Tracking Progress with Google Sheets

My friend Andreas is a Spreadsheet Jedi. So when I saw this post of his where he created a progress tracking to-do list, I immediately wanted to try it. Since I am a new AP Chemistry teacher, using Andreas' system to track progress in AP Chemistry seemed like a great idea.

My AP Chemistry students have their first unit exam in my class next week. I wanted to help them self-assess and review, but I didn't want to make a typical high school review guide. AP Chemistry is, after all, supposed to take the place of a college class. AP Chemistry has something like 117 learning objectives, all keyed to six Big Ideas. I recently created a list of the learning objectives in Google Docs so I could use it for curriculum mapping and so forth. I used Andreas' tutorial and my list of learning objectives to create the AP Chemistry learning objectives tracker.

I shared the file with my students so they could each make their own copy. I suggested that they look at their lab and quiz scores from our first unit to deduce whether or not they have mastered an objective. If they have, they check the checkbox. When they do, the objective turns from yellow to green and the text is struck-through. The percent of mastered objectives is instantly calculated and displayed. Our goal will be for 100% mastery by AP Exam day.

This afternoon a fellow chemistry teacher (named Amy!) mentioned she would like to try something like this for her work with Standards Based Grading in AP Chemistry.

I think this could work the same way as my tracker except I would add a second column of checkboxes for "progressing" (or some other word that means not yet mastered but progress is being made). Conditional formatting could turn those rows one color while mastery could be a different color. The visual cue of different colors would be appealing and indicate progress.

Now we can all keep our goal in mind, while staying organized and focused. How are you tracking student achievements? How are your students tracking their mastery?

Getting Kids Talking with Talking Points

I'm teaching AP Chemistry this year for the first time in a very long time. Since many of the students in AP Chemistry are my former students, I had the benefit of knowing almost everyone on day 1. Rather than start with a traditional icebreaker activity, I decided to use a strategy called Talking Points that I learned about at TMC18. 

Talking Points is a strategy that is designed to get students involved in discourse about a topic. The teacher creates a short list (10ish) of statements that have some built-in controversy or at least differing interpretations. Using words like "most," "best," "worst" help create statements that are easy to argue about. In groups, students read the statements and tell their tablemates if they agree or disagree and why. They tally up the agrees and disagrees for each statement and then share takeaways with the whole class. While they discuss, the teacher can circulate and eavesdrop on the interesting discussions that ensue.

Where I can see myself using this to address chemistry content this year, on day 1 I used the strategy to learn more about what my students think about AP Chemistry. Since I am designing some of what we will do based on my agreement with some of these items, it felt like a good way to introduce the rationale for what we do. My statements are pictured below:

It was fascinating to listen to their ideas as they discussed these statements. Every students participated in the discussions and many were very lively. Here are some of the takeaways:

• Everyone agreed to some extent that a major focus of AP Chemistry should be preparation for the test.
• Everyone agreed to some extent that we should practice tasks that are similar to the test this year and that we should become proficient at solving a certain number of problems in a certain amount of time.
• Most students disagreed that earning an A in AP Chemistry ensures a 5 on the test. 
• There were mixed reactions on whether or not we should practice calculating without a calculator (and most did not realize that you cannot use a calculator on the multiple choice part of the AP Exam).

Some of the trends and takeaways they identified included:

• "We really want to practice the test."
• "Although the test is important, the class and material is most important. The score is not necessarily definitive." 
• Our agrees and disagrees were split in half.

 Here are reasons I will use Talking Points again:

• In small groups, every student spoke. Without having to guide the discussion, I could just listen to the interesting things they said. 
• It wasn't like pulling teeth to get them to share ideas.
• When I described the AP Chemistry Exam and the types of tasks we will tackle this year, I think my vision made more sense to them. I think the activity did lay a foundation for the rest of our work.

I'm looking forward to using this in a more content-specific way the next time. Perhaps to compare answers to a lab or methods to solve problems or  review essential questions. I'm also planning to use this same activity with parents at Meet the Teacher next week. I hope they will embrace discussing these statements, too!

Anchor, Aweigh!

Podcasting is an area that I would like to explore this year. I'm not sure I want to podcast (maybe, though), but I know a lot of people who regularly listen to podcasts and that is not a medium I have tapped into much so far. In some ways, podcasting appeals to me because I could speak my thoughts much faster than I can type them, so maybe a podcast to accompany a blog post or instead of a blog post? I'm not sure. Still, I would like to learn more about them in the next 12 months.

To that end, my friend Ryan and I serve together on the Board of Directors for the Ohio Speech and Debate Association. Ryan suggested that maybe the OSDA needs a podcast, so we volleyed that idea back and forth at a recent meeting. Ryan started by asking a lot of logistical questions - how would we do it, where would we store it, could we mix in listener questions and comments, and on and on. My answer to all his questions was "yes, with Anchor." Again, I don't know much about podcasting, but I had heard that Anchor is a great tool. We quickly checked it out and, to prove to him that we could do it, we made a test podcast that I have embedded below:





Thoughts on Anchor: 

• It was incredibly simple to make that 2 minute podcast. We did the whole thing (create an account, click New Episode, and start/stop recording) in fewer than 10 minutes.
• You can upload audio files, record audio files, grab files from your anchor library, mix in listener messages, and add transitions. All with easy buttons.
• You can store your podcast on their site. And you can farm it out so its available other places too.
• Their mission: to democratize audio. How cool is that? They say they will do that by having a diverse team that represents everyone and offering awesome tools that are 100% free. It sounds too good to be true, but, in my limited so far use, it was true.

How can we use podcasting in our classrooms? Weekly podcast that reviews the week? Designated but rotating podcaster who makes a recording of a big idea or important takeaway? Citizen chemistry podcast? I really like these ideas, but I need to think about it more. 

Are you podcasting at school? With students? Share ideas as comments.

Get Rocketbook, indeed!

Last year I bought my first Rocketbook. Have you seen these? It's a notebook that you write in, often with a Frixion pen, like a regular notebook. At the bottom of every page, there are seven symbols. You get the accompanying free app and link each of the seven symbols to particular location in your cloud storage. Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or wherever you want to store your handwritten notes. When you scan the page with the Rocketbook app, the notes automagically go to the cloud location indicated by the chosen symbol. It's a great marriage of handwritten notes with technology storage and access.

I love handwritten notes. I like them because when I write something down, I am more likely to remember it. And to think about it afterward. But I also like the freedom of writing with a pen, of words mixed with doodles and pictures, diagrams, and annotations. This is hard to recreate with a digital note-taking tool, but easy to write with a pen and store in a digital way.

There are several styles of these awesome spiral-bound notebooks. There are the one-time use notebooks for write, store, and discard. There are also reusable notebooks. I have the Rocketbook Wave. When I have filled it up with notes, it can go into the microwave with a cup of water on top. Run the microwave and the whole notebook erases itself so you can start again! There are also Everlast Rocketbooks that can be wiped clean with water. In my classroom, I refer to spiral notebooks as the devil's tool, but I make an exception for these great notebooks because they are sturdy, well-made notebooks that can be used again and again and allow me to integrate writing and technology.

Recently Rocketbook expanded their line to include a similar notebook for drawing. The Rocketbook Color has eight blank pages, 2 dotted pages, and 2 lined pages. The pages can all be written (drawn!) on with dry erase markers and wiped clean after they have been scanned and saved. Crayola dry erase products are recommended but any dry erase markers will work. Last week I presented a session on sketchnoting at a local conference and recommended the Rocketbook Color as a great sketchnoting tool.

Rocketbooks are great for everyone, but they have a special devotion to educators. They have an educator community that one can join to stay abreast of new notebooks and share tips and tricks. They also offer a 30% discount on a bulk order of notebooks and they donate $1 from every notebook to Donors Choose.

If you are looking for a back to school bonus for yourself or a favorite teacher, treat yourself or your favorite to a Rocketbook. You'll be glad you did!

Follow the Leader[board]?

image from pixabay.com

It started simply enough. I saw a product that I thought was awesome. But expensive. Expensive enough that I wouldn't just buy one, awesome enough that I really wanted one. But then there was a contest and I could win one. And who doesn't want to win something? So I entered.

This contest, though, wasn't a random drawing. It was a test of skills. A series of questions had to be answered. The questions showed up at all different times, so I was constantly watching my phone. At first I was in the lead. In my head, I had all but won the product. Sometimes the questions were timed so the pressure was on. Sometimes I rushed to answer first and I made careless mistakes. I fell behind, but could still see the goal. Eventually, as other people got started and were successful, I watched them climb on the leaderboard as I dropped. 

When I fell to a position that I thought I couldn't recover from, I stopped participating. I gave up. I even received messages of encouragement from the people running the contest: "Team challenge!" "Bonus for getting others to participate!" Nah. Once winning didn't seem realistic, I just was no longer interested. The contest is still running, but I'm not in the running. Because the goal no longer seems attainable.

I'm not a competitive person by nature. I don't play sports; I don't care about winning games. I have lived the adage, "It's not whether you win or lose; it's how you play the game." In fact, as a speech and debate coach, I am known for the motto "skills, not scores." Still, a couple of weeks ago, I was super enthusiastic about this contest. Now the wind is out of my sails. Watching my progress relative to others deflated my spirit.

This has me thinking about my classroom. What are the ways we add a leaderboard to our classroom? How do we try to use competition to encourage kids to succeed? How do we damage kids with competition, especially when they don't think they can succeed? I once had a student tell me that she wouldn't volunteer to be a peer tutor because helping other students could mean her class rank wasn't as high as it could be if students struggle.

Grades are obviously one way we create a leaderboard. We have honor rolls and awards for kids who earn good grades. Do we equally recognize improvement? Some teachers let other students grade their papers or pass back papers so students become aware of who is on the leaderboard. Even without grades, we subtly use leaderboards through our classroom behaviors. We use webtools that create leaderboards for us. We call on students who know the "right answers," reinforcing the leaderboard.

How do these structures, and others, motivate a struggling student, a student who, like me in the contest, has decided that there is no way to win so she might as well give up? As I head back to school this fall, this is what I am carefully considering. I'm looking for ways to level the playing field, to help everyone focus on skills, not scores, with very little competition, so that everyone feels they can succeed.

I've written this post to submit to this virtual math teaching conference. I think it is important to talk - and think - about who is succeeding at math and why they are successful. How can what we do in our classrooms bring equity to students? And how can we help students realize their potential? But the conversation is obviously not limited to math. These questions apply to all subjects, all classrooms. What are you doing to eliminate the leaderboard in your classroom?

You down with TMC? (Yeah, you know me!)

For several years, I have wanted to attend two summer conferences - ISTE and TMC. My interest in ISTE stemmed from the hurricane of posts and shares that happens every June. Surely if everyone is attending, it must be awesome. My interest in lesser known TMC came from reading Amy Gruen's awesome blog. The enthusiasm with which she has described TMC made me really want to attend. This year, because both were so close to home, I was able to experience both. While I had a good experience at both conferences, they really could not have been more different from one another. Since my most popular posts have been comparisons, here is a quick one about these two conferences:

I have never been to a conference like TMC where

• organizers encourage attendees to list pronouns of choice on name badges
• thank you notes are left on a table in a common area so attendees can thank someone
• a session lasts for six hours over three days (I loved this!)
• organizers encourage attendees to stand like pacman to encourage others to join
• buttons are distributed to help people connect and interact
• math is discussed as a platform to bring equity to all
• trendy math educators sing songs and do cheers and break every possible math teacher stereotype

Seriously, TMC is a special gathering of people.

I loved every session and I took away many things that I will use in my classroom or suggest to someone else this coming year. At some point, I hope to blog about those things to help me remember it all. In the meantime, this post will focus on the big picture.

It has been said that people won't remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. And if you read enough of these TMC recap posts, you will find a common theme in how people felt when they heard the keynote by Julie Reulbach. Sense of belonging. Renewed purpose. Valued and necessary. As a 25+ year Speech and Debate coach, I have heard a lot of speeches. This one was special. I will not forget what she said or how she made me feel. I feel incredibly lucky that I was there to hear her say it. I crawled to the finish line this past school year, but Julie's speech helped me shake that off and re-evaluate a little.

At the end of TMC18, we were encouraged to choose one thing to implement this year. Someone will check in to see how we're doing in October. I'm picking two things - one to do and one not to do - both inspired by Julie's speech.

To Don't: I'm not going to work on Sundays this year. Julie made the point that we are all enough. I tend to work too much, to take on too much, to put myself last. I'm going to make a conscious effort to stop that. I'm going to enjoy a day off every week. Working six days is enough. I'm enough.

To Do: The #MTBoS is a special group of people who inspire me a lot. I will admit to feeling like an impostor in this group, often because I am a science teacher (who teaches a lot of math). I love the #MTBoS and I will continue to participate in the community because Julie says I am not an impostor and because these people are amazing. But I will also work to find - or form - a community like this for science teachers. I need to stop waiting and searching for the #STBoS; it's time to make the community happen. If you are a science teacher wishing you could find a group of charismatic, nurturing, curious other science teachers, please connect with me. I'm going to start using #teachscience a lot and see where that gets us.

Lots of Fun with Numberella

While wandering around the expo at ISTE, I stumbled upon a board game. A board game, at a technology conference. A longtime lover of board games, I was immediately intrigued. Numberella is a game designed to increase skill level and engagement in mathematics. I watched for a while and eventually played. In just a few minutes, I was hooked.

Numberella has two basic ways to play. For players that are evenly matched, the game is pretty straightforward. Players, in turn, roll dice, choose cards, and questions or follow directions. Correct responses earn ANT coins. After a certain amount of time, the person with the most coins wins. When players are unevenly matched, other elements of strategy and luck are introduced so that players who struggle with math can still outwit and outlast others. By including "fortune cards" and "magic," the winner will not necessarily be the student with the strongest math skills. This built-in differentiation levels the playing field to help build confidence and determination. The game is available in three levels, so it provides practice for students at various levels from second grade through early high school.

Questions on the cards in the game are varied in style. Take a look at a couple of examples:

The small but mighty rule book includes teaching tips. One of the Fortune cards allows a player to hijack another player's turn. The teaching tips suggest that a teacher use this if they see a student really struggling so it can "take the heat off" the student and save the embarrassment of not knowing. The teacher can hijack the turn and explain how to solve, teaching a mini-lesson during the game. Or intervene in whatever way makes sense. I love the idea that the teacher is playing the game! Another tip is about time. Turns can be timed, but the teaching tips indicate that timed turns should only be used when players are very confident. The game also includes some DIY cards so teachers or students can create their own challenges.

When I sat down to play at ISTE, I had no idea about the educational nuances. It just looked like a fun game. Numberella was designed by Alexander Newberry and has a delightful British vibe. Lose a turn is called "Miss-a-go;" quirky characters adorn the game cards and box and create a charming backstory for the game. 

So what was this board game doing at the educational technology camp? There is an app that accompanies it. With the app, teachers can track student progress, create leagues and houses (because British!), have a leaderboard and more. In fact, Numberella has initiated a launch challenge via Twitter and the app. Teachers are competing for a chance at winning some free sets of the game and our progress is being tracked in the app. Wish me luck. I am currently in fourth place.

I already had a post in the queue for this clever game, but this was the perfect time to make it live because I am taking Numberella with me to TMathC this week. My new friends at Numberella donated the game so it could be played by amazing math teachers this week at camp. Thanks, Numberella. We are grateful!