I love what you do with Algebra 1, because when I use a similar approach (or some of the great problems and lessons that you have designed) my students are engaged, excited and thinking hard about the material. I’m only in my first year of teaching, but I see the gap between the lessons when I my students are figuring out whether it’s cheaper to buy Harry Potter stateside or in Europe, when they’re figuring out how much money they’d save on an iPod bought in Montana (no Sales Tax) or when I turn a coin problem into a football/fieldgoal problem, etc, and their restlessness when I show them how to multiply binomials, followed by 25 minutes of practice work.

Now, I have no idea what I’m talking about, since I’m new at this thing. But the “take everyday stuff and bring it into the classroom” shtick just doesn’t work for me when I’m preparing Algebra II lessons. And I think it’s because by the time we get to Algebra II we’ve reached a new point in the education of our students. We’ve exhausted the material that we think everybody out on the street ought to know, and we’ve started introducing specialized mathematics that not everyone needs to know. That is, our broader goal in Algebra II isn’t to provide people with the math they need to be average working folks, but rather to make more specialized education in the maths and sciences both attractive and feasible. That is, we teach it so that we attract kids to more math and science, and also so that it’s possible for kids to be prepared for more math and science.

So we need to think about the best way to do Algebra II. I think where we end up is what so many teachers are already doing: integrating scientific material into our Algebra II courses. But this is difficult for me, since I don’t have a great physics background beyond mechanics. But I think that this is the direction where I’m heading, and I’m curious how you’ve handled it when teaching Algebra II.

aaf

w/r/t #2, for random interesting miscellany that sometimes turns into a math problem, I recommend kottke, devour, waxy, and of course a twitter search for “#wcydwt” just so you don’t miss anything.

@thescamdog, here you go.

1. How do you “celebrate student errors?” You mention this in regards to the document camera. I see errors as a necessary way to learn, but wonder how students take it when their errors are shared with the rest of the class. Do they feel “stupid?” We may know that it’s not stupid to make errors, but rather part of the process. I’m just wondering in a young person in front of their peers would feel the same way.

2. Any particular google reader feeds you recommend? (Of course, I already have your blog there :-))

Thanks

@Numbat, I haven’t released WCYDWT: Bean Counting from this blog yet. When I do, you’ll be the first to know.