Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Ferris Wheel Problems with Solutions
Here is a link to the ferris wheel problems with solutions
http://www.bmlc.ca/Math12/Principles%20of%20Math%2012%20-%20Trigonometry%20Lesson%208.pdf
http://www.bmlc.ca/Math12/Principles%20of%20Math%2012%20-%20Trigonometry%20Lesson%208.pdf
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
What we did on Friday in Class (Finish on Monday)
You guys worked in your groups on finishing these problems. Remember there is a quiz on Tuesday on graphing and writing equations.
Group Practice
Group Practice
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Females are not as good at math as men
Now that I have your attention, read this article about a woman in the Victorian age that proved this old notion wrong!
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/10/the-woman-who-bested-the-men-at-math/
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/10/the-woman-who-bested-the-men-at-math/
Any Takers??
I know I showed this video in the beginning of the year. Let me know if anybody would be interested in building one to keep in the classroom. It would be pretty cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yVkdfJ9PkRQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yVkdfJ9PkRQ
Sad Day
After looking over first quarter grades I have come to a sad conclusion.
The purpose of the blog posts was to give you an opportunity to communicate with each other, and to see math applied in the real world in more fun and interseting circumstances. Due to factors (some of which I know, and others I do not understand), many of you failed to complete the blog posts.
Along those lines, because regular homework was not graded, many of you failed to do the homework assignments because they were not counted towards your grade. This is particularly true in one class. This truly upsets me. I walked into this school year very excited to try to not grade homework. I still firmly believe that grades should measure what a student has mastered, not what they have tried. And we got off to a good start. But as the year went on it got slightly worse, and to the point we are at now. Therefore I am now forced into the decision of grading homework as you would normally expect. Some students are lost because they fail to do the homework. Other students and classes are thriving because people are doing the homework and trying hard in class.
I know there are things I could have done better to make the blog better, and I know there were things I could have done to get you to do the homework more. But I still believe that not grading homework is the correct thing, and I am not giving up on it forever. I am going to regroup, rethink my strategy and try again.
This is the lesson I want you to take away from this. Is that you should always take risks in your education and life. Things that make you uncomfortable, things that other people would not do, and things that will help you grow. Do not be afraid of failure, because that is what will make you a stronger person. And if you fail, get up and try again (but make sure you make some adjustments).
I hope you respect what I was trying to accomplish, and the fact that I was willing to try something different. I hope you appreciate the fact that it was all designed in your best interest (lord knows it made more work for me).
I would ask you to either post or email me comment on your thoughts on this experiment with the blog posts, and the non-grading of homework. I am looking for constructive criticism. You were my guinea pigs, and I can only learn from your feedback.
Lastly I want to thank the students who continued to do the homework and the blog posts. You did a GREAT job. You are the reason that I still have faith that I can make this system work. I truly thank you.
Thank you,
Mr. Frank
The purpose of the blog posts was to give you an opportunity to communicate with each other, and to see math applied in the real world in more fun and interseting circumstances. Due to factors (some of which I know, and others I do not understand), many of you failed to complete the blog posts.
Along those lines, because regular homework was not graded, many of you failed to do the homework assignments because they were not counted towards your grade. This is particularly true in one class. This truly upsets me. I walked into this school year very excited to try to not grade homework. I still firmly believe that grades should measure what a student has mastered, not what they have tried. And we got off to a good start. But as the year went on it got slightly worse, and to the point we are at now. Therefore I am now forced into the decision of grading homework as you would normally expect. Some students are lost because they fail to do the homework. Other students and classes are thriving because people are doing the homework and trying hard in class.
I know there are things I could have done better to make the blog better, and I know there were things I could have done to get you to do the homework more. But I still believe that not grading homework is the correct thing, and I am not giving up on it forever. I am going to regroup, rethink my strategy and try again.
This is the lesson I want you to take away from this. Is that you should always take risks in your education and life. Things that make you uncomfortable, things that other people would not do, and things that will help you grow. Do not be afraid of failure, because that is what will make you a stronger person. And if you fail, get up and try again (but make sure you make some adjustments).
I hope you respect what I was trying to accomplish, and the fact that I was willing to try something different. I hope you appreciate the fact that it was all designed in your best interest (lord knows it made more work for me).
I would ask you to either post or email me comment on your thoughts on this experiment with the blog posts, and the non-grading of homework. I am looking for constructive criticism. You were my guinea pigs, and I can only learn from your feedback.
Lastly I want to thank the students who continued to do the homework and the blog posts. You did a GREAT job. You are the reason that I still have faith that I can make this system work. I truly thank you.
Thank you,
Mr. Frank
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
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