Reflection of class March 24

I was at the Education Center here in Anchorage in an informational meeting with U.A.A. regarding a program I am beginning in May, so I missed class.  Why can't we clone ourselves yet, it would make life so much easier.
O.K. so I listened to the recording, and how I WISH I had been in a group.  This problem of finding the density and volume and mass of the Monster Lobe was overwhelming to me. I barely knew where to start!  Ugh!  I don't know how to say this, but sometimes, I feel that being in first grade has really limited my ability to think about such things at the level that I need to be.  The value of group discussion is so important and helps me think more broadly. 

My students project seems to be very much above their heads.  I think that as we get more into it, they will begin to feel that there isn't necessarily one perfect answer but that there are many possible ways to solve this problem.  I am very curious to see how this turns out.

Debbie

March 24 Reflection

I am glad that I was able to make it to part of class.  I am at a work Conference in Nashville, and was only able to make it to part of it.  At least that part was the activity.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take my headset with me, so I had no mic.  I also was on a different page than my group for some reason, so the work I was doing on the board did not show up for them.  I just kept typing in the chat box, and was maybe able to help a little bit.  It was an interesting problem.  I do have a hard time when I have to estimate, because I like exacts.  However, I know it is important to be able to do, and in fact is a key aspect of life.  I have not had the opportunity to go back and listen to the rest of class, but am excited to do so.

My project is a little behind because Sam, North's friend, went to Anchorage during Spring Break to watch his sister play basketball in the state tournament.  I had not know this was going to happen.  The boys are very excited to work on this though, and have already started coming up with good ideas.  They are also excited to share what they do with their class and mine.

The thought of proposing it to the 8th graders is fizzling out.  They are very nice when they talk to me about it, but their mom has told me that they aren't really as excited about it as they were at the beginning of the semester when we talked.  That is because although it is minecraft, it is a project that they would have to spend time doing and not getting any credit for.  Good thing I really planned on working with North and Sam on this.

Mar. 24 class reflection

   Well, I'm officially out of my depth mathematically but can still hang with the crowd conceptually.  Calculus is a class I opted not to take.  In retrospect, I have mixed feelings about not having that knowledge but I it's not pathological yet!  I may yet survive without Calculus!  
News from the homefront of the Harry Potter Project is that I may have lost Ben but Kate is hanging in like a trooper.  She's enjoying meshing her math knowledge with her Minecraft skills, but Ben, not so much.  He would really much rather explore the Minecraft than create in it.  I think if I could get him to take the Bartle's Gamer Profile he would be an explorer and since I'm an Achiever, we seem to be at odds with it.  He will play Minecraft with me all day as long as we are running around, but if I ask him to build something, he loses interest.  I'm not sure if  I should extrapolate his behavior as typical for a first grader exploring Minecraft, or if it's just a matter of taste.  Are there developmental milestones in Minecraft?  I haven't figured out a strategy for trying to re-engaging him -Look, Son, if you don't help mommy get a good grade, you will never play Minecraft again :) - or let him be.  Open to suggestions on this one.  I'm enjoying watching Kate stretch herself though and I think it's given her some insight into some of her science strengths as well.

Reflection

Class Reflection 3/23

Class Monday evening was interesting.  I was initially worried that I would have no idea how to solve the problem.  From being in a previous class with Chip I thought maybe we were working more on the process rather than just the solution.  So, I began thinking about how I would go about solving density first.  Then solving volume was a little challenging but working with two other people really helped.  I liked being able to bounce ideas off each other.  It did take us quite a bit of time, but in the end we had a good product that was clear and I think we could probably all explain it pretty easily (though some of our stuff didn’t show up on the copy Chip posted). 

The project is moving slowly for me.  Life has gotten in the way some.  This week has been lots of appointments from cleaning the blinds to checking the dog into the kennel (no pets in temporary housing).  Anyways, the next few days will be spent tying things up for our move and really getting a move on the project.  The kids and I have time tomorrow after school to take our field trip and look at my expectations for the project.  We will also sketch out a little drawing while we are there.  (I am a little behind schedule, but will catch up).

Reflection

Class
The hour or so that we worked on the lobe problem, solving for density, mass and volume, went by pretty fast.  The grid map totally threw me off though mathematically.  I thought I calculated the surface area of the top of the lobe but it must've been off because when I multiplied by the average height, I got a really low number when I compared it with the person who used the numbers from the lobe dimension description.  Needless to say, we used the more logical number that our group member calculated, but I could not figure out my mistake.  Kinda hit a wall and had a hard time moving on.  However, thank you to my group for persevering!  It was fun estimating the percent of each material the lobe was made up of and multiplying to make big numbers :)

Project
We are almost half way through our Mouse Maze STEM project, but students still have a lot of work to do.  One of the problems we have encountered in our room is lack of space.  I have 25 students in spaced out rows (thanks to testing), which leaves very little room to move around and store our project (in fact, I feel like pac-woman weaving between desks lol).  My custodian told me that I have the messiest room in the school, which I'm not sure is a compliment--students are busy learning--or not.  Anyway, we've learned that students should not become to attached to their taped up box pieces because ALAS it gets moved or stepped on and falls apart.  They've got great "now we know what to do next time" attitudes!

Pictures to come soon!  Lap top is dying and charger is at school...

Class Reflection and Project Update

I continue to enjoy this class.  The challenges of some calculations keep me on my toes.  I am always so surprised at those students who get it right away.  I don't pretend to know what I am doing, so I just ride along sometimes.  This week I felt that way.  Though I still felt like I learned a lot.  You learn by doing!  It is so nice to be able to hash out these different scenarios with other students, otherwise I would really be lost sometimes.  The guidance we are given is such a help.  I look forward to attempting this monster lobe assignment on Minecraft.  From my understanding, we are to build a monster lobe in Minecraft (no lesson plan needed, right).  We get to do this one right, or do you still want us to get kids to build it?  I look forward to creating, I rarely get the opportunity to get into Minecraft for myself.  My son keeps asking if anyone has gone through his maze.  I will have to attempt it this weekend so he can watch me struggle through his maze.

Project Update:

I have set things in motion.  I have my students (son, and nephew) doing research on the water vessels.  I gave them specifications (it has to be able to hold 500 people).  They get to decide what type of ship it is going to be and how it will propel them through water.  I have given them this task and will be checking in with them tomorrow so we can move on to the next step.  They will have gotten information on what things are essential for this ship to propel itself through water and house 500 passengers.  Next we will meet up and discuss how to come up with a list for items they need to create their vessels in Minecraft.  After that, they will start to build in Minecraft.  I figured I would have them build it in Minecraft edu so I can show all of you what they did when they have completed it.  I decided to bring it down to 500 passengers, because otherwise we would have a gigantic ship, and a huge undertaking for the kids.  I am just hoping that 500 isn't too much as well.

As usual, I found the weekly math project to be pretty far out of my comfort zone. Although I have been taught all the concepts we work with, I don't teach them therefore I don't own them. However, there are always those in the class who come to the rescue and last night Ronna and Sara were those people. Once they explained their thinking I understood what to do but I am preeetty sloooow. By the time my calculations were done the project was labeled and the timer dinging. I do have to say that while I have no illusions about becoming an engineering expert I am gaining clarity each week.

My project is going surprisingly well, almost done actually. Chip was right....give the assignment and the students will figure it out. In hindsight though this has proven true for students who are already Minecrafters. If I had been foolish enough to set my entire class on this task I would have drowned, taking most of them down with me.

 I am a little apprehensive about the 15 minute presentation. My students are so incredibly good they did not appear to find the project challenging at all. I don't think I'm going to have much to talk about but the project is stunningly beautiful.

Class Reflection

I don't have much of a class reflection for this week.  Half way through the class all technology went down.  The joys of living in a village when one thing goes out usually everything goes out.  The village lost internet and cell phone service.  Needless to say I will be watching the recording of the class to understand what was going on.  Before I was disconnected I really had no clue what was going on, it did not seem to make a lot of sense to me.  Hopefully the recording will make sense. 

As for my project it is moving slowly.  My students have started brainstorming and answering question.  I feel like at some points it is a work in progress since my students are still building knowledge in problem solving skills.  I think in the end it will turn out great and the students will enjoy it.

Ahhh . . . we are back.

I missed this class during Spring Break.  I never realized how long the class really was, until there was no class.  Time certainly goes quickly during our time together.

The lesson tonight was interesting.  I had some trouble starting with density, until Sara explained that we were suppose to find that information through research.  I heard that during class, but I definitely have a leak that goes from my ears, straight out of head (it doesn't pass through my brain).

Once we found the densities, then the challenge of finding the volume was . . . just that . . . a challenge.  I think that we were successful in our thinking.  It was a fun project.  Definitely a doable goal for us.

How is my project going?  Well, it is going, slowly but surely.  No huge blockades, so all is well.

3/24 Class Reflection & Project Update - Lexie

Reflection from Class

Well class was interesting tonight.  The problem we worked on was difficult for me and took a good 15 minutes or so to wrap my hands around it.  Because this was an area that was outside of my comfort zone, it took me a while to understand the problem and determine what I should do.  Before we separated into groups, I was so confused I didn’t even know what questions to ask.  Once I understood that I was trying to find the density of each type of material from the cross section, it began to make sense.  My group was very helpful, but for the first 10 minutes I was a little confused on what they were doing.  Once we started going good, we ran out of time and couldn’t finish the calculations.  If we were given this problem again or an additional 15 minutes, I’m sure that we would have been able to finish it. 

After we finished working on the problem, I started to think about how I could adapt it for my class.  I think that if I did this problem, I would start by giving the picture of the cross section, the area, and the densities.  That way they were required to estimate the area of each item in the cross section and then find the density of each of them. 

Update on Project

I actually finished my project!  My students did a great job of working together and creating their 3-dimensional plant cells.  The best part of the project was the communication that was done in the groups.  On the first day, I had a pair of students that refused to talk to each other.  By the end of the project, they had figured out how to communicate (even though it wasn’t much) and had a really good plant cell.  From the project, I realized that my students struggled more with surface area and volume than I thought they would.  I plan to spend more time practicing this skill with them.  When I do this project again, I know that I will have to spend time before the project begins on practicing the Surface Area and Volume.