The. Struggle. Is. Real.
I knew that this math adventure was not going to be a walk in park. But I did not think that my students would struggle as much with this switch over as I am experiencing. I have been putting off blogging the failures because I was hoping for the moment when all of my students would exclaim that they love math, PBL, and all the wonderful things we were doing. I wanted to create the epic "This is how to be successful in your classroom" blog where I would boast about how all of my students bought into this idea and were learning so much. But, I'm not quite there yet.
Since Spring Break we have been embarking more on the actual academic part of math. We are looking at very basic parts of algebra and spending lots of time on each one of those concepts. We have spent time with:
-Rational and Irrational Numbers
-Variables and Expressions
-Order of Operations
-The Distributive Property
-Equations
-Multi Step Equations
For each of these topics the students start out with a google doc that they are responsible for filling in. They look like this:
Each assignment is unique, but all are very similar. For my co-teacher and I, this was a way for us to front-load information. Students work independently or in groups (preferred) to complete each document and it's tasks. Once they are complete, they turn it on Classroom. From here we go into a project that involves each of the topics. So far, we have done a math based game of Clue, made a class snack of Muddy Buddies, done an assignment on taxes, and tomorrow we will start doing a comic strip assignment on ToonDoo.com.
That all sounds great, but the amount of work that I get turned into me is minimal. Most of the work that is turned in is less than half complete. Even when I go over answers I can't seem to get the kids to do the work. Grades have dropped, so has my morale. I am not sure what to do, suggestions at this point would be greatly appreciated!
I thought with my "genius" idea of the changing education project that the students would see what they needed to do to be successful in this new environment. I thought they were ready to see how things can change and how they can become better learners and become more prepared for the work-force. But now I think I may be asking too much, or maybe I just feel like giving up. Im not really sure.
So, the struggle is real. I'm stuck at a point where I don't feel like I can hold their hands and walk them through each and every step, but I still want to push them with help. I hate when my students get mad at me for not telling them the answer. I get asked at least 3 times a day, "why can't you just tell me answer?". Most of my kids have struggled in math for so long that they were just given answers to make it seem easier on them... or maybe it was easier on their teachers that way. I guess Im not sure how to find that happy medium between hand-holding and helping.
Words of wisdom are welcome! Anything that might help! This mermaid feels like she is drowning.
