Nicholas Smith

Facilitator of Learning Experiences, Math/Physics/EdTech, Tech Nerd, Life Long Learner, Husband, Believer and Follower

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@DarthMaulMommy @educatingsped It's its simplicity. It's just so straight forward. Identify skill gaps, teach, practice, learn, reassess. No fluff.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

"We are a month into classes, why don't you have any grades in?"
Well, I don't expect my students to have any new mastery of concepts yet!
I don't need their first unit of 6th grade math to be based in fear.

[Tom Schimmer @TomSchimmer]

Let’s be honest…

People aren’t against #SBG. Why would anyone be against basing grades on learning?

What many are really against is losing their ability to coerce behavioral compliance through the gradebook. They can’t say that out loud but we all know #ATAssessment #sblchat

[Tom Schimmer @TomSchimmer]

Let’s be honest…

People aren’t against #SBG. Why would anyone be against basing grades on learning?

What many are really against is losing their ability to coerce behavioral compliance through the gradebook. They can’t say that out loud but we all know #ATAssessment #sblchat

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre I like the other replies here and I'll add, "Never say anything a student can say."
I think too often I'm doing the thinking for them. The less I talk, the more I hear their thinking instead of my own.
#classroommath #mtechat

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@delta_dc What topics seem to be highly attended? Or needed?
This is my first year teaching 6th grade math for a whole grade all year (after 11 years teaching). I wonder what I'd have to offer.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@delta_dc We've had multiple meetings about not putting 0's in for missing homework and only putting in "incomplete".
What if.... I don't grade.... the homework?
What if their grade only represented their understanding? And not practice.
What if we could just focus on LEARNING!?!

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre And then you're going to share that list with the rest of us, right? I have all the 6th grades this year for math and I enjoy other perspectives!

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@maalmeida85 @MrJoeMilliano Draw a scenario where an object has two normal forces. Draw a force diagram.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre @math4all I wonder if preservice teachers could interview teachers. There's got to be plenty of alumni willing to give an hour to chat with new teachers.
There's a lot of risk there too. Present teachers have a wide range of opinions! I guess they'll be working together soon anyway.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

Seems like some of the Euclidean Geometry proofs from @MattBoelkins 's class are in the right direction.
There's got to be something about Math Stories and Truth for for K12 that isn't bad HS Geometry proofs.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre do you have any resources for exploring proofs with younglings. My 7yo noticed patterns on different shapes with same area and differing perimeters drawn on grid paper. Fences were always an even number, but she thinks to be a law she'd have to try infinity shapes.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre Maybe year 12 of teaching I can make it happen - I should have MS math and Computer Science classes.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre I always wanted a digital version of this game. The tiles would stack to the number and if they got opposite sign they'd flip.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre What about if a player matches a multiplication, they can steal that rectangle? Or erase/undo that rectangle? Might make the game too long.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@dorifriedman Thanks! I'm a former Physics teacher, newly Middle School math, woodshop, and tech teacher. This is a fantastic overlap!

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@mathhombre @GVSUmath It's truly a good fit (for me and the family). It only took 10 years of teaching Physics to realize Middle School Math was always the best fit.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@MattWhitmanTMBH Actually it's "Jennif...." nope... just Jenny.

[Nicholas Smith @smithnj]

@delta_dc I absolutely don't blame students, or even teachers/parents. Doing away with points seems so radical to the public that there would be too much pushback. I'll just keep living in the points world, but sneakily subverting that paradigm by only caring about learning!