Maximizing student learning means that class won’t always be “fun.” There will be times when you will just have to dig in and work hard. However, we do mix it up from time to time to keep things fresh. Here are some past activities we have tried that had at least some success:
1. "Fantasy Flipped Class"
Students are put into teams of 3 or 4 and are awarded points for MCs and Tests passed during class. Normally, I give students +2 points for every MC they pass and +5 points for every Unit Test they pass. This means you have to be on top of your grading for the entire period! During class, I usually write the student names within their groups on the Smartboard and as I grade the MCs, students can go up to their name and add “+2” if they pass. Variations include a bonus point for perfect 5/5 on a MC or a Unit Test grade above 90%. I have also given points for attempts where an attempted MC or Test (but failed) is worth 1 pt, a passed MC is worth 3 pts and a test is worth 5 pts. Regardless of your scoring systems, students don’t want to be the only student without any points. I usually give the winners doughnuts, let them leave to lunch 5 mins early or even give them a Packet Pass.
2. "Packet Pass"
Brust hates packet passes as much as Justin Bieber hates acting normal. But hey—you can’t be a fan of everything, right? A packet pass is a coupon that allows students to take a Mastery Check without completing the packet. (See what we did there? They still have to take pass the MC.) Students are given this little treat for doing something amazing, like explaining our Flipped Mastery system to a new student or passing multiple mastery checks in one day. Sometimes, I will tell the students “Next class, every passed MC/TEST above 3 will earn a packet pass!” I usually don’t give students more then one class notice because they would start to “save” MCs for the potential to packet pass. At Christmas, every student gets one from “Sully Claus.” Students may also use a Packet Pass to skip a Corrective Assignment when they fail a Mastery Check.
3. “Sully Slide”
During our week of Standardized testing, we told the students: “This week is Sully Slide week; for Mastery Check you want to attempt, you only have to complete half the packet (evens or odds).” Students still have to pass the Mastery Check. This worked well when our Algebra II students were falling behind. Many students got caught up very quickly.
4. “March Mathness”
Similar to #1 except your class is playing against other classes in a tournament. Last year we did “Bean 1” vs “Kelly 6”, etc. Because classes were different sizes, we used the average number of assessments passed per student. We eventually had a tournament champion that won a week of Sully Slide.
On my desktop I have 2 email templates with questions all ready to be answered. Depending on when I call the student to my desk, I use one for the beginning of class and one for the end. Basically, I call a student over (when I have a free second) and we answer 4 or 5 basic questions: “What section are you on?” “What section should you be on?” “What did you do for HW?” “What do you plan (or what did you) do during class?” “What will you do for HW?” I end with a “teacher comments” section. I script everything the student says…word for word…when they answer the questions and I follow up with my assessment of how they are doing and what they SHOULD DO for HW. The whole process takes less than a minute and reminds students that we are all on the same team. I might send home 5 per class or 20 depending on how the class is going. Obviously, the student who is 4 units ahead doesn’t need one. However, when I have time, I send it anyway to give some positive kudos as well.
I am pretty sure we will come up with some more motivational techniques in the future to help us keep the classroom “fun.” Will they all be a hit? Probably not. Especially if they involve a teacher Brusting a Move. But we are all still committed to making our classrooms the best they can be. These little tricks tend to help. What ideas have you tried? Please share!
TKelly