AND, there will be a team from the BEAST Culinary classes competing, so show some BEAST love!
Taking a detour from my usual class-related info to push a great cause and a great time tomorrow night. If you can, please attend the Holiday Heroes Chili Cook-Off tomorrow evening, Nov. 7. It raises money for a 100 children to purchase clothing and a Christmas wish item, formerly known as Shop with a Cop. A worthwhile cause heading into the holiday season!
AND, there will be a team from the BEAST Culinary classes competing, so show some BEAST love!
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As many of you know, last week I invited students in after school for an event I called AP Physicspalooza. It was a chance to get caught up on work, get help, meet with lab partners, etc. As you can see, it was a rousing success! There was a great turnout, and several students made progress. It has inspired me to set up more events like it in the future.
Which brings me to the next opportunity - this Wednesday, October 29, I am setting up an AP Physics Study Session during the after-school Guided Study in the Library. Unfortunately I cannot attend, but I am hoping by setting up a time and place for students to meet, several students will attend and be able to assist each other - what we call peer collaboration in the teaching business. This would be another great chance for your student to get some work done in a structured environment, with others there to help, or to help others. Please consider encouraging your student to attend, especially if they are struggling with concepts or simply need time to get Physics work done! Because this is during Guided Study, I do need advance notice of students attending so I can reserve their spots. If your student would like to attend (or you want to make them attend!), please have them get in touch with me ASAP so I can sign them up. As always, you are welcome to comment or ask questions below, or email or tweet me. Have a great week! Mr. Mason ...it needs to be urgent EVERY DAY! (more on this in a bit)
This week's Motivation Monday article was "How Does the Brain Learn Best: Smart Studying Strategies". The article discussed how to use modern brain science to improve study habits. I won't bore you with the details, but once again it let to a great discussion in each class. Some of the conclusions surprised us because they go against years of "conventional wisdom". Please read it and discuss how you and your students can use some of the ideas yourself! Today marks the end of the first quarter (ALREADY?! I know!), and Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences are next week. Suddenly grades will become way more "real" for students and parents. Some will celebrate, some will commiserate. The real question is, regardless of the grade, what to do from here? If your grades will be urgent in December, they need to be urgent TODAY. I have been preaching this from Day One in all of my classes. And let's face it...this is difficult for the typical high school teenager. Because of their stage of brain development, it can be difficult for them to see how today's actions can affect future consequences, both positively and negatively. So it's our job as teachers and parents to help them with that. If your grades will be urgent in December, they need to be urgent TODAY. I would urge all parents and guardians to sit down with their students and decide: What is your idea of success in Physics class? (or any other classes of course. But I will selfishly focus on this one!) Is it a specific letter grade? Is it work completion? Is it some combination? Will it be improvement over time? It is important to have this conversation as soon as possible so that all of you are on the same page. Too many times I see students who have one expectation for themselves, and parents who have a different, usually higher expectation for them. This can create conflict down the road between parents, students and me. If your grades will be urgent in December, they need to be urgent TODAY. Once you have had this discussion, now what? Once you and/or your student have decided what the definition of success will be for this class, it's time to commit to that level of success every week, every day. How? Check in with your student on a regular basis. Not necessarily every day, but at least weekly. Regularly scheduled check-ins are a good way to do it, that way the student isn't being constantly "nagged", has some freedom to regulate themselves, but also knows when to expect some accountability. While I have some issues with the constant, live availability of grades online (more about that another time perhaps...or just ask!), one nice thing about it is that, when used properly, it can facilitate communication and accountability between students and parents. Ask them about what's going on in class, about assignments, etc. And don't just ask the "naggy" stuff about missing work, low scores, etc. Ask them what is going on and what they are learning. They may be more willing to share honestly if each school or grade conversation isn't an interrogation. If your grades will be urgent in December, they need to be urgent TODAY. Whatever the definition of success you are using with your student, make sure that they are working and achieving to that level every day, every week. If you or your student have decided that they are an "A" student, then they should be working towards that every single day. Did that last test live up to expectations? If not, they should be getting in to see me right away about a retake. That's right, MR. MASON ALLOWS TEST RETAKES!!! This is often a shock to parents when I talk to them. The policy can be found in my syllabus, and is discussed in detail EVERY SINGLE TIME I HAND BACK A TEST (believe it or not, students claim that they "forgot", or "Mr. Mason never told us". If you or your student decide a retake is in order, that student should see me right away to set up a re-learning/re-teaching plan. Too many students play "Classroom Accountant". They just assume that the next test will be high enough to raise the overall grade to the desired level. This is a dangerous game to play. Next thing you know it's the end of the semester, and there aren't enough scores to make the average move much. That can lead to disappointment. More importantly, since my emphasis is on learning physics rather than averaging points and percentages, it is crucial in this class that students understand the material in each unit. Unlike a lot of other subjects, we can't forget material that we just tested over. Each new unit builds on the units before it. It is important to master each one before moving on. If your grades will be urgent in December, they need to be urgent TODAY. Make sure you and your students are thinking like this now to head off problems later. I hope this sparks some productive conversations over the weekend. I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next Wednesday and Thursday. You are welcome to ask questions and leave comments in the space below, or email or Twitter. Have a great weekend! This blog is my attempt to keep the lines of communication open with students and parents. I will post things here from time to time to keep you informed about my class, and about teaching and learning in general. Please check back occasionally to see what's new!
Last week I shared this article with my classes and we discussed it afterwards. The article discussed the differences between an eastern and western mindset when it comes to achievement in school. Please read the article, but I will try to summarize: In Western culture, we tend to emphasize the "final answer", and have a tendency to relate academic success with a student's intelligence ("You got a good grade on that, aren't you so smart!"). Eastern culture, however, tends to embrace the struggle, and considers learning and success a process involving hard work ("You did well in that competition because you worked so hard for it!"). I was very impressed with the conversations that we had. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of each way of thinking. We talked about the pressures of the "western" way of thinking, how there seems to be an emphasis on getting things right the first time. We discussed the pressure for grades, and how my grading policy fits with the topics discussed in the article. I shared this article with my students and now with you for a reason. I think it sheds some light on my own philosophy about teaching and learning. One phrase I can be heard saying often in my class is "If you aren't confused yet, you probably aren't trying hard enough!". There are only two groups of people that aren't confused by material we are covering in class: those who already get it and those who don't care to get it. I try to encourage students to embrace the confusion, and that it's OK, as long as they are trying to work their way out of it. Another phrase I use frequently is "If you knew it already, it wouldn't be learning!". Too many students think that if they don't "get" or understand something right away, that they never will, or that it's too hard. I remind them that they didn't always know how to walk either. But they kept trying, made a LOT of mistakes (I'm sure you parents can attest to that!), and eventually figured it out. I hope that they have the same perseverance with physics! We are at a time of the school year when students come to parents, counselors and to me saying things like "physics is too hard", "I just don't get it". That's probably because for a lot of my students school has always come easy. However, I think we can all agree that they should get used to the struggle because college, career, family and life can be way harder! If your student comes to you with these claims, ask them what they did to overcome the confusion. Have they completed their assignments? Asked questions in class? Take notes? Did they seek help from a classmate or study buddy? Did they come in to get extra help from Mr. Mason? Did they seek online resources (like those that I have collected under the Useful Links tab of this webpage or the online curriculum for the AP class). In many cases, they have not. Encourage them to try everything before giving up! Please read the article "Struggle For Smarts" and feel free to comment below. And as always, contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a great week! R. Mason If you are registered for AP Physics 1 for the 2014-15 school year, please stop by to see Mr. Mason in H13 before the end of the school year. You will receive your summer assignment and information packet.
In case you lose the hard copy, you can download it here or on the AP Assignments page. I look forward to seeing everyone in the next couple of days. Have a recharging, safe summer! Since I have have had some recent parent inquiries about homework and grades, I thought I should share my philosophy as an educator on how homework is used in my class. This was discussed in the class contract that was sent home at the beginning of the year, and you can find under the "Assignments" tab for your student's class.
Why don't you count "homework" towards grades? The reason I do this is NOT to minimize the importance of doing practice work. The reason I do not grade it is because of what the name implies – it is practice that is intended to help you learn the material. Often, I will even provide the answer key to help guide your practice. My philosophy is that your grade should not depend on what you do while you are learning something new, only after you have had an opportunity to practice and become proficient. To understand what I mean, think back to when we all learned to walk or ride a bike. You were not judged harshly on your first few failed attempts. Why? Because you were still learning something new. You needed that practice as a chance to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Sometimes it was frustrating, and sometimes it was downright painful, but eventually you learned. It took some of us longer to figure it out than others. If you were being graded for your walking performance, should those early mistakes as a toddler be counted towards the final assessment of whether you have mastered walking? Should you be penalized for taking a longer time to learn than some others? Should you be rewarded for picking it up faster than others? In my opinion, NO. What matters is that you persevered and you learned. By the way, I don't even like the term "homework". I call it practice because that's really what it is. And a lot of it is not intended to be done at home. I give a lot of time to do practice work in my class. If homework is not graded, how does my student know how they are doing on the material? To put it bluntly, by being a true student. The word "student" comes from Latin student- ‘applying oneself to,’ the verb studere , related to studium meaning ‘painstaking application.’ In other words, the student has to become an active participant in their own learning, to apply themselves to the material. For too many years we have made the teacher the center of all learning - the teacher delivers the material, grades the assignments, tells students what they are doing right or wrong. We have created students who depend on the teacher for everything. My goal is to create independent learners who can ultimately function on their own and reflect on their own learning process. How does this happen in my class? When a practice assignment is due, I will call on students to check off the assignment. I am simply recording whether they completed the assignment or not, according to instructions. If they have, I record the completion in the grade book and give them access to an answer key. It is the responsibility of the student to compare their work to the key and make any corrections. If they are still struggling, they can work with another student - I give a LOT of time for "peer review" in my class - or see me if that doesn't help. I also allot time in class to cover assignments and material students are struggling with. In addition, I administer regular formative assessments and quizzes in which students get more formal feedback in the form of grades and comments to further direct their learning. If you don't grade homework, students won't think it's important and won't do it. To be honest, there are a few, rare students who do not need to do homework to understand the material. But those come far and few between, and even then are usually misplaced in a class that is below their abilities. Successful students tend to pursue the practice work because they are trying to master the content. They are trying to be learners. Which leads me to another reason I don't assign a grade to practice work: I want the focus to be the learning of the content, not the mere accumulation of points. Decades of heavy reliance on points and percentages has produced students and parents who are very good at accounting. They count points and percentages, pluses and minuses. But my job is not to produce "classroom accountants" or "classroom lawyers", it's to produce classroom physicists. Some students need more practice to grasp new material than others. Students and parents should use the performance on practice work and formative assessments as a guide on whether you need more practice or not. This is probably more than most of you wanted as an answer, but I hope it helps. At least it gives you a better idea about my philosophy and where I am coming from. I am open to questions, contact me anytime via email or Twitter. Mr. Mason |
AuthorPhysics teacher and football coach at Bellevue East High School Archives
November 2017
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