Comments for Teacher - My Choice #3

Post #9

The post on Walking in Mathland blog was about spending time with her younger sister this summer practicing math. The sister would be entering 9th grade and taking an accelerated Algebra/Geometry course that Natalie taught the previous year. Natalie had 3 topics she wanted to teach her sister, which would help ensure she was ready for the course. In her post she mentioned using Kuta Software and worksheets it created, and posted PDFs of the worksheets generated by Kuta. I was unaware of this software, but I have once again learned something new!
My reply: Not only are you a dedicated teacher, but a helpful big sister too! This is a nice thing for you to do for her and I know she appreciated practicing math over the summer (eye roll)! Thanks for including the mention of Kuta software. I had to do a little research to know what it was all about. It seems that it can be a lifesaver in a pinch and the ability to print multiple versions would cut down on cheating on test day. Nice add. I enjoy all of your posts and learn something new every time I visit!

 

Post #10 

The post on Walking in Mathland blog was about the author, Natalie, getting a text message from a friend looking for a solution to a real world math problem quickly. Her friend was a physical therapist and was trying to motivate a kid to walk faster. She asked for a conversion from ft/sec to mi/hr. Natalie received the text while out shopping, solved the problem on the back of a receipt and sent the solution to her friend via picture message. Natalie then realized she could incorporate this into her lesson on dimensional analysis! Common Core real world problem!
My reply: What a great real world application! I have also been called at various times by family and friends looking for answers to, what I would consider, basic math problems. It truly is amazing the amount of people in my life that can work procedural math but application escapes them. Hopefully, the new standards will begin to bring about change for the better. 

Post #11

Walking in Mathland post was about dispelling a rumor that you can't "study" for math. Natalie does and excellent job of letting students know that this is a myth! Her examples included writing a cheat sheet for topics the student is not 100% sure of and revising that cheat sheet as you go. The items will get smaller and smaller and the more you write them down, the more likely you are to remember them. She also gave another example of old school flashcards but put a digital spin on this for those who are digital natives. Quizzlet was offered as an alternative to written flashcards on index cards. Natalie also offered YouTube as an excellent source for digital natives to find additional information on any math topic.
My reply: Thanks for sharing your ideas about studying math. I am more of an old school studier myself. I remember and learn best when I write things down, but the students I will be teaching are certainly "digital natives". Your inclusion of quizzlet and YouTube are something they can really grab on to. Also Mathway.com will generate extra example problem worksheets as well. Your blog is inspiring to an old school math teacher trying to come into the digital way of thinking!