ULTIMATE STEM
//About Jennifer//
Jennifer Schultz is a middle school math, science, and language arts teacher. She has a BA in Political Science from Loyola University, an MA in Curriculum & Instruction from University of Phoenix, and completed her math and science endorsements through the University of Chicago SESAME program. When she is not teaching, Jennifer enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband and their dog Hank.
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//Amazing Teaching Moment//
This series of lessons comes at the beginning of the second unit of my Algebra I curriculum. In our first unit students learned to use inverse operations, apply the distributive property, and combine like terms in order to solve multi-step equations. Our second unit focuses on writing and solving equations that represent word or story problems--a skill that is generally quite challenging for 8th graders. This series of lessons, which is adapted from the CME Algebra I curriculum, allows students to gain confidence writing equations for basic situations and ends with the challenging Diophantus problem for an ultimate confidence boost before exploring more typical word problems. The first time I taught the curriculum, I received a great amount of positive student feedback surrounding the Diophantus problem. Students felt a tremendous amount of pride after tackling the problem--having solved what they thought was an unsolvable problem. Their feedback also told me that the curriculum lessons involving the number tricks were not helpful in the beginning of the chapter, but that they made total sense as a starting point by the end of the unit. With this feedback I set out to redesign the unit and create a series of lessons that used a gradual release of responsibility. My hope being that students would see the benefit of beginning with number tricks at the start of the unit, while still experiencing the thrill of the Diophantus problem. After redesigning the unit, I found that students were as thrilled solving and airing their own personal number tricks as they were when solving the Diaphanous problem.
//Top 5 Lesson Connections//
1.) Gradual Release of Responsibility/Scaffolding- “I do, we do, you do together, you do alone” in STEM lessons ensures students receive support and scaffolding while learning skills and content.
2.) Accountable Student Talk - Students have opportunities to discuss lesson concepts with each other; this can prove to be invaluable with clearing up misconceptions and reaffirming any understandings.
3.) Technology as a Tool - Technologies are tools that aid in concept clarity. There are many levels of technology; each activity can evolve based on technology accessibility and teacher TPACK.
4.) Cross Curricular Opportunities/Literacy - In addition to STEM, lessons include literacy, writing, and arts components that could be developed in collaboration with other teachers to reinforce STEM’s interdisciplinary nature.
5.) Student Centered Activity - Students feel comfortable in collaborating when analyzing informational texts. Students feel valued, respected, and part of the group. Students show ownership of their learning.
2.) Accountable Student Talk - Students have opportunities to discuss lesson concepts with each other; this can prove to be invaluable with clearing up misconceptions and reaffirming any understandings.
3.) Technology as a Tool - Technologies are tools that aid in concept clarity. There are many levels of technology; each activity can evolve based on technology accessibility and teacher TPACK.
4.) Cross Curricular Opportunities/Literacy - In addition to STEM, lessons include literacy, writing, and arts components that could be developed in collaboration with other teachers to reinforce STEM’s interdisciplinary nature.
5.) Student Centered Activity - Students feel comfortable in collaborating when analyzing informational texts. Students feel valued, respected, and part of the group. Students show ownership of their learning.