We have just completed the second day of the semester and I'm having a blast.
I've changed my routine a little(see my previous post) and I have managed to make some changes that are hopefully for the better.
My students are sitting in groups and we've started to develop a collaborative environment that will hopefully continue to grow. Students are not only sharing their work with their groups but with the entire class.
We've looked at some low floor/high ceiling problems and we've spent much longer on those problems than I had anticipated. Longer because students were generally interested in the work they were doing and I felt bad pressing one. My students seem to enjoy the work we've been doing and they seem curious about the problems we've looked at.
I haven't covered any curriculum yet but I'm hoping the time we've spent on developing a good classroom environment will pay dividends in the long run. I know that it has only been two days but I'm hoping for more great classes.
Here are some highlights from today:
- Had five student stay at lunch to share how they solved a problem I gave towards the end of the period
- Heard "I feel so smart"
- Heard "I love finding patterns"
- Heard "Can't we just take notes and memorize them?"