At the beginning of Algebra II, we are re-connecting with Algebra I skills after students have (probably) spent a year in Geometry. I believe that some of the brainstorming techniues might be useful for my first unit. Some students will barely need to do this and will be ready to move forward; others will benefit from the review and may begin to understand concepts in new ways because they are older and the ideas they grappled with earlier in their lives have had time to marinate.
I am giving a lot of thought to how to use online, adaptive testing and progression (e.g. Khan Academy) for skills development in Algebra II. I am also interested in the "flipped" classroom idea, although I will move cautiously into that territory, starting off with a hybrid approach. The notion of being able to do some of the more routine work outside of class (homework) and focus on the more complex work in class with support and groups intrigues me.
The Design Thinking work was a good brain stretch for me: don't want to fall too comfortably back onto the tried-and-true when so many new things are possible. At the same time, there's no need to abandon tried-and-true just for the sake of change.
I'd love to talk more about "flipped" classrooms and adaptive testing if you're going that direction! Kim Duncan is our science teacher who's done so much of it with her AP Chem class - I'm sure she'd be a wealth of knowledge about this model.
ReplyDelete