Stumbling Upon Good Teaching: Building Projects and PBL

So often in my teaching I do stuff - or have the students do stuff - without a really good pedagogical justification in mind before we do it.  Sometimes it goes badly but more often it turns out awesome!  This is a tale of the awesome.

A couple of weeks ago I assigned the kids a building project called the Marshmallow Catapult.  The task is to build a catapult (usually out of wood) that can shoot a marshmallow 5 meters into a bucket.  It has to have a triggering mechanism (they can't just pull it back and let it go).  But pretty much, that's it.  This seems pretty open to interpretation and it really is.  The kids really have to figure out, how to build a catapult, how to get it to go 5 meters and how to make it adjustable enough so that if they are too short or too long they can make changes during the shooting.  

I don't really have examples around and I don't give them much in the way of instruction.  And we don't talk too much about what's important.  They are really on their own.  But they know the expectation and its up to them to make it happen.

In past years I've assigned this AFTER we studied projectile motion which meant that kids would have a working knowledge about the relationships between launch angle, launch speed and horizontal range.  But this year I assigned it BEFORE in the hopes that they would discover some of these things on their own; kind of an organic discovery process.  This shift is new for me and it part of my goal to incorporate some PBL into my teaching.

The kids' catapults were awesome!  

The shooting was so FUN!  The kids had a great time and really celebrated their success and the hard work that lead to it.  We were able to talk so much about projectiles and now that they had an experiential sense of it I think our discussions will be so much more fruitful.

In three of my physics classes there were 54 catapults (for about 95 kids).  They could work in groups up to three.  Of the 54 catapults 30 shot the marshmallow into the bucket, 9 hit the rim 8 at least shot the marshmallow around 5 meters and there were some that sucked!  

The best part for me and for the kids is that any group that didn't meet their own expectations can re-tool or re-build their catapults and try again next week (this time after school).  You always have a chance to meet the expectation. 

I know that building projects can be a great addition to the classroom and even though I may not have the best pedagogical justification for it I know that the kids got so much out of it that I'll continue to do it in the future! 

The Power of Telling Stories in the Classroom

At the high school we were recently treated to a couple of lessons on "real talk" by one of our own teachers.  Real Talk describes his practice of communicating with his students in way that is meaningful for both parties.  Thinking of the way that we talk to our students forces us to ask a couple of tough questions like; what are the do the words we use matter and are there shared experiences we can draw upon to resolve conflicts.

To give us a sense of his methodology the teacher Geoffrey told us a couple of stories from his experiences; one was from an experience he had in college and two were experiences from his classroom.  Each of these stories had all of us on the edges of our seats!

Geoffrey has the reputation of being an excellent classroom teacher.  I know him a bit personally and find him to be delightful and engaging.  But I've never been in his classroom so I don't really know that much about his practice.  However, when he started telling us (the whole faculty which is around 80 teachers) stories from his experiences I had an immediate sense of the power of his teaching.  

Now, I fancy myself something of a story teller.  I love to tell stories to my classes that highlight certain physics principles.  The kids love them, remember them, and often site them during class discussions and even on tests!  

This got me wondering; what is it about Geoffrey's story telling (and story telling in general) that makes it so (anecdotal-ly) effective in the classroom.  In reflecting on Geoffrey's stories I realized that he opened up to us and shared part of his history with us; he let us into his world.  By connecting us to his past he's allowing us to share an experience with him.  By providing that context he is creating a bridge for us to move forward together in shared understanding.  

Stories allow us to give a part of ourselves to the kids - which allows them to give a part of themselves to us.

One of my favorite movies is a 1987 Joe Mantegna film called "House of Games".  It's a con man flick.  To me the most interesting part occurs when Mantegna's character is explaining the origin of the term "con man".  According to the movie the term comes from "confidence man".  He says that the key to gaining someone's confidence (in order to dupe them) is to give them your confidence first; to put your trust in them.  

Not that I'm saying teaching is a con game, but if you expect kids to be themselves with you, being yourself (open and honest) with them is a good start and telling stories is a great way to do this.

I didn't see that one coming...a student misconception

I teach introductory physics.  I don't teach math.  I am not trained as a math teacher nor am I well read in math education.  So I guess I'm not too upset with myself that this happened:

The class in question is the lowest level of physics that we teach.  Almost every kid in the class needs it to graduate.   50% of the class has a diagnosed learning disability - and consequently the class is co-taught with a learning specialist.

These kids have never really experienced a ton of success in school.  So we go out of our way to create a learning environment that is as engaging as possible, underpinned with solid pedagogy.

One of the skills I'd like the kids to have is the ability to find the slope of a line on a graph (with data table).  Today - before I asked them to calculate the slope I asked them if they know what "slope" meant.  I don't normally take student silence to mean that they don't know - more than they are unwilling to be the first to share.  However, this seemed different.  

So I waited (I'm big into "wait time") and finally one kid blurted out, "You mean y = mx +b ?"  This got nods and murmurs from the other kids.  So I asked, "Which part of y = mx + b  represents the slope?"  More silence...more waiting.  

New strategy...I drew the diagram shown below on the board.

And asked them, "Which of these do you think has the largest slope?"  
After some more waiting...one of the kids volunteered, "They are all straight so they have the same slope!"  

Um...what?

I definitely didn't see that one coming.  Is this part of a math misconception with which I'm not familiar?  

After polling a bit deeper I heard one of the kid say - they all have a slope of 1; don't they?

I was thinking - what is going on here?  Clearly they're working from a play book which I've never seen.  Where does this stuff come from?

So what's the point?  I didn't know that kids had this issue - and I wouldn't have known if I hadn't been doing the Socratic Dialogue thing.  I was asking questions and WAITING some answers.  

What did I do?  I wanted to connect the vocabulary word "slope" to something that they have a concrete feel for.  I asked them if there was an everyday word that we could connect with slope.  [Granted I don't think that slope is that tough of a word but it has been used for them in a math class context so they are confused because of the abstract nature of their math classes].  I asked who of them has ever been hiking.  They all raised their hands.  Then I asked which of the lines above would be the most difficult to hike up.   I actually drew little hikers on the graph.  

They agreed that the blue would be the hardest to climb.  Why?  It is the steepest.  This was a consensus answer.  When I asked them to rate the slopes again one of the girls said, "Wait...slope is just steepness?"  

Eyes wide open - mine!

What to do on the First Day of School

What to do on the First Day of School?  This is a question that lots of teachers ask themselves every school year.  For the past 6 years I've been doing the same thing and will do it again this year because it is awesome!

On the first day I do a series of discrepant event demonstrations.  There are about 8 of them - I can describe them another time - and I like them because they fun and interesting on the first day of school.  But there is more to a good demonstration than entertaining the kids.

Too often traditional science teachers do demos as a "show-and-tell".  Where they do a demo and then launch into a full explanation of the science involved.  Even worse are the teachers who do a demo and then they challenge the kids to explain the science with no context or models to apply.  

Current research into demos shows that these methods are ineffective.  http://bit.ly/PGSRxv


"We find that students who passively observe demonstrations understand the underlying concepts no better than students who do not see the demonstration at all, in agreement with previous studies. Learning is enhanced, however, by increasing student engagement; students who predict the demonstration outcome before seeing it, however, display significantly greater understanding."

No kidding!

So here's what I do:  
First I describe the event (without the outcome). 
Next I ask them to predict the outcome (I like to give them multiple choice).
Then they have to vote!  I mean they really have to vote - out loud, in front of their peers.  
Once they've all committed to their votes I do the demo.

At this point I don't care about the actual answer.  Its all about engaging the students in their own learning.  This really sets them up for the whole class.  There are no answers from me - you've got to figure it out for yourself.

Advice to New Modelers

Here in Michigan school doesn't start until after Labor Day.  So I'm sitting here watching last night's episode of Breaking Bad (how awesome is it) and thinking about the first few days of school.  I still get nervous before that first day.  I suppose that'll probably never go away.

This doesn't compare however to how nervous I was before the first day of school after my first modeling workshop; I was freaking out!  How do you go about implementing a whole new curriculum and process?

I was, like many new modelers, to just say "forget this" and go back to what I was doing before the workshop - I was doing just fine.  But deep down I know that we all know that modeling is so much better; how could you really go back?

So what advice can I give?  Below is some advice from two experienced modeling workshop leaders.  Read it and take it to heart.  Good luck this year!

Larry Dukerich has led many Modeling Workshops.
He wrote to his new modelers in Aug. 2010:

Implementing bits and pieces of modeling is generally not as effective as trying to adopt it full force.  However, external constraints and possible discomfort with aspects of it may make it not feasible to jump in with both feet all the time. I would say that using the worksheets, quizzes and tests in a traditional sort of way is doomed to failure.  One possible compromise would be to try to do as much of a given unit using a modeling approach as one could. If equipment or other constraints are too great of an impediment for some topics/concepts, then teachers can tell students that they are returning temporarily to a more traditional approach, but plan to get back to modeling as soon as possible.

Jess Dykes, the mechanics Modeling Workshop leader at that site (Mansfield University in PA), added:

I will echo the sentiment regarding full implementation offered by Larry. While full implementation provides a challenge for teachers in their first year of modeling, if they revert back to traditional methods, this will undermine the method, and will not produce the engagement or improvement that everyone is hoping for.  So, as Larry stated, the teachers should implement as much as possible, and "revert" as infrequently as possible, and more importantly, continue to use the modeling method as much as possible.  The fewer transitions the students perceive, the better the buy-in from students, parents, etc.

Next, on the subject of teachers who are dealing with the extra challenge of teachers in their district who are not modelers, I cannot offer much advice. My own district went to the process as a group, and we were a "team" the entire time; talking, reflecting, rethinking, re-attempting, etc. as a group.  Which, of course, led to myself and Ray Howanski (a former chemistry teacher at Ridley) becoming workshop leaders.  I've also been extremely fortunate in that we have had a great deal of support from our administrators, on both the school and district levels.  I would suggest that the support from administrators would be the first line of "defense", and that using the FCI, ABCC, etc. would be beneficial tools as well.  I would suggest that those teachers consider asking their fellow teachers to give the FCI, ABCC, whichever is appropriate for them, as pre- and post-tests (post-tests only, if both are not possible) to compare results.  Even if the post scores are not dramatically different after the first year, it is my opinion that the low scores on such an "easy" test can be eye-opening for all but the most stubborn "traditionalist" teachers.  Also, the research for the effectiveness of modeling is available on the modeling website, and I recommend that it be distributed to anyone who wants to know more about it, even if the question may not be posed in the nicest manner.

Power of Language

This week I was working with two really good physics teachers (now retired) leading a workshop called "The Science of Cell Phones and Wireless Communication".  This is a piece of curriculum the three of us wrote about 7 years ago that puts high school students in the position to learn how cell phones work.  And I mean more than turn it on and download apps - I mean how are the signals sent, how are the signals converted to digital, what is a "cell", why are calls dropped and much more.  It is awesome.


During the first day of this two day workshop we were brainstorming devices in their every day lives that use wireless communication.  One of the participants shouted out RFID chips.  Mark, the lead facilitator, asked him how they worked.


The participant stated that the RFID chip is, "magnetically charged" and sends out a radio signal.  At that very moment I wasn't really paying attention but my head went up so fast I think I pulled a muscle in my neck!  Many of the other participants were nodding along as if that made perfect sense.  Mark just nodded along - because he didn't want to tell the participant that he wasn't making any sense.  And the conversation continued...


I kind of wanted to say something at that point but I knew that we would talk so much wireless communication over the next two days that I hoped that he would get his issues cleared up.


But it made me consider how important the language we use is to teaching and learning.  Let's focus on the terminology that he used, "magnetically charged".  This really highlights some common misconceptions that we know exist in our students and apparently in teachers!


How often have our students confused the complicated ideas involved in the interaction between electricity and magnetism?  Too often!  


Let's consider the forces we call Gravitation, Electrostatics and Magnetism.  We call these "spooky forces" more specifically called "field forces" which I like to call "non-contact forces".  Do any of these names give us a clue as to the nature of these forces?  My question is; how are they the same, How are they different?


We know from middle school that if  you wrap a piece of wire around a metal nail and connect it to a battery it will turn into a magnet!  There is a relationship between magnetism and electricity but do you think kids might be confused?  


Do you think this confusion leads to kids using terms like "magnetically charged"?


My point is that the language we use in the classroom matters to the understanding that we'd like our students to develop.  It is important for us to be cognizant of this and help our students to use the language that is appropriate for student conceptual development. 

Good Luck,


DP




  

Picnic with the DMAPT

Yesterday we held the first "annual" DMAPT picnic.  The DMAPT (Detroit Metro Area Physics Teachers) is our local group of physics teachers.  During the school year we meet 4 or 5 times and share physics teaching ideas and strategies.  


This group has been around for over 50 years!  Personally I've been attending meetings regularly since 2000.  I've gotten to know and work with some of the best physics teachers in Michigan (and the country) while working with this group. Mostly our meeting center around content, demos, new teaching techniques and technology.  Occasionally we get together for a social event; like yesterday's picnic.


I was there with my wife and two kids.  Bryan Battaglia was there with his three kids (show off!).  SteveDickie was there with his son who was shooting off air powered rockets and throwing spears with an atl atl all afternoon!  It was truly a family affair in more ways that one.  It gave all of a us a sense of how different the group is from any other professional organization.  


At the picnic they honored my PAEMST win with a little celebration (Jim brought his delicious home brewed beer)!  I am, of course, honored but this gave me a great opportunity to tell the group how much their impact has made on me personally and professionally.


Below is the statement that I made for the PAEMST win: http://bit.ly/LiPZny
/

The award is a way for me to honor and celebrate all of the wonderful teachers who inspired me. Education is a legacy and it is our mission to inspire students as well as other teachers toward quality education on all levels. Good teachers are continually developing and sharing quality practice. In this service we dedicate so much time and energy, and this award is an affirmation that there are tangible rewards for all of our hard work and dedication.


I truly believe that teaching is more than just the classroom.  It is what we share and gain from each other that gives the job meaning. My PAEMST win is as much a reflection on the hard work and talent of the group as it is on me personally.  


Thank you DMAPT


DP

Modeling Workshop: An Emotional Roller Coaster

As we approach the last couple of days of our modeling workshop I have a bit of time to reflect on what a crazy ride it is for every one.  I remember back to the summer of 2000 and my own mechanics workshop.  I am still friends with more than a couple of the participants.  How does this happen?


First; a story.


Yesterday the funniest thing happened.  The participants were practicing facilitating a white boarding session.  They are really getting quite good at the questioning techniques.  But it is still uncomfortable for everyone involved.  There has to be a good deal of trust between all of the participants and the leaders of the workshop for this practice to be effective.  


After one really good practice session we were debriefing the actual white board.  It related to a roller coaster  going through a loop.  As an add on, I asked one of the white boarders "How do you feel?"  I meant, at the top of the loop, how would the rider feel.  


He responded with, "Well, I was really confused and uncomfortable at first but I'm starting to feel better about the content and the methodology."  


At that point we were all a bit confused and he caught himself and started laughing.  "Oh, you meant if I was the rider!"  He was a bit embarrassed but we all had a really good laugh.


This reminded me how emotional these workshops can be.  For many teachers it is tough to confront all of the ingrained ideas about teaching.  Often you have to admit to yourself that you've been less than effective in the past.  Also many teachers confront their lack of solid content knowledge.  


These are difficult and take a real commitment and emotional investment.  I love that!


This is why we grow together as a group.  And this is what we want for our students and our classes!  The bonds formed during this emotional roller coaster can be very lasting.  I encourage everyone to be aware of this and cultivate these experiences in your workshops and classrooms.

Nobody Likes a Know-It-All

"Nobody likes a know-it-all and no one knows this more than me, a recovering know-it-all.  I used to think that people would like you more if you told them all of the answers; it turns out they like you less!"


I have started the last couple of school years with this statement and I have begun using it in the modeling workshop. 


Why?  Mostly because it is true - nobody likes a know-it-all.  
Telling your neighbors the answers doesn't promote learning.  
And it is very annoying.  


Being a participant in a modeling workshop is very challenging.  We ask the participants to put themselves in "student mode".  That is, we want them to think like their students.  This is challenging for the best of teachers and very difficult for teachers who haven't really thought about what their students are thinking.  


How do you go back to a time before you understood something?  We call this "retrograde amnesia" and it is a necessity for getting the most out of a modeling workshop.  


A problem arises in that know-it-alls are often also "explainers".  We have preached from day one of the workshop that "telling is NOT teaching!"  However, there are still a couple of participants who's first instinct when someone asks them a question is to launch into a long verbal explanation.  What's up with that?  This becomes a big issue when participants with limited content knowledge enable this behavior because "listening" has been their main learning strategy.  We need to break this vicious cycle!


Another type of know-it-all is the "quipper".  This is the participant with a ton of obscure content knowledge that thinks that the more random facts he can interject into a discussion the smarter he will seem.  For example, the other day we were making observations about a buggy car.  I asked about the mass and the participants told me that the mass was constant.  This quipper responded with, "Not as it approaches the speed of light!"  I almost threw the buggy at him!


One of the central tenets of the method is dialogue.  How can you have a constructive dialogue if you feel the need to tell everyone around you the answers or show them how to do the problem or show them how smart you are?


I want the participants to grow out of that paradigm and embrace the questioning techniques that we've been practicing and modeling from the very first day of the workshop.  

I don't mean to brag...yes I do!

This week I found out that I won the PAEMST!
That is the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.  This is the highest honor that the nation gives to math and science teachers. They only give 1 per state per year.


Sounds great Don, what'd you get?  Great question.  I get a 4 day all expenses paid trip to Washington DC.  On this trip I get to meet the President (OMG).  As well as taking meeting with law makers and education policy makers.  And there is a $10,000 cash award!  


This year there are 97 math and science teachers from all over the US that'll be meeting in DC that week.  I am so excited!  I am THE winner from Michigan.  And I get to meet a whole bunch of awesome math and science teachers from all over the country!


The process was arduous.  In April of 2011 I found out that I was nominated by my mentor teacher (who is a former PAEMST winner) Mark Davids.  The application was due in just one short month.  I worked every night and was exhausted when I was finished.  


The application really forced me to analyze my own teaching.  The final document was 15 pages long, although it was edited down from about 30!  The questions from the organization really made me question my methodology.  In the end I felt really good about it - but a little shaken.  How often do we really analyze our methods that in depth?  


Also I had to provide a video of one class period; uncut and unedited.  It was 50 minutes long of me doing my thing.  That was nerve wracking!  But I love my style and methodology and apparently it translated well to the judges.


I would encourage anyone interested in reflecting on their own teaching to apply.  I am a much better teacher after just having gone through the application process than I was before.  Asking the questions to yourself as to what you do in teaching and why you do it is very therapeutic!  


Mostly I'm excited because I feel validated. We work so hard to learn more and provide quality education for our kids.  This award for me says YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB, KEEP IT UP!


See the links below for cool news worthy stuff.


White house press release
http://1.usa.gov/LQnXTy


My bio page at PAEMST
http://bit.ly/LiPZnY


Fact Sheet
http://bit.ly/Mvc2e0

Reflections on 1st year with SBG

This year has been amazing for me and I attribute most of the success to SBG.  For those new to the acronym game; SBG stands for Standards Based Grading.  I think my version is not exactly what experts would call SBG but it worked for me! 

The simple act of clarifying exactly what I want the students to know and be able to do, for me and for them, lead to a paradigm shift in my whole teaching philosophy! 
This is what I've been searching for my whole 13 year career.

I liken it to my first year with modeling - once you start and see the power, you can never go back!  Frankly, its just like taking the "blue pill".

The mechanics of what I did this year:
- wrote out and displayed standards for each unit/topic on the board
- wrote new, short and specific, assessments for each unit/topic with each question related to specific standards (or a specific standard)
- graded the students on their proficiency with each standard
- allowed all students the opportunity to reassess for grade improvement

This allowed each conversation about grades to be about how well they performed with a given standard instead of about points or letter grades or "points".
As a result the kids' FCI gains went up and are some of the highest of my career!

If you're thinking about it, I say TAKE THE PLUNGE!  It will transform your teaching.

DP