A New Way

At the request of a dear friend, I have decided to begin a blog about the new math system I've enacted in my math class. I'll start with a brief description and some updates as to how it's going so far, and then continue to update over time.

Essentially, I've broken the class down into packets or groups or, as I call them in class "certifications." Each sunshine state standard benchmark has been turned into a type of self-directed unit.

Units are broken into three groups, practice, checklist, and review.

Practice: This is designed to be fast and self-driven. Students can quickly work through this section on their own, reviewing the material from last year and reminding them how the concept works.

Checklist: This is more traditional direct instruction. Students work through this portion as I give direct instruction in class as usual.

Review: This is again more independent. Students should be able to work through this section with occasional nudgings and reminders from the teacher.

In between each section students are allowed to take a 15 question test that is entirely FCAT style. For those of you reading this who are non-Florida educators and totally anti-standardized testing, I offer this. The FCAT provides questions that are, in many ways, better than any found in the book. Students are required to be flexible in their knowledge and apply it over a broad range of situations and in many different ways. If they can be successful on an FCAT test, they have really mastered the concept.

The students then get their grades. A 70% or better allows them to become "certified" on this topic and move on to the next one. Their grade determines the quality of certification, however. A "C" is a Bronze certification, B is Silver, and A is Gold.

That's it in a nut shell.