Comments on: Blogging as Therapy

By: Michael Fenton

Michael Fenton — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 14:56:02 +0000

@mrpseris Thanks for your comment! Your words about seeking improvement, fending off boredom, and that nagging/inspiring sense of “never having arrived” all hit the nail on the head for me. Glad to know I’m not alone. 🙂

I taught for about eight years prior to starting a blog. While I would often reflect on my teaching practice, that entire process of thinking through what works and doesn’t work has been ramped up many times over since (or really starting with) writing that “blogging as therapy” post. I’m finding I hit the panic button less often these days, but it’s fun to look back and see where this more thorough process of reflecting began.

Thanks again for dropping by, and for taking the time to comment.

By: mrpseris

mrpseris — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 14:24:13 +0000

I have enjoyed reading all of the replies to this post. I think it is one of the signs of a great educator to be constantly honing your craft, finding ways to improve and change (if not for meer improvement, we change out of sheer boredom on our own part and seeking a change for ourselves). The downside of this reflective mindset is that nagging feeling of inadequacy that comes with being reflective – we always focus on the “what ifs” and failures of the lesson or find ways that we could have or should have done something. Though we may never get there, continuing to take “baby steps” (as you said) in our progress, while realizing that we will never be done, is the key. Teaching is too subjective to ever truly be “done” in our changing. This mindset is important for teachers, though we sometimes teeter on the edge of burnout as we grind to improve the thing that we love. This grind, however it what separates the mediocre from the great, and I appreciate that your thoughts call us to reflect and inspire us to keep moving forward as well. I loved your original post, it helped me find tangible ways to change my own situation to improve. Thanks for sharing.

By: Quadratics Matching Activity, Take 2 | Reason and Wonder

Quadratics Matching Activity, Take 2 | Reason and Wonder — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:07:37 +0000

[…] that people have posted so many thoughtful comments. Shortly after my long-winded sky-is-falling post, I added a quick note about launching an activity with as few words as possible. There were a few […]

By: educationrealist

educationrealist — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:13:00 +0000

Whoops–hit post too soon.

“I desperately want to design a curriculum where the most challenging thing for students is to think about the interesting, non-trivial tasks they have been given.”

THis is soooooo not what students want. You have to give them a sense of genuine success–everyone in the room, not just the best kids–and then, after a while, they will start engaging with small, interesting problems.

But most math teachers egregiously overestimate the ability of kids who are taking algebra in high school. I know math teachers who present/post these incredibly difficult, open-ended tasks and say “this is what we did in algebra class” and I’ve been to a lot of those algebra classes and most of the kids don’t have a clue what’s going on. I would rather kids get skills that will help them place out of remedial math in college than waste their time on open-ended questions they might, at best, pretend to care about to please the teacher.

By: educationrealist

educationrealist — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:09:07 +0000

Whenever I read teachers talking about how their kids just sit there, I always wonder why they expect discussion. I think it’s better to give them something to do, and conversations will start from there. I usually start with modeling linear equations, and it gets the kids doing math right away. It’s not “open-ended”—and, may I just say, math teachers are so totally, woefully wrong about the appeal of open-ended problems, as in students are usually going please god shoot me now–but it gives students the opportunity to start to *do* things, and prove to them that they can do this stuff.

I also notice that the problems the teachers complaining about “students just sitting there” are always way too difficult for the population.

I sit my kids in groups by ability, and they mostly stay in the same seats over the year, unless the groups talk too much or one or two of them break away. I think ability seating is essential.

By: “I need some help vision casting” | Productive Struggle

“I need some help vision casting” | Productive Struggle — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:44:12 +0000

[…] doesn’t disappoint, as Michael Fenton cuts deep into his own classroom style and offers an incredibly articulate explanation of what it is that he’s looking for. It’s hard to imagine that he won’t find it […]

By: mjfenton

mjfenton — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:30:28 +0000

Awesome. Thanks for the link to Frank’s post. I think I’m heading back to Lowe’s for a size upgrade. 🙂

By: Justin Lanier

Justin Lanier — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:25:42 +0000

The $2 IWBs are the large marker whiteboards you and Fawn were discussing above. Here’s Frank’s canonical post about them: http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/

By: mjfenton

mjfenton — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 05:13:39 +0000

Good words. Thanks for sharing. For what it’s worth, I disagree with the “not much I can offer” opening. 🙂 As for not being too discouraged/desperate, I’ll have to learn how to hang out on Twitter and blogs, envisioning what my classroom could be like, and yet not be unrealistic in my expectations for the present (and also not downplay the strengths that do already exist).

At any rate, thanks for the comment. Much appreciated.

By: senorstadel

senorstadel — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 05:07:08 +0000

Well, not much I can offer that others haven’t contributed. I sometimes feel so confused about what I’m doing that the single thought of constantly reflecting on my practices is enough to make me think I’m doing something constructive. You’ve got the right intentions here. Assessing your work is valuable, reflection is invaluable, reaching out for advice is modesty, and moving forward with optimism is what a quality teacher (now or to be) is made of. You’re on your way!

Re: “I desperately want to design a curriculum where the most challenging thing for students is to think about the interesting, non-trivial tasks they have been given.”
I know the feeling, but don’t be too desperate. The more you hang out here on Twitter and the such, you’ll come across some great stuff. You’re writing some meaningful tasks and will continue to improve as you go forward. I firmly believe that no lesson should be taught the same way twice and that goes the same for designing tasks. No task should be designed the same way twice. Continue to evolve. Continue to challenge your students. Continue to do what interested you too when designing tasks. Lastly, when designing tasks, I continue to see that a very successful approach is “less is more”. Keep the tasks simple and let the students take it places. Take notes along the way and pay attention to where they go.