New school year, new graduate student

This year I am working with Megha Sunny, a graduate student in the engineering program at UMass Lowell. Things are just getting going, but we are off to a good start. She began by introducing herself to each class, giving some background on her research,  and has spent quite a bit of time tutoring and getting to know the students. Additionaly, she gave a brief presentation on “nano” and the students showed tons of interest. Tomorrow she will be showing them how to make ethernet cords and they’ve been asking about it since she mentioned it last Thursday.

STEM club?

We have been discussing ways to interest students in a stem club, and what kind of projects we could have those students working on.

At Lowell High School we already have clubs (Math, Science, Robotics…others???) that fit into the Stem category. One idea I have is to look at the international language club, which is one large group that is also broken into different sectors and consider doing something similar with the stem fields. We could have all of the Math, Science, etc. clubs be part of the stem club and students could be free to participate in whichever parts interested them. With this method, we could ask students towards the end of this year which additional topics are of interest to them and start those clubs. It would allow a great deal of flexibility.

 I would also consider having some sectors that are seasonal so that students who play a sport or are busy for any reason during a certain time of year, could still get some involvement.

12/17 – My attempt at a presentation

Typically, because she designs the lessons, Ayse is the lead presenter of material on lab days. I act as a bridge to improve student comprehension when I sense they are confused or losing focus. I may do this by adding comments, asking students to recall something we’ve done previously, or asking Ayse questions that I feel students may be thinking. When students are working in  small groups or on their own, Ayse and I both assist them in completing and understanding their tasks.

On 12/17 we decided to shift the presentation portion of the lesson from Ayse to myself for a few different reasons. One purpose was so that Ayse could see how I would present this more technical material to the class. Another reason was to show the students that this material is difficult for anyone to explain. However, what really sparked the idea was when I realized that all of this material will go to waste unless I can implement it into future classes, as I would like to. By having Ayse observe and assist in my presentation, I was able to test out my theory that I am capable of presenting this material on my own. And I was able to do so without risking a wasted class period, because I knew she would be there to jump in at any moment if necessary.

We decided to make this attempt during this particular class because it was a lesson only slightly altered from last year. Therefore, it was a lab which I have witnessed Ayse present before. The basic concept is that Ayse has been creating some very useful ways to integrate technology into the algebra curriculum, and I would like to continue using those lessons once she has completed the program.

Seeing Sound

For this experiment we made use of the computer lab and a program that allows you to see sound waves with a digital oscilloscope. We discussed different waves and features of waves (frequency, period, wavelength, amplitude) which was a nice connection to physics class. The sine function is an algebra topic that we will cover in more detail later in the year. The students made a real connection when they used their own voices to create the sound, because they had control over the pitch and amplitude of the sounds they were making.

First Post

I am a math teacher at Lowell High School. This blog will track my participation in the GK-12 Vibes and Waves program, which allows my students to be connected to the engineering department at UMass Lowell. Throughout the year, I will be collaborating with Ayse Kalkan-Savoy as well as other graduate students and teachers to relate  science and technology to the topics covered in Algebra I.