MPM2D Gr 10 Course Redesign
Lindsay KuehSheri Hill
(Adrian Rawle)
Make It Stick &
Increase Perseverance
We will give all of our materials at the end of the presentation.
Link to materials:
tiny.cc/10courseredesign
* We will give permission to view files
after the presentation
http://tiny.cc/10courseredesign
Frustration!● Poor numeracy skills● Poor retention for next year● Weak problem solving skills● Low perseverance● ALSO any gaps from COVID-19
Improving these became our GOALS!
Academic goals● The students should have basic skills they can take with
them - numeracy, algebra, etc. (fill in gaps from last year)
● We want students to be able to perform the skills we teach them, any time that it is asked, and anytime it is useful.
● Students shouldn’t find the final exam frightening.
Atmosphere/Community goals
● The students should feel safe (physically and intellectually) in class - it’s ok to be vulnerable. (Brene Brown)○ “Not yet” and “Celebrating mistakes”
● Enjoyable - exploration - desire to learn
● Student focused - teacher is NOT source of all knowledge
Evidence Based!● We want evidence based solutions!
○ Make it Stick by Peter C. Brown
○ The Interleaving Effect: Mixing It Up Boosts Learning By Steven C. Pan
● Disclaimer: what we’re going to discuss is not a way to teach - it’s a way to plan a course!
https://www.amazon.ca/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-effect-mixing-it-up-boosts-learning/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-effect-mixing-it-up-boosts-learning/
Types of Practice! - How you practice matters!
● Massed/Blocked Practice (AAABBBCCC) vs Mixed Practice/Interleaving. (ABCDBCDB)
● Spaced Practice○ Improves long-term retention
*** Important! This doesn’t feel good
What we did
● Removed Unit Tests○ Cumulative Weekly quizzes○ Problem Solving Days
● Interleaved Homework
● Fast Fours, Fun Fridays
Our Weekly ScheduleMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Fast FourLesson
LessonQuiz
Fast FourLesson
Problem Solving Fast FourFun Friday
Our Weekly Covid Schedule
Weekly3 Lessons3 Fast FoursQuiz
In Person Time/If time allows onlineProblem Solving DayFun Math Day
Freed Up Time!
● No unit tests meant that we had review days and unit test days free to do other activities
○ Quizzes take half the period
● Removed homework time from class
Lessons● No major changes to lessons (you can use yours!)
● Lessons taught were the main skills, and not as much “Application lessons”
● Complete all skills a month before exams (practiced applications)
● Time to a variety of different summatives
Major Takeaway Point● After covering a topic or skill, continually revisit it
throughout the course.
● Remove the idea of only testing a Unit
Why Fast Fours!!
U Waterloo’s article on the curve of forgetting.
https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/curve-forgetting
Our Initial Goals for Fast Fours● Review concepts from lessons.● Increase basic skills.● Spaced and Mixed Practice.
&
Fast Fours!! Covers all Material to date
Formative Assessment Only
● Math talk!!● Non threatening testing.● Immediate feedback.
Does this look like learning?
What we saw:
● Can do > 1 question.● Peer- teaching.● Math arguments. ● Passionate Math
chat.
What we loved!
● Celebrate incorrect answers○ Student get to see a range of
common mistakes.○ Perseverance.○ Failing forward!!
What Students Thought
Additional Bonuses ● Helps create growth mindset
○ Students start to believe they can get better at ____.
● Time to circulate the room○ 1 on 1 time.
● Provides productive class time○ Time for us to set up○ Answer students concerns
Similar Outcomes Online ??● Jamboard/Explain Everything (or some other platform)
where small groups can solve and discuss questions
● Keep dialog up
● Constant feedback
Why did we change homework?
● Increase retention (spaced and mixed practice)
● Set the amount of homework to what is necessary to Check Your Understanding (CYU) and practice various concepts/skills
Growth Mindset● Normally, you see the topic once in
the lesson, once on a test, and once on the exam.
● If you don’t know it, once the unit is over, students are free to forget the material or never learn it!
● We emphasize that NO topic will disappear.
Homework Outline - Schedule Guide
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i25-rM5HUTO-0xjMQo53ryjL7gcZF0MPNKRQcJDh57A/edit?usp=sharing
Homework● Pre-practice● Mandatory Questions
○ 5 from the lesson○ 5 from previous material
● Challenge
Why Check Homework?
Homework Checks
*** Homework is critical in our redesign!
How do we check?● Online Homework Checks
Weekly Quizzes
What does it do?
● Allow Mixed & Spaced practice● Reduce Cramming - skill is
expected● No expiry date on skills ● Importance of Basic skills● Low stakes = less stress
Weekly QuizzesWhat does it look like?
● Every Tuesday● Approx. 40 minutes● Front = mix/interleaving, ● Back = previous week
Embracing Mistakes
Students Thoughts
Why Problem Solving Days
● Increase Perseverance
(More time)
● Change attitude towards problem solving
Problem Solving DaysWhat we do:
● Every Thursday we solve problems… all period
● Math toolkit (gr 11 used the following year)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lr63q2IlpXX9WjhztMHse_tPkP5t4Q9A/view?usp=sharing
Benefits of Problem Solving Days
● Gives time to attack a problem with different strategies
● Allows for extended group work (but also did individual tasks)
● Explicitly makes problem solving a focus
Problem Solving Days● Problem Sets - Application and Thinking marks
● Problems could be from any lessons taught, including previous units
● Focus at end of year
Problem Solving Days● VNPS (vertical non-permanent surfaces)
● Jamboard/Explain Everything
● Student made questions
Problem Solving Days● Video Explanation
● Help each other by posting solutions
Problem Solving Days● Coding - Check Out Lkueh.wordpress.com
Levelled Problems
● Real challenges
● Weaker students can still be successful
● Students can sometimes attempt extra problems
Challenges ● Mark Inflation from Problem Solving Days?
○ Group work allowed for better learning, more math talk but it also inflated marks for some students
○ Individual in-class seemed more accurate, but sometimes felt less rich
Same But Different
● Different questions of the same concepts/processes
Why Fun Fridays?
● Excitement & Smiles ● Teamwork & collaboration● ‘Buy In’ that math does exist
outside the classroom.● Focus & Interest.
Our Goal!
Quadratic Modeling
Making connections to real life.
Car Launching
Speed Dating! Community Building
“More Than One Story” Cards
Puzzle it up with Tarsia
Tarsia Puzzle Maker
Math as a Game
http://www.mmlsoft.com/index.php/products/tarsia
Rated as one of the top Fun Friday activities by students!
Links to making jeopardy- Factile - Flippity
https://www.playfactile.com/https://www.flippity.net/
Trigonometry with Clinometers
Real life application
Fun & Connections
Pixar in a box
Teacher.Desmos.com
● Marbleslides
Teacher.Desmos.com
Being Creative in Desmos
Creativity and Addiction
Students Thoughts
● It gives us a break from testing and hard problem solving
● It allows our brain to process and relax
● Time to relax and have fun after working hard all week.
● Helps us build relationships with other people in the class, which is important.
● It’s great when it’s applicable but the cups activities
was a ridiculous waste of time.
Challenges
● Very time consuming!
○ We met 80 hours (10 days) over the summer to design the course structure and develop the first 2 units
○ Different objectives among teachers
Challenges ● Booklet/Schedule could get thrown off
○ Homework could get thrown off with an assembly/snow day
○ Thurs/Fri allows a day to catch up if necessary
● Each period felt tight on time (Teacher Feedback)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayFast FourLesson
LessonQuiz
Fast FourLesson
Problem Solving
Fast FourFun Friday
Possible Improvements
● Quiz
○ Focus explicitly on students correcting their own mistakes on quizzes - resubmissions
○ Standards Based Grading*
Possible Improvements ● Homework
○ More Challenge Problems
○ Include more repetition for practice (extra links)
○ Show connections between homework/effort and results!
Secret on HOW to learn.
1) Importance of struggling.
Builds problem solving circuits.
2) Embracing my Mistakes.
3) Teach each other.
Revisit Goals
1) Numeracy and Basic Skills○ Fast fours○ Quizzes - first few questions
Revisit Goals
2) Retention○ Mixed & spaced practice - homework, quizzes (low
stakes & frequent, testing effect), fast fours○ All topics are fair game - students knew that topics
would return○ Limited exam review - retention was amazing
Revisit Goals
3) Problem solving○ Time permitted the opportunity to try different strategies.○ Various tools - peers, toolkit booklets
Revisit Goals
4) Perseverance○ Topics don’t go away - Growth Mindset○ Opportunities to try different strategies on PS days○ Making mistakes is ok, even great if you learn from
them!!
● Mixed homework practice feels like they learn less than than doing one skill over and over (massed practice)
○ Exam results demonstrate their learning
● Students weren’t fazed by jumping topics day to day
Interesting Findings
● Homework completion had a larger impact on success in our course
● Students selected courses for next year better
Interesting Findings
Teacher Collaboration● Compromise, adjust, and listen● Challenging to do on your own
(massive amount of work)● Inspired each other● Department Head supported us
Where to Start
1) Fast Fours
2) Fun Fridays
3) Problem Solving Days
4) Cumulative Quizzes & Homework
Take AwayLink to course material:
tiny.cc/10courseredesign
tiny.cc/homeworktrackerpd
Emails:
[email protected] - Sheri Hill
[email protected] - Lindsay Kueh
[email protected] - Adrian Rawle
Lkueh.wordpress.com
http://tiny.cc/10courseredesignhttp://tiny.cc/homeworktrackerpdmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]