Teaching

Happy Birthday, NYT Learning!

The New York Times Learning Network just celebrated its 4th birthday!

NYT Learning is a collection of free teaching and learning resources designed around New York Times content. NYT Learning posts lessons, quizzes, questions-of-the-day, and many other resources for use in and out of classrooms.

I have been contributing to the Learning Network for over three years. Since my first Numbers in the News quiz, I have contributed over 50 math quiz questions and a dozen or so mathematics lessons, all tied directly to the stories and the resources of the New York Times. And I’m proud that, once again, one of my pieces made their Top Ten posts of year!

So happy birthday, NYT Learning! Here’s to many more years of teaching and learning with the New York Times.

By MrHonner, 11 years11 years ago

Resources Teaching

Workshop — Professional Development Through Social Media

I recently ran a workshop through Math for America titled “Professional Development Through Social Media”. The goal of the workshop was to share some of the positive professional experiences I’ve had connecting, collaborating, and engaging online, and to provide teachers with an overview of what’s out there and how they can get involved.

I was impressed with how well-attended the session was, and how engaged the participants were in reading and discussing blog posts. exploring teacher websites, perusing Twitter feeds, and discussing the opportunities for professional growth through various online communities. At least in this self-selected group, it certainly seems like the word has gotten out!

Below are links to the documents we used to stimulate exploration and discussion, including some material we were not able to cover due to time constraints. In addition, a starter list of online biology teachers has been provided at the request of one participant. Its production is, itself, a testament to the power of connectedness!

A Few Blog Posts to Read and Discuss

A Few Websites to Explore

A Few Active Tweeters to Browse

A Few Active Google Plussers

Emerging Collaborative Resources

Biology Teachers on Twitter

And all participants were encouraged to check out Exploring the MTBoS, another amazing example of the power of these collaborative and forward-thinking communities!

By MrHonner, 11 years11 years ago

NYT Teaching

Connected Educator Month

As part of Connected Educator Month, I contributed to the New York Times Learning Network’s “What Connected Education Looks Like”, a collection of viewpoints on what being connected means to teachers in this day and age.

Here’s my piece, which was inspired by two mathematicians on Google+ who inspired me to create a Linear Algebra course at my school this year.

I’m teaching Linear Algebra at my high school this year, and social media is to blame.

Two mathematicians I’m connected to on Google+, Theron Hitchman andVincent Knight, regularly post engaging pieces about mathematics, teaching and technology. Theron’s enthusiasm and insight and Vince’s cool applications to operations research rekindled my interest in Linear Algebra. So when discussing what electives to offer our mathematics majors at Brooklyn Tech, I volunteered to create a Linear Algebra course.

As usual, I’m in over my head, but Theron and Vince are there to help, sharing their views on the big ideas in Linear Algebra, using technology to docool things with matrices and pointing me to resources like free e-books and open-source mathematical software. I probably wouldn’t have taken on this challenge without my connections to these mathematicians, but being connected to them and others will help make it work for me and my students.

You can read the NYT LN piece here, and find out more about Connected Educator Month here.

By MrHonner, 11 years11 years ago

2013 PAEMST Finalist

[UPDATE: I was awarded the PAEMST! Read about it here.]

I am proud and excited to announce that I am a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)!

The PAEMST is a national award given annually to at most two teachers from each state in the US. The awards alternate each year between K-6 teachers and 7-12 teachers.

I have been named a finalist for New York state, along with three other mathematics teachers. Decisions at the national level will be made later this year, and the award carries with it a Presidential Certificate and a trip to Washington, D.C. for meetings and professional development.

It is a great honor to be named a finalist. The application process was intense and comprehensive, but it was a worthy professional experience, and I’m glad that the selection panel saw the value in my work. I also know two of the other finalists from New York and have great respect for them, so I know our state will be well-represented.

You can read the announcement at the New York State Education website, and find out more about the PAEMST here.

By MrHonner, 11 years9 years ago

Teaching

Regents Recap — June 2013: Writing ‘Engaging’ Questions

Here is another installment in my series reviewing the NY State Regents exams in mathematics.

An all-too-common pastime among math teachers is laughing at the absurd, contrived contexts employed by textbook and exam writers to make problems real-world and engaging. Here are two examples from the June 2013 New York math Regents exams.

Years ago, thinking of the triangle as a garden or corral was enough to make finding its area sufficiently real-world. But I guess now it needs to be kicked-up a notch, say, by taking it to the Australian Outback!

Here’s another classic example.

You know what really gets students engaged in math problems? The word RAP. The best part is that the set A isn’t even used in the question.

By MrHonner, 11 years11 years ago

Teaching

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