A few weeks ago I started reading up on Cognitive Load Theory. I found a few things about CLT to be quite interesting. In particular, there seems to be quite a bit of research to back up the idea that guided instruction can be the most effective way for people to learn. As well, CLT explains how working memory works in conjunction with long-term memory, and how this dynamic plays out with learners.
Last week I started getting some pushback from the students in my Math 10 classes. I have been running the classes in a flipped manner, where the lecture is replaced by activities and application/practice. I’m sure the students are benefiting from the classroom environment, but it’s not completely obvious to them. As I’ve seen in the past when doing problem based learning, older students don’t always like self-directed learning. In the case of Math 10, I have students that want to be shown how to do something, along with seeing examples, before they even think about trying or struggling with the topic.
I recently got a new contract in Vancouver teaching Math 10 and Math 8. While I feel pretty comfortable with the material in these courses, teaching math has some stark differences from science. Whereas each junior science course is like a fresh start for the students, math isn’t. Each student in math is carrying years of baggage with them by the time they hit secondary school. For Math 10, the baggage is even greater.
[]One question that I’ve seen pop up again and again in science classes is, “what would happen to Earth if the Sun suddenly disappeared?”
I’ve had this question in science 9, science and technology, and in physics. I guess it’s one of those things that many people hypothesize on. I was thinking about this today, along with the idea of Essential Questions driving classroom explorations and learning. I wondered if we could use the following as the essential question for a unit on gravity in Physics 12
While I’m working on some new post for my blog, I thought I’d share some other blog posts that may trigger some interesting educational explorations for you.
Having a Growth Mindset is a big topic these days, and with good reason. Every math teacher knows this, as we constantly hear the phrase “I’m not good at math.” Geoff Schmit’s recent post Introducing Growth Mindset is a good place to start reading up on mindset.
Marking for the end of the year is finally done, and I thought I’d wrap up my posts on Inquiry. I’ve already talked a bit about my plan and what happened throughout the year, and in this post I’d like to briefly outline my plan for next year.
The biggest change I would like to implement is that every student will be required to have a lab notebook. This notebook will contain notes for all of their labs and inquiries, and possibly reflections on their learning.
Previously I wrote about my general approach to inquiry in physics this year. In short, I tried to have the students form questions and design experiments when presented with a phenomenon to investigate. In today’s post I would like to explain where all of this led our classes.
After a few weeks of lab activities, I saw a path forward that would give the students scaffolding towards the goal of becoming resourceful and skilled in inquiry and analysis.
This year in physics 11 I wanted to really instill the idea of inquiry, and the asking of questions. Coupled with this I hoped to re-emphasize labs during the course and try to do as many as possible. As with most things I seem to do, I had some success and some not-so-much success. I’m going to break this topic down into three different posts, beginning with how I tried to set things up, how we ended, and what I look forward to do next year.
I’m fairly new to working within the public school system, and it’s been really interesting seeing how the dynamics of school compares to how I remember it when I was a student. One thing that is different now is a new iteration of an old idea: distance learning through online courses.
Lots has been written about online learning. I’ve personally completed a masters degree in educational technology all through online courses.
Previously I’ve written about problem based learning (PBL), and I did just finished another round with the heat problem in Physics 11. A couple of issues have been revealed this year, and I’m not entirely sure what to do about them.
The first issue is one of differentiation. This year I’ve had three classes try out the problem. All three had 2 full periods to solve the problem, but very few groups actually finished the problem to the state where a solution was written up or sample calculations were done.
