanswer.Aftertheyconfirmit,thenIactlike
itsoktomoveon,butreallyIwasjustdoingthattogeteveryoneonline.
Havingsaidthat,Iknowyoureundertimepressure:)
Iwouldloveforyoutoprovemewrongonthiscomment:thepositive,copious:)energy
youbringisgreat.Oneconsequenceoflotsofteacherenergyisthatititsinfectious.I

seeyoubringingthekidsbacktoyouagainandagain.Thisisgood,keepdoingit.Keep
insisting,keepnoticing,whenmorethanonepersonistalkingatatimeinwholeclass
situations.Anyway,ifDBlockgotalittlerambunctiouswithyou,thenImafraidHBlock
willstartdoingfreakingstagedivesiftheygetrevveduptoomuch.

March1,2016,APCalc

Ilikethatyoutoldthemthemainobjective.Andleftitsdiagramupontheboard.
Thenintegratey=x^2+5.
Beclearindirections:Canyousetupthisintegral?Orsolveit?Whichshould
theydo?
BesuretocheckB.W..
Thenintegratex^2+52.Theygetitrightaway.
Thenintegrateyx^3.J.R.speaksit.Perhapsthiscouldhavebeenaquestiontosolve
ingroupstogetmorekidstotalkoutidea,sincethisisthemainpointofthelesson.
Theyworkonthisingroups.Ah,youcheckedBen,nice.
p379#1,9.Nicejobgettingthemtopracticeanewskillrightaway.Arewegoingto
tacklewhenoneofthefunctionsisnegative?OhjustheardC.B.saythecurves
overlapdidyougivethemonewherethecurvescross?Oh,nowyouvebroughtthem
backtogetheryoudidgivethemanegativefunction.
Waitfirmlyestablishthatareabetweentwocurvesis,infact,topbottombeforegoing
tothreecurves.Thatwouldhavebeenagoodtimefornotes.
Forthethreecurvesitwouldhavebeengoodifyouletthemwrestlewithitfirst.Itsjust
pastwhatmostofthemcouldprobablydo,butifafewofthemsawtherealizationthat
thetopchanges,thatwouldhavestuckwiththemmorethanhearingit.
Excellenttousetheprojectorsoyouhaveanaccurategraphandcanalsowriteonit.
Speakingofwhich,beawareoflayingthingsoutonthewhiteboardinaclearlogical
fashion.Erasethingsthatinterfereorintrudeonwhatyourewantingthemtofocuson.
Howdoyouallfeelaboutthat?Ithinkitsprobablyfine,butbeclearinyourheadabout
whatyoumeantogatherfromaquestionlikethat.
Lovethedesmosallsetupsoyoujusthavetoclicktoseethenewfunctions.
Onlastproblem,withpurple,orangeandblackfunctions,notsuretheresalotof
workinghappeninginothergroupswhileyourewithS.S.andB.W..
D.B.isbringingupagoodpointyouknowthemathinsideout,andthathelpsyou
efficientlyteachandspoterrors.

NickObservation,Feb3,2016

10:00Kahootwarmup

Waitforsilenceaftereyesonme
Greatnamerecall
Kahootexcellentengagement

10:10Beans
Donttalkoverthem.
Kidswalkinginfrontofyoutodumpbeans.
OtherkidansweredwhenyouaskedK.G..
Kidsshouldprobablybemakingtheirtables.Slowdownabit.

10:15BeansandDesmos
HaoopsIdidntteachthemtheinverseeq.Luckilyacoupleofkidsknewit.
Greatengagementthoughlotsofkidsguessandcheckingthealgrule.
Havethemactuallydoitmultiple27by2/3onyourcalculatortoseewhatyouget.
Saythenameslastwhenaskingquestions.

10:27Practicewithmedicine
10:31:C.M.outofseat(helpingZ.C.),S.W.lookinginbagforpen,J.F./O.V.chatting,
everyoneelseworking.C.C.andN.L.withP.S.
HelpedP.S.aloooongtime.Othersgotstuckonfirstentryintable.
Notethebeansmultiplierwasafraction,themedwasexpressedasapercentage.
Stillgreatengagement.
Needfiveminutesofsummary?