tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:39:13 +0000homeworkeducationreformreflectionsbgmathideatechnologyelementarygradingtreespoliticssuccessrantsprofessional developmentpolicystatisticsstandardized testingprojectlessonlearningmath teaching edreform classroom2.0teachingmoneyBlog of a high school AP Statistics teacher. Many different things are discussed, from current classroom goings-on to observations about high school life, to political observations.http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)Blogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-1597860982773931264Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:58:00 +00002011-06-09T05:58:05.995-07:00educationteachingPlease excuse the use of quotations, and please treat all quotations as if I'm using my hands to give the quotations signal. Scenario A: Teacher speeds through all course material and is "done teaching" for the year by May.  They spend the remaining 1.5 months "reviewing" for the final. Scenario B: Teacher spends time on each concept, working at the student pace to ensure everybody has a good http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/06/cumulative-final-exam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-8241197392455198689Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:36:00 +00002011-06-08T12:36:07.135-07:00statisticsBelow are 4 hands from the game "13" that my students now play all the time now that projects are getting finished and school is ending.  Apparently 2's are the best.  I don't know the rules, and I'm not certain they do either.  I believe you can play straights, multiple pairs of multiple numbers, I don't even know.  Do people besides students at my school play this game(i.e. do you know what a "http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/06/card-game-ap-stat-ideas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-7817435428246618487Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:38:00 +00002011-06-01T06:38:20.527-07:00statisticseducationtechnologyteachingprojectmathThis is an incredibly interesting list of project ideas that my students have generated.  I thought I'd share what they're capable of when they have zero restrictions... 10-11 End of Year Project Ideas  Some highlights if you don't feel like reading through the whole thing... Mythbusters: Mac vs PC Value of a Power Hitter or Contact Hitter in Fantasy Baseball Developing software that is usable http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/06/end-of-year-project-topics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-2668681504622343563Fri, 27 May 2011 11:53:00 +00002011-05-27T04:53:20.723-07:00statisticseducationteachingI'm writing this post to inform everyone that reads this (who knows how many) that at the end of this school year I will be making a career change.  I will be starting down the career path to becoming an actuary, which is a unique opportunity that I am extremely excited about. I'd like to thank anyone that has taken the time to read this blog for allowing me to share some ideas about education http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/05/farewell-to-teaching.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-3964159328956970503Thu, 26 May 2011 13:16:00 +00002011-05-26T06:16:27.422-07:00educationtechnologyreform"No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry. I trust you know that. Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I can't help but think of this quote when it comes to education reform, so I'm going to list how things are done the right way and how things are done the easy way http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/05/school-reform-through-eyes-of-albus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-7323548011748230255Wed, 25 May 2011 14:09:00 +00002011-05-25T07:09:02.809-07:00statisticseducationteachingprojectSome project ideas for AP Statistics that are unit specific.  I'd begin each unit by asking these questions and having kids consider just what data they'll collect and how they'll answer these questions.  Then build all the statistics concepts around them as they come up, not as a series of "concepts". Unit I: Displaying and Describing Data 1.  Market Research: design a product, determine the http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/05/project-per-unit-understanding-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-5254371832766451211Wed, 11 May 2011 13:30:00 +00002011-05-11T06:30:27.404-07:00statisticseducationlessonmathFor the longest time I've given thought to providing instruction on inferential statistics in a unique fashion.  If you're an AP Stat teacher, it means a departure from the One-Proportion Z-test, Two-Proportion Z-test, One Sample t-test, Two-Sample t-test, Matched Pair t-test, Chi-Squared Test(s), t-tests for slopes of regression lines. So here's how I'd start...all data collection.  Spend a http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/05/inferential-statistics-different.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-415610908866384699Wed, 11 May 2011 10:58:00 +00002011-05-11T03:58:19.313-07:00I am sneaking this in before the 48 hour moratorium on discussing anything AP Statistics test goes in to effect.  Hopefully the gentleman in dark suits and sunglasses from the college board that I see lurking outside of my window will understand. Today my students will take the AP Stat exam.  I have no idea how well they will do.  I'm fairly certain that the students that this test wants to gethttp://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/05/ap-stat-test-today.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-4992314716705995912Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:20:00 +00002011-04-29T15:22:16.813-07:00educationreformrantsThis post is in response to Scott Swindells' post of "Where's the Innovation?". A recent blog post by Seth Godin really resonated with me as to a school district's reluctance to innovate.  He writes: It's impossible to have a coin with only one side. You can't have heads without tails. Innovation is like that. Initiative is like that. Art is like that. You can't have success unless you're http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-schools-do-not-innovate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-986546207575717261Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:48:00 +00002011-04-27T11:48:36.818-07:00educationteachinglearningreformmathrantsStop me if you've heard these before... "Kids these days can't do simple math without a calculator!" "Kids these days can't write well at all!" "Kids these days are lazy!" So what?  What gives you the right to tell students today what they should learn?  You've never met my students, so in my view you have zero authority to tell them what they should be learning.  On the flip side, if you've http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/who-decides-what-kids-should-learn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-2737820026804698203Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:32:00 +00002011-04-15T08:32:50.335-07:00statisticseducationmathTHE EXCEL SPREADSHEET Type I and Type II Errors (housed on Box.net...is there a better way to do this?) Directions for the activity contained in the spreadsheet. SKILLS ADDRESSED Statistical significance, Confidence Intervals related to hypothesis tests, Type I Error, Type II Error, Power, Alpha, Beta THE CONTEXT A factory is producing pharmaceutical grade glass vials.  Quality control http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/ap-stat-lesson-type-i-and-type-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-2704656933995477821Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:09:00 +00002011-04-15T08:05:57.122-07:00The popular line from those that wish to criticize teachers is that "Good teachers are worth their weight in gold". Every person that says this follows it up with a list of excuses for why we should pay them in dirt. Treat teachers like they're providing your students with an education.  Treat teachers like people that are developing children into citizens.  They're not being asked to peddle http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/good-teachers-are-worth-their-weight-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-826960854021527312Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:10:00 +00002011-04-07T05:10:14.444-07:00statisticslessonmathThe Excel file: Graduation Party simulation. What this Excel file does is simulates a student sending out 1500 invitations to a graduation party.  There is a true proportion of people that will attend, but it is unknown (see the "Population" tab of the Excel spreadsheet is completely blacked and password protected).  If you'd like the unlocked version, feel free to get in touch with me and I canhttp://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/ap-stat-lesson-confidence-intervals.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-8948878294066051770Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:18:00 +00002011-04-06T16:18:01.383-07:00statisticsteachinglessonGive kids this: Hank Aaron - Home Runs by Pitcher Let all hell break loose. I've become quite a fan of "unstructured time" as of late, and I think this is perfect for an AP Statistics class.  I can see my baseball fans in class leaping at this opportunity to explore some baseball stats.  Whatever they wish to investigate, they are free to do so.  For the non-baseball fans, it may be just an http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/ap-stat-lesson-unstructured.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-4479503594921010410Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:16:00 +00002011-04-06T10:59:41.300-07:00educationreformFirst of all, check out the new blog format. Second of all, today we played the Making Change for School Improvement game with the fellow Montgomery County instructional coaches and it was awesome.  Our group successfully moved every teacher to becoming a routine user, but ran out of money to perform a complete curriculum revamp. .  Amazingly, we still had plenty of funding to give our kids http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-does-change-happen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-6225683669727760490Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:28:00 +00002011-03-25T07:32:34.518-07:00educationreformTo all my fellow educators in PA, readers in PA, and educators nationwide, please visit the link below and open the Excel file. PA Dept of Education Budget Check out line 10, the line for "PA Assessment".  Yes, that 36, 590 is in thousands. Compare with line 9, the line for "Information and Technology Improvement".  4,266. Pick jaw up off floor. A statewide system of standardized testing http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/03/pa-education-budgetam-i-reading-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-1039129242829227675Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:40:00 +00002011-03-23T10:40:42.560-07:00statisticsteachinglessonmathI really like sharing things that work really well.  I don't know if it's a good idea on it's own, but this worked great considering we've done a lot of remediation (for students that needed it) and a lot of projects that delve deeper into statistics.  They are working with basics of statistics all the time, so tying it together into making statistical inferences is fairly easy when they have a http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-say-it-best-when-you-say-nothing-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-2758324593388506394Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:30:00 +00002011-03-16T10:30:53.723-07:00homeworkeducationteachingAt our school, the typical student will take 7 courses for the entire year.  If that student has AP Stat with Mr. C on their schedule, this means that a student has 6 classes in which they will have homework.  6 other classes with one hour of homework assigned each night means approximately 6 hours of homework. Some careful accounting as to how those 6 hours that could be spent working on http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/03/homework-more-like-1st-period-work.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-5821385770902956334Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:25:00 +00002011-03-16T04:25:49.627-07:00educationreformstandardized testingThis week is state testing week in our school district.  Watching these kids go through this procedure, I can't help but feel bad for them.  This is what their schooling career comes down to, in the eyes of the people giving out money and deciding whether or not they are a part of a failing school.  Read that last sentence again.  Really? So you're telling me if the students in my class decide http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-defines-failure-in-education.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-7083120913829375980Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:47:00 +00002011-03-06T12:47:34.709-08:00educationteachingprofessional developmentWe are required to do 14 hours of documented professional development.  I'm sure that this hour requirement is similar at most school districts.  I could do 14 hours of professional development standing on my head.  My estimation is that I spend 5 hours a week reading the professional writings of my colleagues, and another 5 on Twitter engaging my colleagues in professional discourse.  Not to http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/03/crazy-idea-for-professional-development.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-4279111555487456808Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:51:00 +00002011-03-03T17:51:55.812-08:00statisticseducationteachinglessonmathDoing project based learning (PBL) in AP Stat this year has been a challenge. Ultimately, the best part about it is the learning experiences and opportunities it provides students. Every time a project is completed I think of 300 things that could be changed to make it, excuse me for using the phrase "100% better" (kind of an inside joke).  Below I've listed my major concerns about these http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/03/challenges-of-project-based-learning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-5168700913868813177Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:17:00 +00002011-02-25T09:17:43.985-08:00statisticseducationtechnologyteachingI don't decorate my classroom. I've referred to it as "hospital" sterile when asked what my room looks like.  The only decorations I'd like to have in my room are signs that say: "LEARN FROM THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU".  My philosophy on this is that it shouldn't matter what's on the walls, let's start caring about what's happening inside the walls.  If it's really cool, then kids will start hanging http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-decorations-in-my-classroom.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-1553777974452705776Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:35:00 +00002011-02-20T19:35:09.739-08:00educationteachingreformAbsolutely nothing.  A 16 year old will never rarely act like a 30 year old.  Especially when surrounded with 1000 other 16 year-olds.   They're teenagers, so why do we expect that they'd be studious individuals that devote 4 hours per night to studying for our tests (I've stopped giving tests to eliminate this ridiculous expectation). Did any if us actually spend hours upon hours of http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/02/know-whats-wrong-with-kids-these-days.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-1370373506739933516Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:29:00 +00002011-02-16T08:29:47.564-08:00statisticseducationlessonmathToday's(tomorrow's) plan for AP Statistics is a little Excel heavy,  something that I hope carries over for my students into college and beyond. Is there a standardized test that measures a student's increased proficiency at Microsoft Excel, or other computer apps for that matter?  Most commands involve looking up a value at random between zero and one hundred. Each student has been keeping trackhttp://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/02/todays-ap-stat-lesson-excel-heavy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368341295581002650.post-7813747669310173755Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:50:00 +00002011-02-10T06:50:02.241-08:00statisticsteachinglessonAt the slightly more than halfway point in the year, I decided to give my students an assessment on skills we would have learned previously this year.  In an AP Stat class, this type of exercise is meant to take the place of the 2 weeks of "review" that most educators wind up with at the end of the year before the AP Exam. Here's the test: AP Statistics Mid-Year Assessment .  Using this link (http://mrcstat.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-test-with-no-right-answers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Christiansen)4