Faculty Introduction to Scratch

Today we will be exploring the very basics of using the Scratch programming language. Scratch is free. It is available for anyone to use at scratch.mit.edu.

The instructions for your assignment are here: Instructions

My demo program is available to be viewed here: Demo

Have fun!

Sailing, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Camping

It was another windy night at sea. We were three days into our sailing trip, and my shift on anchor watch was not going well. Storms were looming to the south, and I was praying that they stayed there. Waking everyone up in the middle of the night to get into lightning positions was not something I was looking forward to. The past couple of days had gone reasonably well, but my mind was racing with thoughts of doom and gloom and thunder and lighting as the boat rocked beneath me. I could not shake away the dread.

Then I heard a splash to my right followed by a sound I immediately identified as a breath from a blowhole. The first porpoise disappeared under the water before I could see it, but then the second one surfaced. In the moonlight, I could see the shape of the porpoise as it surfaced and breathed before continuing its evening journeys. Mere feet from me, close enough that I could have reached out and touched them as they swam by, two innocent animals changed everything. Suddenly this brief encounter with nature's majesty broke the mesmerism. Now I was back to seeing the beauty around me: the nearly full moon looming low in the sky, the stars peeking through the clouds, the boundary islands covered in thick pine, and the signs that the storm was going to stay to the south and everything was going to be alright.

After that Tuesday night, even when more literal and figurative storms hit us, my spirit could not be broken. My Outward Bound experience was simply spectacular. I had survived camping on a 30 foot lifeboat with seven high school juniors and three fantastic instructors. My life will never be the same.

Before entering the classroom full-time, I had been a camp counselor and outdoor educator. I still love working with students outdoors. My camp experiences, however, did not include a lot of actual camping. Sure there were overnights and some glorified car camping, but nothing like what Outward Bound offers. Five days and four nights on 30-foot lifeboat with no toilet and no cabin was a concept that seemed well beyond my comfort zone. Heading into this trip, I knew I was going to be tested and stretched; I just hoped that it was not going to actually break me.

My greatest concern heading into the trip was how my anxieties could adversely affect my students' experiences. I am not in very good physical shape. I am prone to bouts of insomnia. I have battled with motion sickness. I knew that the instructors would be there to facilitate much of the learning for the students, but I was dreading the thought that I might turn into an additional challenge that my students had to overcome. I needed to continue working with these students all year. I could not afford to let them down while we were in Maine.

The crew before we set sail

By Sunday afternoon, our first day, my fears were becoming a reality. The trip started smoothly. One of the students, our navigator for the day, was feeling the affects of seasickness, but I was surviving. I even got to take some time at the tiller. Then the winds picked up, and the rain began to fall. We changed our course, sought refuge in a nearby bay, and put up our tarp for the night. As a couple of the students readied our first dinner, a few more students began to feel nauseated, and one of them was also feeling extremely homesick. Now with the horizon blocked from view by our tarp, I was beginning succumb to my fears. What had I gotten myself into? Why was I here? How was I going to survive four more days of this?

Dinner was rough. Half the students could not bring themselves to eat. Trying to set the example, I managed to swallow a few bites, but I know the students were noticing my discomfort. To add to this, I could not go to the bathroom. How could I go to the bathroom without a very opaque and very soundproof wall between my students and me? I had not been trained for this. As I sat at anchor watch that evening, I felt powerless. I was stuck out in the rain for an hour. With each wave that came, I was afraid that the next would throw me out of the boat. I tried to stay positive, but I eventually found myself writing cryptic little poems in my head about how horribly I felt:

Sam is stranded on a boat
He is cold and tired and wet
This is a new experience
He soon wants to forget
Sam can't seem figure out
How to get out of this jam.
Sam thinks he might die today.
That'd be another first for Sam!

Clearly my head was not in the right place. Eventually my shift ended, and I was able to get some sleep. It was a restless sleep, and I had to get up a couple of times to urinate. At least with a tarp between me and the kids, I could manage. Finally about half an hour before we had to wake up for the day, I tapped out another student at watch so that I could relieve myself again. The sea was now calm and quiet. The first inklings of daylight were beginning to peek over the horizon. I was finally able to take a breath and relax (and move my bowels).

The next two days were not without incident, but they went much more smoothly than the first. While in Seal Harbor, we actually saw a seal poke its head out of the water. We saw a porpoise swim by and lots of sea birds. We even saw a couple bald eagles. Each morning we rafted up with the other boat in our convoy to pray and read the Bible together. On Tuesday we anchored ashore and had some solo time. I had a three bean salad our instructors prepared while we were on solos that totally redefined my conception vegetables as a main dish. I witnessed students step into leadership roles and thrive under pressure.

Enjoying landfall on Tuesday with our convoy in the background

Throughout the trip, the instructors implemented strategies to help draw the best from the students. One student, who had some experience sailing, quickly become the de facto leader of the boat. The instructors found ways to empower him while making sure other students were learning and finding leadership opportunities as well. Another student from Kenya had never before been to the ocean. Despite not being able to swim, he fell in love with sailing and wants to return to the ocean as soon as he can. The instructors found ways to gently encourage another student who constantly wanted to put herself down. They coached and encouraged her, while pointing out to her what she was doing well and how she was excelling. The instructors also helped me step back in order to let the students work out the problems they encountered on their own.

Our instructors

Tuesday night was the night when the porpoises stopped by during my anchor watch. After that encounter, my perspectives shifted dramatically in a positive direction. Wednesday tried its best to punch me and keep me down. We had to row most of the day through thick fog, but we persevered. Rain pummeled us in the afternoon, and many of us could not get our foul weather gear on in time to avoid getting drenched, but we kept moving. We ran out of propane before we could start dinner, but we found other options for dinner. Challenges that would have seemed insurmountable earlier in the week, just rolled right off our backs. We had broken through. We were going to make it. I experienced my own personal breakthroughs, and the students had clearly experienced their own too. As the students shared gratitude that night, they were no longer expressing hope about being almost done, or dwelling on looking forward to being home. They were finding things to be grateful for in the moment: the instructors, the challenges, the lessons learned, and each other.

Rowing through the fog

We arrived back in port on Thursday. We cleaned and restocked the boat. Students were able to catch up with friends from other boats whom they had not seen all week. Outward Bound facilitated the giving out pins and certificates of completion in ways that allowed students to recognize both the growth in themselves and in their fellow crew members. Then all of a sudden, it was over. We were on a bus to the airport.

Back on shore after 5 long days

Now comes the next challenge: How can we transfer the lessons learned on the trip back onto campus and into the classroom?

In the past, students returning from these trips have tended to focus a great deal on their memories of discomfort, harsh conditions, and perceived failures. These overshadowed their successes, smiles, and growth. These students wanted to leave the trip behind and get back to their comfortable lives, habits, and cliques. However, these experiences contain too much value to be left behind. The lessons must be remembered and transferred. I know my students grew a great deal during this trip. I know they had moments of self-discovery. I know they now have new perspectives on life.

Ideally I would like to see my students immediately change and become their best selves without having to process all the lessons and growth. The process must still occur, and it will not come easily for everyone. Some may need a few weeks, some a few months. Some may not truly process their experience for years after they leave school. I just have to do my part to gently remind them of our shared experience. It was not just a week on a boat. It was a chance to see the world with a new perspective; a chance to be a leader; a chance to step up and grow as individuals and as a team. It was a week none of us will soon forget.

Higher Order Thinking Skills

Below are a few activities that I have either used or am looking forward to using in my classroom. These are for a variety of high school math classes as well as computer science.

Math Analysis

Function Scavenger Hunt

I used this activity, which was developed by a colleague of mine during our section covering function transformations. Students are tasked with finding an image of some kind and using functions to trace some of the lines. Although I used this as an end of unit project, this could certainly be tried as a way to introduce the topic. Either way it gives the students the opportunity to use the 12-basic functions they are already familiar with, and experiment with how to transform them to meet their needs. It can really help them explore and solidify their knowledge of functions and how to reflect, translate, and dilate them. It can also help them to make connections seeing how math can be used to design and define the shapes of buildings, corporate logos, and other objects as well as mimic the natural world. Here is an example of what a student could come up with using an online graphing calculator called Desmos.

Repeated Roots Lab

This is another activity developed by a colleague of mine that we used to help introduce what repeated roots are and how they appear on graphs of polynomial functions. Here is the worksheet we use. Essentially, this gives the students the opportunity, in a small group, to look for and identify patterns. The students may have seen this material before, but to many it is new. Through intuition and deduction, students are tasked with finding patterns and developing a hypothesis. They then discuss what they found and compare notes with the rest of the class. This is a great opportunity for students to discover and hopefully own a concept through investigation and pattern recognition, as well as an chance for them to share and discuss ideas with their classmates.

Algebra II

Deriving the Quadratic Formula

In this activity, students have already learned how to complete the square, and many of them remember the Quadratic Formula from taking Algebra I. Unfortunately many students take for granted where the quadratic formula comes from and why it works to solve quadratic equations. This activity gives them a chance to investigate and discover how and why it works. Students are given links to videos and articles showing how to derive the quadratic formula by completing the square. They are then given the task, in a small group, of creating their own video or webpage explaining the process.

Trying to teach others how something works can be a great way for students to better understand a topic. This gives them that opportunity while also having the chance to make something that others can use to learn how the formula works.

Mortgage Loan Activity

This is a project I've used to help students see how formulas and exponential models are used in real life. Students get to research careers and learn about loans. They see how to use online calculators while also learning what formulas the calculators actually use. Students really get excited about exploring the future and seeing what houses cost and what different careers pay. This also helps to take the mystery out of loan payment calculators and how compound interest works. Students create PowerPoint presentations to share what they hope to be doing in 10 years and where they might be living. They also learn how tax rates work as they work through income calculations and percents.

Class T-shirt Activity

This is an open ended activity that can be used before students study systems of equations. With this activity, students are given some information about 3 t-shirt companies and their pricing models. They are also given a budget. They then have to decide how many shirts they want, what style, and how much they need to charge to cover costs. They create a graph of the companies prices and make a decision. This is a great activity because other than the prices of the suppliers, the students get to make their own decisions about the situation. Depending on what their group decides, they could all end up using different suppliers because of the quantities they choose. It also gives them a chance to budget and think about what their friends would be willing to pay for the shirts. Each group has the chance to share their decision and their graphs.

It is a great lead in to systems of equations because it shows how we not only care about the solution (where the functions are equivalent), but also where they are different and what that means. It can be set up so that there is not one easy point where all three companies cost the same. This creates a very open-ended approach where depending upon how many shirts the groups order and of what type, each company could be chosen.

Geometry

SSS Straws Activity

This is a great way for students to explore and be introduced to triangle congruence. The set up is fairly simple: students in groups receive a few straws, some scissors and some string or twine. They need to measure and cut straw lengths into triangles, place the string through the straw pieces and tie off the string. If each group does this, then there should be a classroom full of congruent triangles. They can then do this with quadrilaterals. But they will see that given four lengths of straw, they may not place them in the same order and their quadrilaterals will not be stable.

As a teacher, the takeaway is clear, when two triangles have all the same side lengths, then they are congruent. For students, this is another great opportunity to hypothesize about what this means. They can also, if there is time, make triangles and quadrilaterals with other side lengths. They can try to see if they can create cases that disprove their hypotheses. It can be a fun opportunity for discovery and generative thinking. This site has a decent description of the activity with the ability to prove a couple other triangle congruence theorems.

Solve Right Triangles Lab

When being introduced to trigonometry, one of the benefits is that students will be able to "solve a right triangle." This means that given a triangle with one right angle and either two sides or a side and another angle labeled already, students have the tools necessary to find all the other sides lengths and angles measures of the triangle. They can now use some combination of the triangle sum theorem, the Pythagorean Theorem, and the trigonometric ratios to find the missing information. Where this can get interesting is when students start solving using different methods and come up with slightly different answers.

Often students will be most comfortable using particular methods over others. When they rely too heavily on particular methods, they often end up substituting rounded answers into the formulas. This can then change the measurements slightly. This can lead to a good discussion about why this is happening. Students can learn the importance of being precise and using exact information.

Computer Science

Explain the Program

I have enjoyed doing this from time to time when teaching programming. I will have a completed program on my computer and project it on a screen. The students then are tasked with figuring out how the program works. This can be done using concepts they have already learned in a different way, or to introduce a new concept. One of the benefits is that it gives some of the students the chance to play the role of teacher. Often a handful of students will be able to figure out the program first, or may already know how the program works. They then have to help the other students get it as well. The students can run the program and document the code to help the rest of the group better understand. This can also be done in groups where each group gets to see the program and test it out.

Create a Class

When students start to learn more about object oriented programming, they will start creating their own classes. Often we can stick to examples in the book or do whatever is assigned. Another option is to simply let the students create their own class. It can be fairly basic: two or three fields, and some simple accessor and mutator methods; or it can be more complex: more fields, and some more complex methods. It can be a fun, open ended lab or assignment where students can solidify their understanding of classes or create something exciting and useful in their lives and future programming endeavors.

Scratch Storytelling

Scratch is a fantastic and free online tool for introducing students to programming principles. The drag and drop interface is easy to learn, and the online community is a great way for students to connect and learn from each other. One of the basics of programming is learning how to order instructions. Student are asked to tell a simple story using Scratch. It can be as simple as one scene with a couple of sprites interacting or talking, or it can be a complicated program with lots of sprites and lots of activity. Either way, it is a great open ended opportunity for students to create a simple animation program on their own.

Great discussions can follow as students share what they learned from the experience and share their programs with their classmates.

Cognitive Load Theory

Cognitive load, in psychology, refers to the amount of work the brain is doing. Certain tasks require more effort, more load. Certain tasks also use different types of load. According to Dr. John Sweller, there are three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. The intrinsic load is what handles the task put before us. It is watching and listening, and trying to remember what is put in front of us. Extraneous load has been explained in a few different ways. One is that it has to do with how information is being presented to the brain. The other is that it is the load that has nothing to do with what we are trying to learn, as in a distraction. The most important and vital type of cognitive load is the germane. When we are processing the working memory, making connections, and creating new schema in our long term memory, we are using the germane load.

As a teacher, my goal is to engage the germane load as much as possible. So I want to develop lessons that help students make those connections in memory so they can remember what they have learned. There are a few strategies that can help facilitate this. Scaffolding, sequencing, and rehearsing can all help access germane cognitive load. Because the amount of load we have is limited, it is also useful to find ways to decrease that load. One example is in a textbook, if the explanation is integrated into a diagram, it can be easier to process for the reader. When the explanatory text is away from the diagram, it can put extra load on the working memory.

Here is a crossword of some of the terms discussed above: Cognitive Load Theory Crossword

If you would like to see the answers, use the password: Techy

Here is a Jeopardy style quiz to try as well: CLT Quiz

Sources:

Sweller, John. “Element Interactivity and Intrinsic, Extraneous, and Germane Cognitive Load.” Educational Psychology Review 22.2 (2010): 123-38. Print.

Wolf, Andrew. Cognitive Load Theory: 3 Different Types of Cognitive Load. YouTube. YouTube, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

- - -. Introduction to Cognitive Load Theory. YouTube. YouTube, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZcjWzXTHng>.

The Big6: How to Solve a Problem

Here is a video introduction to the Big6:


The Big6 is an interesting and useful concept. I love the first stage. Too many times, I have found myself trying to solve a problem or complete a task without really defining that task for myself. I see students doing this as well. They either don't really know what they are trying to do, or they are simply trying to find out what they need to do to get an A.

I also love the final stage. As I've grown older and more experienced, I have found great value in reflection. This wasn't always the case. I guess as I've reflected on my life and my choices, I have realized just how important it is to reflect. Once a task has been completed or a problem has been solved, it is important to remember that learning is the goal. We have to ask ourselves questions: What can I do better? What went well, and what didn't? What did I learn about myself?

I had hoped to finish this project sooner than I did. I could have managed my time better, but I chose to prioritize a different way. Now I am up later than I want to be on a school night. I need to manage my time and my distractions more efficiently. I can do this, and hopefully I will do this.

Please get more information here: Big6

Bloom's Taxonomy: The Three Little Pigs

Here is an online version of the story of the Three Little Pigs: Three Little Pigs

Follow the link and read the story of the Three Little Pigs. Make sure to click through all the pages to the end. Once finished, answer the questions below:

Knowledge:

What materials did each pig use to build their houses?

How did the wolf try to get inside their houses?

Comprehension:

Re-tell how the third little pig finally defeated the wolf in your own words.

What is a moral or main idea of this story?

Application:

Why are the different building materials used by the pigs significant?

How might the third pig’s cleverness in defeating the wolf relate to his choice of building materials?

Analysis:

Classify each building material according to how well it can keep you safe.

What evidence can you present for how the third pig outsmarted the wolf?

Synthesis:

What suggestions would you have for the wolf to try to defeat the third pig?

How could you design a new house for each of the pigs?

Evaluation:

What criteria would you use to assess the value of a building material for a house?

What do you think about how the third pig tried to outsmart the wolf? Would you have made any different choices? Explain.

Online worksheet link.

Instructional Strategies: A Few New Tricks for the Bag

Below are a few instructional strategies that are new to me, and that I hope to try out soon in my classroom.

Minimalism

The Minimalist Theory was put forth by J.M. Carroll. It pertains particularly to technology. The idea is to cut back on reading material and give students meaningful tasks as quickly as possible. Through this experience, students will learn how to use software and technology much more effectively than by pouring over a lengthy manual or textbook before actually putting the technology to use in a meaningful way.

I like the idea of a minimalist approach to teaching. I often get bogged down by the textbook, forgetting that the students will learn most effectively through experience. The tricky part is often in finding or creating truly meaningful, rich tasks for the students. I think I could use this approach in my Computer Science class. I have found the classes where the students are actually solving problems and writing programs to be the most effective.

Think-Tac-Toe

This approach is a simple strategy using a classic game as an organizational tool. Students are given a worksheet with a Tic-Tac-Toe pattern filled-in with questions or commands. They then answer or complete three of these in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. This method can offer a differentiated approach, as questions of differing difficulties can be strategically placed on the Tic-Tac-Toe pattern.

I am always searching for fun differentiation strategies and this seems like a useful one. By placing problems intentionally, students can self-differentiate their practice. Easier problems can be placed in the middle and in the corners, and harder ones on the sides. This gives students the opportunity to find the path that is effective and challenging for them. I’m certainly going to try this out in my classroom and see how it goes.

Appointment Clocks

This is a strategy for effective and quick grouping. Each student has their own sheet with a clock. When you want to put them in groups, you can ask them to find their one o’clock group or one of the other eleven options. The teacher sets some of the groups (some could be pairs based on skill level or random, and some could be pairs or larger groups). The teacher could also leave a few blank so that students can self-select partners.

Grouping can often be a slow and tiresome task. There are random group selectors available online, and other groupings can be selected in advance, but this can be a good way to do it, so that the students already have an idea of who they could be grouped with. I may try this, or another way of organizing it, so that students have a reference that can be accessed quickly and easily. At the start of class, they could see what time groups they need to be in, and we don’t have to do as much shuffling around during class.

Teaching with Case Studies

Case studies give students the chance to solve real problems in class. They use the skills they have learned and apply them. Cases tend to be real-world scenarios that contain supporting data and documents. They are open ended so that students may arrive at varying outcomes that have merit.

“When will we use this?” is probably the most heard question in a math classroom. While I do believe that learning complex algebra skills, geometric proofs, and function analysis can open doors to further study in STEM fields while also teaching valuable lessons in problems solving and critical thinking, giving students worthwhile tasks to apply that knowledge in would be great. Case studies, and other rich tasks like them, are useful and worthwhile because they enable students to apply what they are learning in ways that are relevant to them.

Collecting Anonymous Student Generated Questions

Sometime during a lesson, as an exit card, or during class time, students are able to write questions in a note card or small scrap of paper. The teacher collects the cards and answers the question. This is done without identifying the student. The idea is that because the cards are anonymous, students may be more willing to ask questions than by raising their hand for the whole class to hear.

Some students enjoy asking questions, while others do not. They may have them, but they may feel embarrassed to ask it in front of the rest of the class. Having ways to make sure that those students are heard and their questions are answered is important. Often traditional teaching seems effective because one student or a handful of students are engaged and asking or answering questions. Meanwhile the rest of the students may be lost or confused. Making sure to check with those other students is essential to fostering an effective learning environment.

Concept of Definition Map

A word map is a visual thinking strategy that involves creating a diagram or chart for a vocabulary word from the text that students are reading. A word is selected and written on the center of the page. There are three areas drawn that connect to the word: a section for the definition; a section where the student writes synonyms; a section for examples of the word. This is then used to spur discussion about the word and how it is used. The map can be adjusted and edited as needed.

Visual thinking guides are being touted heavily at my school now. We are introduced to quite a few of them during our professional development sessions. This one seems like a simple, and useful, way to help students explore words and what they mean. In the description it mentions that this can be an opportunity for students to give context to the word from their own experience. Relating synonyms from their own vocabulary or examples from their life can help them relate to the word and the definition.

Non-Linguistic Representations

This is one of Robert Marzano’s 9 Effective Instructional Strategies. Often too much emphasis is placed on lecture and reading. It is important to remember that students learn in different ways and it can be helpful to have multiple ways to relate to the material. Non-linguistic representations can include (but are not limited to) dramatizations, visual thinking models, charts and graphs, and concept maps. In order to use any of these effectively they should be modeled by the teacher and should look to foster cooperative learning.

It is always important to remember that students do not always learn in the same way. It is important to find multiple ways to relate material to students. Those who find it easier to learn new concepts in a non-linguistic manner need to be accounted for. This does not mean that everything should be conveyed non-linguistically, but that there should be a variety of methods used in the classroom. I try to add variety to my teaching methods, but often they are still centered around reading, writing, and listening. It is important to remember to account for kinesthetic and visual learners as well.

Here is a link to an online poster with these strategies.