Why do we have to learn this?

Calculus, that is.

I'm teaching 'basic' Calculus and AP Calculus this year, both for the first time.  My AP kids have been great and very easy - they love procedures, get things memorized, and generally do well on everything.  They ask good, specific questions and they help each other.

My regular calculus kids have been a struggle.  They had a not-so-great year in Pre-Calculus last year, with a teacher who was new to the school and new to the level of students and new to the material.  They did not learn a lot.  That's ok.  I'm willing to work with that.  Honestly, I think Pre-Calculus should only be a quarter or semester only, and we should not beat kids over the head so much with rational functions.

My problem with this class has been their attitude.  I have a 'change your words - change your mindset' bulletin board in the room that my students are quick to point out to each other, but their attitudes are not changing.  Everything is so hard, my examples are so hard, and then my examples were too easy and the homework is so hard.  They actually do ok on tests and quizzes, because they can learn the material.  But class is a struggle.  It really tests my patience.

These 28 seniors will probably all go to college next year, and most are anticipating needing some form of calculus for their major.  I studied Engineering and I worked as an engineer.  So at some point, they will realize that 'because you use it in Engineering and Sciences and Business' is not technically true.  But right now, related rates and implicit differentiation is new and therefore confusing, and they don't want to learn it.

So, my response to 'Why do we have to learn this.'
1) You don't.  It's not an 'everyday' type of math.  You can get through life and be entirely successful without it.
2) Studying calculus helps you practice abstract reasoning.  Beyond being used in traditional STEM fields, this is of utmost importance to lawyers, communications majors, journalists, teachers, and EVERY PROFESSION I CAN THINK OF.
3) Yes, it may be needed for you to earn your desired post-secondary degree.  Perhaps you will even use it in your future career, if you are one of the lucky ones. (And you choose a theoretical career)
4) You can see the beauty of math and by extension appreciate the beauty of our world.
5) By taking calculus in high school, you see wide-ranging applications which may spark an interest.


Maybe I'll make this into a poster.  Then when someone asks I can just point to it. 

Week 2....complete

Whew! At my school, teachers had a full week last week, with students joining the fun last Wednesday.  This was our first full week of class.

Thoughts so far...
* Using the traffic light cups strategy has been fun for the freshmen, and I like getting them used to the process now, before we get to the stuff that's harder for them.

* I am getting used to the way no classroom is set up this year - I turned it sideways, so I have more columns of students facing me and fewer kids 7 seats back who can barely see.  Biggest change so far is fewer squinting kids trying to see from too far back in the room.  I also moved my Smartboard higher (actually it's slightly too high to be really useful, but that's another story), so students have an easier time seeing over the heads of those in front of them.

* I have one class that has some real personalities.  These are freshmen, and it usually takes them a while to come out of their shell.  Not this little class.  There are some very self-possessed kids in there!

* Our copier has been broken and I get so mad every time I see it.

* Cutting back on the number of quizzes I give has allowed me to spend more time giving meaningful students and gives students more time to master each concept.  So far, it has been great!

Group Work Expectations

My students work in groups almost every class.  I teach on a modified block schedule, so all my classes with them are 85 minutes.  We can't take notes for 85 minutes. (Or is it that I can't give notes for 85 minutes).

So, we work in groups and it generally goes really well.  My first year, I chose groups which we changed about once a quarter.  They were set up to be people that would work together well, quiet people with friends who would help them, slow workers together, etc.  It was great and it helped a lot of students.  Last year, for some reason, a lot of the time the students picked their own groups.  I let them choose at the beginning of the year, and they just worked really well in their own chosen groups.  I'm going back to hand-chosen groups this year.  It cuts down on the drama, and I think it reinforces that we're in this group for a very specific purpose, not just hanging with friends.

I do want to be really clear with my students what I expect from them.  So, I'm going to reference some 'expectations,' which I'll hang on the wall.  Here is a link to an editable dropbox file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v6y199i01c3y1lw/Group%20Work%20Process.docx?dl=0.
 
And here are images of the poster (both pages).  The font I used is Hello Just Sayin.

The cups are traffic light cups to help me understand where groups are.  I like it 1) as a group self-assessment tool, 2) as a way for the group to have to talk to each other, not just to me, and 3) as a quick way for me to see how we're doing.  Too many red cups tells me we should regroup and review.
 I got the idea from Sarah at Math=Love, and I'm excited to use it.

What do you think?  Are my expectations clear?  Do they cover the basics?